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Messages - Petey4

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1
LIKE 200i / Re: Sporadic gas leak
« on: July 19, 2019, 11:36:59 PM »
Solved. Stig was on the right track, but the leak only recently got bad enough that I was able to see what was going on.

The leak was from a loose clamp on the main fuel line. What made it confusing was that the spray from that leak went directly into the overflow pan (under the filler cap) -- making me think some sort of vacuum was pulling the gas up from the tank. Just a coincidence of physics. Tightened the clamp, and all is dry.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: September 30, 2018, 07:20:09 PM »
Thanks, Robo, for the tips and perspective. I'd been waiting to get too deeply into greasy troubleshooting, partly because I'm an old guy with limited energy, but mainly to allow the shop to do what they can while under warranty. I had never been very confident about them, but my recent visit was all the more discouraging.

First, they informed me that it was showing no error code, and the diagnostic tool showed no record of any errors. Frankly, I believe they probably reset it before doing anything. I had been checking for any change in the six-blink code every day for weeks -- including just before riding it to the shop. Big coincidence if it just happened to clear the moment it was in their hands. Then they told me if it had been showing an error it would have been recorded in the diagnostic history. Well, I said, then that's evidence of another chip problem (I had not ingested any LSD in decades, so I doubt I was hallucinating those blinking lights). They told me they'd call Kymco to ask what it might mean, but, of course, I never heard back from them.

After leaving the bike overnight, they said their test rides produced no halting or bad performance. I have trouble believing this as well. While it doesn't lurch badly like it used to, it definitely struggles periodically -- and always before it's warmed up. Always. When applying the throttle from a stop it bogs down at first, before kicking in roughly. Not fun.

So unless something new develops in the next couple of months before the warranty runs out I'll be gradually trying some of the many things I've already been reading here. Perhaps the problem will turn out to be something relatively clear and simple, but I'm still not even sure whether to start with the tranny or the fuel. Meanwhile I'm annoyed with the shop, because I know what this machine feels like when it's running smooth. That ain't happening now.

I agree, the periodic rough starting has never left me stranded, so I'm not overly worried -- and one of these days I'll replace the battery. The shop suggested my fuel overflow problem might be splashing when hitting bumps, but I would have thought that would have been documented here many times. (Maybe something's wrong with my cap though?) Mostly I've seen posts about overfilling the tank, which is not my issue.

BTW, a salesman told me he believed the rumor that Kymco won't make this model in 2019, allowing the "superior" 150 to completely take the Like 200's place in the market.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: September 20, 2018, 03:04:20 PM »
Yeah, I've been keeping an eye on your battery posts. Assuming the shop doesn't find anything else pertaining to the starter issue, I'll definitely get a new battery pretty soon. Can't hurt.

On the fuel expansion problem, I've inspected the cap many times looking for clues. Seems to function fine, but maybe something's wrong with it. Whenever I smell gas, even if it's not enough to be dripping on the street, I look under the seat and there's always pooling around the cap. Seems like some sort of vacuum would have to be responsible. Unless somehow it's related to bad signals being sent to the pump??

Thanks for sharing interest. Will post new discoveries. I've not yet been spending tons of time and effort investigating every thread for every symptom -- mainly to wait until I find out if the the worst problems (like the lurching) are connected to some of the smaller symptoms.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: September 19, 2018, 08:12:44 PM »
Unfortunately, I'm still waiting for answers -- but I finally have a service appointment scheduled for Friday (and the shop does have a Kymco diagnostic tool). The six-blink alert is back, but now I'm pretty agnostic about whether the problem is more throttle-related or transmission-related. The lurching has never gotten as bad again as it was during the first week, but it's still annoying. Weirdly, it gets a bit better after the first five minutes or so of riding.

Stig, I don't recommend overthinking my particular bike, as it's clearly something of a lemon. I still get the occasional overflowing around the gas cap, unrelated to how much fuel is in the tank. I still get the occasional stalling of the starter. And I still have been given no answer to the question of why an incorrectly sized part was in the tranny pulley system when the bike was supposedly brand new.

Until we learn more I might advise others to think twice before buying one of these 2015 anniversary editions.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 27, 2018, 03:39:19 PM »
yeah, I've been assuming the occasional overflow is a vacuum problem, but maybe that's not possible. When it happens I'm usually at a red light and smell gas -- then I look down and see dripping from what I thought was the overflow tube. It's only done it a few times when the tank was half-full, and once when nearly empty. Mostly it happens when near full, but I never fill past top of bar. I have seen wetness around the gas cap when it overflows.

I'll definitely keep y'all posted if/when I learn more. But bringing to the shop is too much trouble when there are no reliable symptoms or error codes. I do want to find out whether they have an official diagnostic tool though. Maybe they can plug it in while I wait.

I'm guessing my gas mileage may have increased because the TPS is now reset, so it's running a bit lower RPM overall. Will be interesting to see if the reset eliminates the gas overflow. I wouldn't be surprised if it's all somehow connected electronically.

I'm also guessing the CVT is fine -- that the recent problem has been entirely chip related. I was suspicious of the CVT system only because it had been bad at first, but since they replaced everything it's been running smooth (until the lurching started).

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 26, 2018, 06:08:59 PM »
I witnessed my error code resetting itself the other day: instead of the normal cycle of six blinks, it started with one longer blink, then six shorter. It repeated this cycle about three or four times, and then stopped blinking entirely. Since then it has sent no error message.

Stig, if there's a connection with the overflowing fuel, it's not because of an overfilled tank. I only made that mistake once, in February of 2017. But, as I've mentioned, the fuel has periodically overflowed when the tank has been near-empty, near-full, and mid-full -- so something is different in my case. No idea if there's a connection between this monthly (or so) event and the recent lurching with TPS error. The bike has never been on its side.

It's now running pretty smoothly, but there's definitely slightly more bogging at acceleration from a stop than before the problem. Nothing serious, but notable. I seem to be getting about five mpg better than usual too (from 62-ish to 67-ish).

The shop never set up the promised appointment -- maybe they suspected the lurching might fix itself. So I guess I'll follow Jonnielights' lead and see what happens. There's nothing I can point them toward now that would register as a clear symptom. Will be interesting to see if the overflowing issue returns now that the error code has disappeared.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 18, 2018, 10:01:48 PM »
Seeking advice after a few new clues. (Still waiting on the shop to schedule an appointment.)

After a full week of lurching, acceleration has smoothed out -- but I'm still getting the six red lights. Just as the problem developed gradually over a couple of days, it went away gradually. But I'm pretty confident the ride is not the same as before. It feels and sounds like it's geared slightly higher at all speeds. So, while it's got the same overall power, the pickup is a little more slow. Instead of feeling like I'm trying to take off in second gear (as when it was lurching), it's more like I'm trying to take off in first gear but babying the gas a little.

I don't mind this performance; my concern is getting any problems addressed before January, when the warranty runs out. Especially since I'm still getting the warning signal.

Also, a couple curious things that may or may not be related. I had always felt a subtle RPM dip when applying the left brake (at a stop), but now the dip sounds more noticeable. Actually, I'm not sure if it's really an RPM dip (I don't have a tachometer), but it sounds like it's dipping from, say, 800 to 600 when applying the brake. Not so low that I'm afraid it's going to die, but getting pretty rumbly.

Another thing I was eager to show the shop was the starter-catching problem I described earlier. It never happened regularly enough for them to witness it, but last week it was doing it almost all the time -- so I thought, great, they'll be able to see it when I bring it in. But now that the acceleration has smoothed out, the starter is no longer catching regularly. Is this just coincidence, or can anyone see a possible connection?

I see there's a method for resetting the TPS, but I'm reluctant to try it, since currently the TPS warning is the only problem I can point the shop to. Maybe, like Jonnielights, the warning will reset on its own someday.

I noticed a similar thread from another anniversary-edition owner (http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=14741.0). Now with at least three of us suffering a seemingly related problem I'm getting suspicious about this gold version.

So mainly I'm looking for opinions on whether to keep pursuing the cause of my nearly unrideable week, or just shrug and be happy it's smoothing out?

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 10, 2018, 03:42:54 PM »
I'll definitely update as I learn more. Now I'm hoping my lurching does not improve before the shop can take a look. I suspect my intermittent starter problem is separate -- it's been doing that since the beginning (but, of course, never replicated at the shop). The tank overflow is my last concern, but it is weird, since I haven't heard of others having problems except when overfilling. I did wonder if somehow that and the starter problem might be somehow related to a fuel pump issue -- maybe chip-related. Time will tell, hopefully.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 09, 2018, 11:29:31 PM »
Interesting. I'll have to read up on how the TPS works. But I think I'll call it a victory and take her to the shop when they can fit her in. Thanks guys!

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 09, 2018, 03:28:59 PM »
Jonnielights, interesting -- mine is also a gold anniversary special. It's a 2015 that had been sitting unsold until I bought it in January of 2017. No mods, except the seat, mirror extenders, and removing the air intake limiter. Oh also an iridium plug. I've serviced it regularly. Now with 3400 miles I've changed the oil four times, and the gear oil twice. Checked valve clearance twice without adjusting.

So are you saying you had similar laboring and then lurching from a stop, related to your TPS warning -- and then the problem gradually went away when the warning went away?

After my clutch/belt/transmission problems were fixed this past January it's been running great, except for a couple of annoying occasional symptoms: some sort of apparent vacuum problem that causes fuel to overflow -- always when I overfill the tank even slightly, but also sometimes at low and medium fuel levels. Could be weather related, but I've yet to decipher a clear pattern. The other symptom is very common: the starter often snags at first attempt, but then kicks in. Never left me stranded, so I've not yet looked into the brake switch (but I have checked solenoid connections, battery, and ground).

I commute daily about 20 miles. This latest trouble showed up suddenly Monday morning, but went pretty quickly from subtle to lurching. I'll try to troubleshoot more later today. Thanks for all the tips.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 09, 2018, 12:08:24 AM »
Thanks Stig! I'll go through your troubleshooting tips when I get a few minutes tomorrow.

I see when I turn the key on, and leave it for a few seconds (after the normal red light), it then blinks red six times. I have no idea if it's always done this since I always start it quickly. Is this normal? The six-blink-cycle keeps repeating until I turn the key again.

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 08, 2018, 11:02:56 PM »
Thanks for the encouragement, Crossbolt. I took the cover off and found a pretty thick coating of fine black powder throughout, which I assume is belt residue. Now, is this normal, or is this a big clue? Seems like a lot of powder. Of course I can't replicate the problem on the stand without load, but I did notice the belt flapping a bit whenever decelerating -- even clanking or tapping against something for a second. Maybe this is normal too?

Unrelated: I've looked into the forum profile settings but can't figure out to keep it from logging me out every so-and-so minutes. Can someone steer me in the right direction?

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LIKE 200i / Re: Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 08, 2018, 09:44:06 PM »
Okay, thanks, so if it's a mechanical transmission issue, what would that look like? I'm imagining something preventing the belt from settling all the way down into the variable V, effectively eliminating "first gear." But what would be mechanically causing this all of the sudden?

The shop says they can't look at it until a couple of weeks, so at this point I'm trying to guess how risky it is to ride without getting stranded. The shop recommended I do not take the box apart myself, since I may not see important clues.

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LIKE 200i / Air, fuel, transmission, or clutch?
« on: August 08, 2018, 06:56:24 PM »
I used to know a little about repairing vehicles before they had computer chips, variable transmissions, and fuel injection. Everything's so interconnected now it's hard to diagnose problems.

A few days ago the bike suddenly began bogging down mildly at acceleration from a stop, but otherwise seemed okay. I was suspecting air or fuel -- but it never stalled completely, even though the RPMs sounded pretty low when throttling. (Idle speed seems normal.) Yesterday I started suspecting transmission, as it began jerking a little when the RPMs would reach normal speed (at five or ten mph). Now today it's gotten noticeably worse: very similar to when you try to drive a car starting in second gear. It sputters (labors) -- but then lurches into what feels like a higher gear, and then rides smoothly. It doesn't bog down when accelerating from low coasting speeds -- I have to be accelerating from a stop or near stop.

Judging by how much worse the lurching was today I'm expecting it to become totally unreliable for commuting very soon.

I'm starting to think it might be related to past warranty work on my clutch (discussed earlier here), where they found the wrong-sized pulley or something. I still suspect the shop might have originally sold me a repaired scooter as new, even though it showed only 0.2 miles -- because they had no answer to why it would have been manufactured with an incorrectly sized part. Anyway, they replaced the tranny, the clutch, and the belt -- and I've been riding it daily without trouble for the past six months. Now I worry the belt might be shredding again. But the symptoms are different (before it was low maximum speed). And I wonder if, say, a fuel/computer problem could play havoc with the auto-shifting somehow?

It's a pain in the neck to take to the shop, so I wanted to ask around whether there are some things I can look at myself first. Plus, it's a year and a half into the warranty, and I'm not sure what's still covered.

Thanks for any ideas!

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LIKE 200i / Re: Sporadic gas leak
« on: December 15, 2017, 02:13:49 PM »
Great things to check out, thanks Stig. I didn't know there were separate breather- and overflow-tubes. I have not overfilled the tank in about six months (but ride the bike four or five times a week). Could that still be causing problems?

I think some parts of my warranty end after one year, so I wanted to play it safe. But good to know if this would be covered for two years -- in which case I can study the problem at my leisure.

(Performance has been good -- even when dripping)

The challenge is that the dripping only happens sporadically, so it might take some time to see it when I have time to do some investigating. I guess it could be a gas pump problem, but I would have thought that that would be more consistent. Still, it is hard to imagine a vacuum causing an empty tank to overflow.

Was hoping this was a known issue around here. But I'll learn what I can and report back!

Thanks, Pete

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