Post by neo1 on Sept 14, 2016 16:13:12 GMT -5
Hi all:
The patient is a 2014 TaoTao ATM50-A1 with 11 kilometers on the Odometer. And yes, it has sat in my garage idle for most of its life.
The problem is, the other day when I turned the ignition key to the on position to start it, nothing happened - no lights, no gas gauge movement, nothing works (starter, horn, signals, etc.) BUT, I can kick start it and it cranks up immediately. And then everything works just fine (headlight, brake light, fuel gauge, etc.)
The scooter had been sitting a while, so I thought it was a battery problem. I purchased a new battery. This did not cure the problem. I also trickle charged the old one, which seems to be holding a charge. Switching to the old battery did not help, either. Point is that I think I have ruled out the battery as the problem.
I read about the inline glass tube fuse off the battery - I think this fuse is for the accessories. I changed it with the spare; no difference. I also have a multimeter, so I placed one probe on one side of the holder and the other on the other side. It read about 12 volts - so I think the holder is Okay. I have not tried to purchase a new fuse in the event that both of the fuses were bad. However, I doubt this is the problem as the fuses look fine and the chance of both being blown is pretty remote.
I next removed the front cover off the scoot to access the ignition wires. I thought maybe problem was the ignition switch. I did not see any loose wires. I removed the wire harness from the switch end. I took a piece of copper wire and bent it like a “U” and tried to short the wires going towards the battery - the idea I had was maybe a bad switch. I crossed numerous wires and nothing. In other words, I tried to complete the circuit between the red wire and the black wire, etc. I believe there were four wires (red, black, black/blue stripe, and green) I had read the green was the kill wire, not sure about that. In any event I tried multiple combinations and nothing.
Still thinking the switch was the problem, I ordered a new one. This arrived, but it appears that the wiring is slightly different (at least the colors). The new switch has five wires (red, black, black stripe, and two greenies.) So, I am not sure if it is the right harness - although it fits perfectly. It did not work, either
But this still causes me to think that if the switch is bad, there must be a way to test it by completing the connections manually, i.e., “hot wiring” it . . . not quite sure how to test this hypothesis, though.
Finally, I really am at a loss. There does not seem to be much to the electrical connections. Moreover, what really throws me for a loop is why would everything work fine once it is kick-started? That seems to indicate that the accessories are getting power. Or is there another source of power? Like the accessories run off battery when not started, but switch to power from the engine (the stator, perhaps) once running?
I have searched google repeatedly and keep getting results suggesting the fuse is the problem. But I was also told that if the fuse was bad, then the accessories should not work even when its running... I am basically out of ideas especially given my lack of mechanical knowledge - any thoughts would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you, Brian
The patient is a 2014 TaoTao ATM50-A1 with 11 kilometers on the Odometer. And yes, it has sat in my garage idle for most of its life.
The problem is, the other day when I turned the ignition key to the on position to start it, nothing happened - no lights, no gas gauge movement, nothing works (starter, horn, signals, etc.) BUT, I can kick start it and it cranks up immediately. And then everything works just fine (headlight, brake light, fuel gauge, etc.)
The scooter had been sitting a while, so I thought it was a battery problem. I purchased a new battery. This did not cure the problem. I also trickle charged the old one, which seems to be holding a charge. Switching to the old battery did not help, either. Point is that I think I have ruled out the battery as the problem.
I read about the inline glass tube fuse off the battery - I think this fuse is for the accessories. I changed it with the spare; no difference. I also have a multimeter, so I placed one probe on one side of the holder and the other on the other side. It read about 12 volts - so I think the holder is Okay. I have not tried to purchase a new fuse in the event that both of the fuses were bad. However, I doubt this is the problem as the fuses look fine and the chance of both being blown is pretty remote.
I next removed the front cover off the scoot to access the ignition wires. I thought maybe problem was the ignition switch. I did not see any loose wires. I removed the wire harness from the switch end. I took a piece of copper wire and bent it like a “U” and tried to short the wires going towards the battery - the idea I had was maybe a bad switch. I crossed numerous wires and nothing. In other words, I tried to complete the circuit between the red wire and the black wire, etc. I believe there were four wires (red, black, black/blue stripe, and green) I had read the green was the kill wire, not sure about that. In any event I tried multiple combinations and nothing.
Still thinking the switch was the problem, I ordered a new one. This arrived, but it appears that the wiring is slightly different (at least the colors). The new switch has five wires (red, black, black stripe, and two greenies.) So, I am not sure if it is the right harness - although it fits perfectly. It did not work, either
But this still causes me to think that if the switch is bad, there must be a way to test it by completing the connections manually, i.e., “hot wiring” it . . . not quite sure how to test this hypothesis, though.
Finally, I really am at a loss. There does not seem to be much to the electrical connections. Moreover, what really throws me for a loop is why would everything work fine once it is kick-started? That seems to indicate that the accessories are getting power. Or is there another source of power? Like the accessories run off battery when not started, but switch to power from the engine (the stator, perhaps) once running?
I have searched google repeatedly and keep getting results suggesting the fuse is the problem. But I was also told that if the fuse was bad, then the accessories should not work even when its running... I am basically out of ideas especially given my lack of mechanical knowledge - any thoughts would be hugely appreciated.
Thank you, Brian
