Damp starting

[chasletinni]

Hi. Congrats on this great site. My daughter has a retro-style Baotian QT50 a year ago (pink - now faded into patchy pale pink and white...) which was her pride and joy. But it only starts when the weather is dry, which is pretty rare of course at this time of the year in the UK. So my daughter has stopped riding it.

The starter motor is fine, and it sounds like it turns the belt. But the engine doesn't catch. I use WD40, have changed the spark plug and done everything I can think of to solve the problem but I must be missing something. I was surprised that, with all the great info on the site, damp starting is something that I haven't seen mentioned, so I must be doing something wrong.

Is there anyone out there who can help? Meanwhile the bike is sitting unused and increasingly unloved...

[onamission1989]

it could be the cdi and the side stand, when mine wouldnt catch i had a new cdi unit and disconnected the side stand cable, i would take it to a repair shop to make sure though

[mattiebabes]

we have the same problem with the one we own but not had a lot of help on here with it, need soewhere in hull to service it but no one will touch it

[hypojam]

Most of these scoots handle the wet and damp weather pretty well

So not many people know what to do in your situation

[mattsoutatown]

I've had my bike for 3 weeks, I leave it out in the rain for a couple of hours one day and come out and it's not starting. I had to get the AA to come out and bypass the electrics to start it.

It is definitely an electrical problem as water seems to have collected inside the gauges (fuel & speedometer). Does it not rain in China?

[r08813]

CDI is a sealed unit, looks like a box that has no top, with the electrics fitted inside, then filled up with resin. So I don't suppose water would affect it.

I suppose they do fail, but it is (on my bike) so easy to remove and replace, it would be worth removing, taking inside and keeping warm and cosy, then refitting to see if it makes a difference.

[neilpeacock]

[e-mail] 01923 231421

Very helpful (Watford) may be able to help - sounds like side stand cutout

[chcknugget]

My vespa si does the same thing. Sometimes I can get it started, but then it shorts out again. My problem has to do with the electricals. I know my problem doesn't have to do with the kill switch, but these problems are hard to sort out- good luck!

[ted]

Could be a crappy ignition switch or wet in the engine kill switch (if it has one.) Use w.d.40 on every connection you can find. Good luck.
Ted.