Kymco People 250 - Overheating Questions

[DineshD]

Hey guys,

I just bought a 2004 Kymco People 250 with 6k miles from a Impound Tow Yard for $700 - clean title. The catch was, when i went to the DMV to pay the registration, it hadnt been paid for 4 years. Another $500 bucks for registration. So the total came out to about $1200, still not a bad deal at all.

I brought the scooter home, needed a new battery, put it in and it ran fine. BUT, after about 10 minutes of riding the temperature gauge gets very close to the HIGH level and sometime goes into the red. I thought to change all the fluids. I changed the engine oil, the gear oil, and added distilled water for the liquid cooling system. I rode it again and it rode for a little longer before again getting very close to the RED temperature.

After that i replaced the coolant, burped it and went to ride again - still the temperature gauge climbs to the red. Someone told me to check the fan.... not sure if that could be the problem, is the fan suppose to go on when the bike is on, or at all times? If the fan is out, it could be the fuse, where is the fuse box??


Does anyone have any idea as to why this is happening?

Thanks for the help. 
« Last Edit: Dec 26, 2009, 4:16pm by dineshd »
 

[zombie]

There is a temp. sender on your cooling system that controls the auto fan. When the temp gets to the red zone you should be able to shut the scooter off, turn the ign. key back to the run position, and you will hear the fan running. Since the gauge is working the sender is working. There is also a relay that controls the fan. Someone else here can tell you where the fuse is located. If the fuse is good, I would then check the relay if the fan does not work. You also have a thermostat mounted near the cylinder head. There are 2, 8mm bolts or Phillips head screws on the cover. You can remove the thermostat, and run the scoot to see if that has gone bad. That would also be my first guess as the problem. When you get the opportunity, change out the coolant with a 50/50 mix of anti freeze, and water as the glycol will break down with heat, and not protect your seals in the pump. Congrats on the find!

[wordslinger]

and water as the glycol will break down with heat

..we run water/glycol in our aluminum die casting machines for hydraulic fluid...

..not to be changing the subject...

peace

[Shaka]

Interesting!  Probably more resistant to heat.

[wordslinger]

...that and our process is at 1300 degrees...glycol is considered non-flammable..as opposed to petroleum based hydraulic fluids...

[zombie]

Slinger, you should screen shot your last post... 666. GOOD LUCK!

[wordslinger]

..dang...I missed it....

..dig this...my name is Donald Edward Hughes...666...6 letters in each...

..my mom freaked when I pointed that out to her a cpl years ago...lol..

[wordslinger]

...here we go...

..hi-jacking another thread...

[garibaldi]

I aquired my scooter the same way: Impound yard. $200! And oddly enough, it was also suffering an overheating problem. The previous owner had already removed the thermostat, which I still need to replace, but can't seem to find where to get one! Can anyone give me a source? stadiumyamaha.com has an "assembly" for over $30!? That doesn't sound like what I need.

Anyway, I rode it once for a couple miles when I first got it, and it overheated so badly it destroyed the head gasket, piston and rings. So I ended up putting in the MRP 300cc upgrade kit. I think the overheating was caused by the coolant hoses leaking from loose clamps. At least that's the only problem I found when I went through it. Well, that and the blown head gasket. But was the blown head gasket a symptom or the cause? Just something else to check.

Also, the previous owner had put in a manual fan switch. I was riding it around town for upwards of 30 minutes, stop and go traffic, with the fan off (50-60F outside temps), and it never overheated. The needle would start climbing at stops, but would go down when air was moving from driving. So I'm doubtful that the fan is your problem, especially if you are overheating while driving in cool/cold temperatures. Like zombie said, start with pulling the thermostat out. And also see if it's dripping water when it gets hot. If so, locate where its dripping from and fix that.

[zombie]

Stadium would be my go to source. The assembly means the "t" stat, retainer, and gasket. You may be able to find one from an outboard engine that will fit for around 9-10 bucks, but you will need to remove the housing to bring with you to size the part. The temp ratings are all within 10% of each other so there is no problem there. You could pull the spark plug after running alittle to see if it CLEAN WHITE. That will show a coolant leak into the cyl. Also WHITE smoke from the exhaust would be a clue.

[wordslinger]

...where's all these impounded *hundred dollar scooters....

..I would suspect that the blown head gasket was the symptom of air getting into the coolant system...which would cause a drastic rise in coolant temperature....

[garibaldi]

..I would suspect that the blown head gasket was the symptom of air getting into the coolant system...which would cause a drastic rise in coolant temperature....

That's what I suspect too. It ran, overheated badly, then sat a little while, then the starter wouldn't crank anymore. Hydro-locked! I pulled the spark plug, and it was pumping water out of the cylinder! My own stupidity for driving it so hot. But it was probably already damaged, as it surely had overheated many times before. Instead of fixing it, the previous owner rigged all sorts of "patches".

[wordslinger]

That's what I suspect too. It ran, overheated badly, then sat a little while, then the starter wouldn't crank anymore. Hydro-locked! I pulled the spark plug, and it was pumping water out of the cylinder! My own stupidity for driving it so hot. But it was probably already damaged, as it surely had overheated many times before. Instead of fixing it, the previous owner rigged all sorts of "patches".

..don't like rigging things...especially IMPORTANT things...lol..

..my daughter...16...drove her car for several days with the water pump leaking...

...the leak eventually stopped, of course...so everything MUST be okay!!!

...after $800.00 dollars worth of parts and labor, and a whole lot of "Dammit Jessica" she's back on the road...

[DineshD]

Well i figured out the problem, i didnt burp the radiator correctly. I topped off the coolant, rode for 20 minutes to the dealer and it didnt go past the center mark on the temperature gauge. I put it in for the 6k mile service just to get everything checked out.

Thanks for the help..

And BTW is there anywhere we can get aftermarket seats for the P250? Or new seats?

[wordslinger]

Well i figured out the problem, i didnt burp the radiator correctly. I topped off the coolant, rode for 20 minutes to the dealer and it didnt go past the center mark on the temperature gauge. I put it in for the 6k mile service just to get everything checked out.

Thanks for the help..

And BTW is there anywhere we can get aftermarket seats for the P250? Or new seats?

..ok...what's burping the radiator??..How and why do you have to do that??

peace