mystery starting problem

[Alex]

heres the problem. Start the scoot, ok drive home 50 k, stop at the main gate open gate restart stop shut gate restart drive down driveway 300mtrs ( yeah its big'un) stop open house yard gate start drive in stop close gate ...wont re-start ...will fire once , maybe twice each time but wont pick up and keep running..leave a couple of hours start ok...last time this happened was outside the main gate at the top of the drive when I drove up to it after driving home  , opened it  and it woudnt start..had to push it UPHILL to mid point of drive then freewheel down..any body got any ideas? Fuel pump loose connection? plug should not be bad its an Iridium, injector clogged? 

[zombie]

could also be the injecter is firing as a cold cycle on start up, and the excess fuel is not getting cleared. Try pulling the plug when it happens, and see if it is wet or dry. That will tell more.

[winginman]

Alex this reminds me of a similar story I read about in a car magazine.  A guy had a new Ford and he kept bringing it back to the dealer complaining that if he went to this ice cream place and bought pistachio ice cream it would not start when he got back in it. If he bought any other flavor there was no problem...  The service manager and mechanics thought he was nuts, but told him to leave the car and they would look at it.  They took the car to lunch the next day and went to the ice cream place and bought some ice cream and it started fine.  The next day they went back and bought pistachio ice cream and sure enough the car would not start.  They towed the car back and began troubleshooting and found no apparent problem.  They tried it again and sure enough it would not start.  In troubleshooting on the spot they realized the car had vapor locked.  Then further investigation found that the ice cream place sold very little pistachio ice cream and kept it in a freezer in the back.  If you bought any other flavor it was up front, but if you bought pistachio it took extra time (just enough time for the heat from the engine to cause vapor lock).  I can't help but think from the stopping and starting that by the time you get to the last gate there is enough heat build up to maybe cause a similar problem.  Try rerouting the fuel line to see if the heat from the engine (or exhaust) may be causing vapor lock.  I may be all wet but it is an interesting theory anyway.  Good luck...

[zombie]

SHAKA>>>>>>> I NEED the theme from the Twilight Zone...

[Shaka]

HaHa!   

[zombie]

Sorry guys... Hey Bro!

[iolite]

I think your problem is a "heat lock" the petrol evaporates either at the petrol pump or carb. ( it actualy boils) causing a vacuum in the system! it wil only happen when the engine is hot! Itl be better not to switch off the engine and starting again!

[Hoolander2]

Yes, ditto to that.  You may want to disable the side stand cut-off switch so you can leave motor running while you unlock the gates.  This is discussed in another thread in this, the Xciting 500 section.  Of course, then you gotta pay attention to when the side stand is up or down, for sure!

[Hoolander2]

By the way, this is from the owner's manual:  "If you cannot restart a warm engine:
1. Place the scooter on its center stand and squeeze the
rear brake lever.
2. Open the throttle 1/8 - 1/4 turn while starting the
engine."

[Rozz]

Hi everyone,
Now I don't have the expertise of y'all when it comes to figuring out engines but this mystery starting problem sounds too much like the "cold weather starting problem" I was having back in the fall. 
After much problem solving and speculating my starter eventually froze completely while on holiday in Fla.  My bike came home yesterday with a brand new faster turning starter.
Perhaps it's time to look at the starter on the X500 as being the mystery.
Cold here today but we're expecting really great weather next weekend at last.
Looking forward to riding.

[Alex]

thanks for all the replies. I took the plug out and closed up the gap a bit and it seemed to help hasnt done it since then, ...might be vapour lock in the pump , its injected so no carb , and it wont be cold starting we are still at 22deg overnight here then back up to 28-32 or thereabouts. I thought about keeping it running and yes I do keep the bracke squuezed..wont start otherwise and crack the throttle a little

[zombie]

Please keep us posted as it may well show up again in another scoot. Ps HEY ROZZ!

[Rozz]

Hey Zombie!!!!
I thought I might never come back to the forum again.  My scoot has been at the dealer since Jan. 2nd, just got it back Sat.  An hour drive at 35F and wasn't that a treat?
We're expecting 70F for Easter so now I can join the happy gang of bikers. 
Now I'm catching up on the posts and the new newbies and wishing I understood half of what everyone's talkiing about.
Happy Easter!
Rozz

[Rozz]

Alex,
Reading my posts, I can see that references to "cold weather" etc., are misleading.

Last fall my bike developed temperamental starting problems that were attributed to "cold weather" or low battery or both.  Spent a lot of time considering the battery and computer chip and so on.

In Dec. the starter seized.  I was in Florida at the time - 20 degrees C. 

I now have a new starter and the problem appears to be resolved.  It's a different starter from the stock option and apparently faster turning.

The bike starts on the first touch.  Very nice.

[axy]

Hey Zombie!!!!
I thought I might never come back to the forum again.  My scoot has been at the dealer since Jan. 2nd,

3 months?
They should reimburse you for the depreciation!!!!