Can't Get Scooter Started after Extremely Cold Spell

[Togger]

Normally try to start once every 2 weeks in winter, but temps. have been below zero in Michigan for 3 weeks. When I tried to start it today, I couldn't after 20 attempts. Now the battery is low. Do you think there is too much moisture in carb. or something else. It will be getting cold again tomorrow, and BTW I have to store move scooter outside under a carport. It's not even catching, the starting just grinds.

[hypophthalmus]

My first thought is that the battery might have been affected by the cold temperatures.

Quick reading suggests that the cold is especially bad for batteries in a discharged state. Additionally, it's generally best for lead acid batteries to stay mostly charged; they'll go bad otherwise.

I would try completely charging the battery somewhere warm, and if you can take voltage readings once it's charged.

[de dee]

Cold weather always affects batterys all types,  20 below will knock a battery power in half,  my new Piaggio would not start at 30 below,  yesterday,   a run down battery will freeze and swell up, total write off,  keep them full charged or bring them in the house,  for my car I try to buy 1000 cca batterys for our winter starting days,   very hard to find in the US.,,

[ole two wheels]

togger, you tried to crank it 20 times?? I hope you let the starter rest and cool off between attempts or you will be buying a starter. Do you keep a battery tender on your battery? If not, you should., If you use a car charger to charge it, set it on 2 amps for about an hour.  if there is a Harbor Freights  tool store near you, you can get a charger/maintainer with pig tail for around $20. + tax. They work real good. It's made for small batteries. It will charge you battery back up and then maintain that charge.

de dee, not only does the battery power drop to very could weather , but the motor oil is like molases in January.

[de dee]

togger, you tried to crank it 20 times?? I hope you let the starter rest and cool off between attempts or you will be buying a starter. Do you keep a battery tender on your battery? If not, you should., If you use a car charger to charge it, set it on 2 amps for about an hour.  if there is a Harbor Freights  tool store near you, you can get a charger/maintainer with pig tail for around $20. + tax. They work real good. It's made for small batteries. It will charge you battery back up and then maintain that charge.

de dee, not only does the battery power drop to very could weather , but the motor oil is like molases in January.
                                                                                                     that is why I have 5 / 50 full syn. oil in the scoot,   

[PaulF]

de dee wrote:    that is why I have 5 / 50 full syn. oil in the scoot,    

Hey de dee, 5-50 full synthetic is what my scooter dealer uses in my Like 200i as well.

[Stig / Major Tom]

de dee wrote:    that is why I have 5 / 50 full syn. oil in the scoot,    

Hey de dee, 5-50 full synthetic is what my scooter dealer uses in my Like 200i as well.

Yep, started with Amsoil, but been using 5/40 SHELL Rotella for my LIKE200I for a few years. Easy starts, uses no oil, good price for my 600-850 mile oil changes. My used oil is taken to county auto serv garage - their shop heater burns it.
Stig

[ole two wheels]

Money can't buy better oil than Amsoil. Absolutely nothing other than 100% man made synthetic
engine lubricant. In fact it's the only true syn. oil. All the rest that say "fully synthetic",but this is not true,as they all begin with a crude base. Crude oil = Dino = Carbon, and require additive packages to offset the harmful effects of carbon.
Can I get a Amen. (Bet I can start yet another "motor oil" thread, in a heart beat) Just fooling. We have and have had way to many motor oil. threads, so we don't need another one. I use Mobil 1 (crude base) 10-40 in my DT and different Mobil 1 oils in all my vehicles. Why? Because Amsoil is more difficult to get and after that M 1 is the next best, IMHO, as it has far more "molly" than all the rest. 700 PPM.

[JJJoseph]

Hard-starting after sitting is nothing to do with the brand of oil.  The available fuel in a carb'd scooter simply evaporates after a couple of weeks, and you have to get fuel to the carb.  This is not a problem with fuel-injected engines, only carb engines.  If your scoot has a vacuum fuel valve, pull off the vacuum line and suck on it to create a vacuum; the valve will open, and the fuel will flow down and fill the carb, and your scoot will start quickly.  When you're sucking on the vacuum line, be sure you're sucking on the correct end of the vacuum line (each line has two ends - pick the correct end), and not the fuel line!  This isn't necessary if you're riding daily or even every 3-4 days.