Birthday gift for 17 year old hurricane survivor,honor student  By  lawauna52 (Read 607 times)

WELCOME to the site!!!

Could be most anything, but with a new Chinese scooter my first thought would be that something just "came loose". I'd check ALL hoses... Fuel, vacuum, every rubber hose. It could have one cracked, or pulled loose.

You said it "tries" to fire, so also check the spark-plug wire to be sure it's on tight, AND check the SPARK PLUG to be sure it's snugly tightened into the head. On a new scooter, ANYTHING could be loose!

Check the wires where they plug into the CDI ignition-module, and check the BATTERY leads to be sure they're tight, and the ground is grounded. Also check the fuse holder in the battery hot-side wire if it has one to be sure it's snugly connected and the fuse is well-connected with spring pressure making connection to the fuse.

Sounds like it's NOT getting good spark, OR it's not getting enough fuel. Check everything associated with both. Chinese scooters often have something loose, or poorly connected, and it's a simple problem. NO guaranties, but quite likely... LOL!

Also, good advice to change out the engine and gear-oil. The original stuff is usually very poor.

You can check for spark by pulling the plug and holding the plug-body against a ground and turning the engine over.

To use starting fluid, remove the air-filter intake from the carburetor mouth, and spray a LITTLE fluid into the carb mouth.

I doubt if your problem is anything too unusual, and can most likely be solved with a thorough "prep" of all the "things Chinese" that often are not proper from the factory.

Try everything, and if it still won't go, re-post with what you did, and somebody on the site will surely be able to get your daughter's ride up and running.

Less-than-optimal factory prep is one reason Chinese scoots are so affordable, but once you go through and correct the little bugs, they are usually pretty reliable, AND a real bargain!

Best wishes, and keep us posted...

Leo in Texas

PS:  The kick-starter should just engage when you kick it.  For effective starting, you need to gently push it until you feel the engine come up against compression, then kick it soundly to turn it over.  The kickers on these are really ONLY for emergency starting, and not too well designed so if the electric starter is functioning, it's best to use it.  Just don't crank for more than a few seconds at a time, (maybe 8-10 revolutions or so) to avoid overheating the starter.

And remember to hold a brake lever while starting.  Most scooters have a "safety interlock" preventing starting unless at least the rear brake lever is squeezed, AND BOTH center and side-stands are up.  Also, be careful not to engage the manual "kill-switch" on the handlebar... We've ALL done that, and wasted hours trying to get it started!  Sometimes just raising the seat, or fumbling the starter-button will accidentally trip the switch.

Every once in a while, I still find my old Kymco not firing...  A quick check usually shows that I forgot to kick up the side-stand, OR that I accidentally engaged the kill-switch when I opened the electric folding mirrors...  Getting old I guess!  But we ALL do those things... LOL!