kymco agility 125 : headlights issue

[Jimmie]

Hey all,

My headlight low beams and taillights/brake lights aren't working, but my blinkers, dash lights, and high beam all are working.

I bought the bike used a few months ago so thought maybe the battery was going, so I replaced that. Still no lights, so I replaced the bulbs. Still no good.

Today on the way home from work (about a 15 mins into ride), when stopped at stop signs or lights the engine chugged a little like it was about the die, and even the high beam dimmed considerably.

Any ideas? I just don't know enough to troubleshoot, and the manual didn't help much.

Thanks!!

[scooterfan]

Hey all,

My headlight low beams and taillights/brake lights aren't working, but my blinkers, dash lights, and high beam all are working.

I bought the bike used a few months ago so thought maybe the battery was going, so I replaced that. Still no lights, so I replaced the bulbs. Still no good.

Today on the way home from work (about a 15 mins into ride), when stopped at stop signs or lights the engine chugged a little like it was about the die, and even the high beam dimmed considerably.

Any ideas? I just don't know enough to troubleshoot, and the manual didn't help much.

Thanks!!

I also have a headlight problem, but my problem seem to be different from yours. All lights on my scoot works perfectly, exept the low and high beam. The low and high beam simply do not come on, but the front park lights work.
I started elimating several possibilities, and discovered that there is no power feed at the bulb at low or high beam. There is power feed to the park lights though.
The switch might be faulty, I still need to ckeck.
I actually don’t trust the switch, and started thinking about installing an aftermarket toggle switch and high quality relay to get a proper power feed to the high / low beam bulb. The current switch looks a bit dodgy and I am not conviced that it will be able to handle the power feed in the longer term.

I think you need to do a test to see if the battery gets charged when the engine is running. It almost sounds like your new battery doesnt get charged. If it’s not charging, the voltage regulator or stator might be faulty.

[CROSSBOLT]

Are there Light Control Modules (LCM) in those models?

[scooterfan]

Are there Light Control Modules (LCM) in those models?

Important question.

My Agility do not have an LCM, but apparently some models came with LCM's.

According to some comments at this forum the LCMs never worked properly, and the LCMs eventually had to be removed or bypassed - and some or other modification had to be fabricated to get the lights work properly.

To my understanding the LCMs were bolted next to the voltage regulators which are located behind the front light panel. My Agility does not have an LCM.

I decided to do my own modification to get the lights work properly. Life is too short to try and find out how Kymco managed to get the problem solved.

[CROSSBOLT]

You guys may want to investigate http//DC.chuckuslife.com to bypass Kymco-induced electrical problems...

[Jimmie]

Important question.

My Agility do not have an LCM, but apparently some models came with LCM's.

According to some comments at this forum the LCMs never worked properly, and the LCMs eventually had to be removed or bypassed - and some or other modification had to be fabricated to get the lights work properly.

To my understanding the LCMs were bolted next to the voltage regulators which are located behind the front light panel. My Agility does not have an LCM.

I decided to do my own modification to get the lights work properly. Life is too short to try and find out how Kymco managed to get the problem solved.

Does the LCM look like the dci, like a potted rectangular unit? If so, i think I remember seeing one in there the other day when I changed the bulbs.

How do I test that? And what would the workaround be?

Also, and this may sound extremely noob-ish, but does the stator charge the battery? I've read that it also feeds the lights but didn't get much farther than that.

Appreciate the help - anything I've read sounds like it's from guys who know these things really well to guys who know these things really well lol!

[scooterfan]

Does the LCM look like the dci, like a potted rectangular unit? If so, i think I remember seeing one in there the other day when I changed the bulbs.

How do I test that? And what would the workaround be?

Also, and this may sound extremely noob-ish, but does the stator charge the battery? I've read that it also feeds the lights but didn't get much farther than that.

Appreciate the help - anything I've read sounds like it's from guys who know these things really well to guys who know these things really well lol!

I am still new to these scooters and I'm still learning how things actually work.

Yes, the stators charge the batteries.

You can have a look at these comments regarding problems with LCMs. A photo of a LCM can also be seen at the link:

http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=23030.0


This explanation by a member makes it clear what caused the problems:

"I had a chance to talk to the regional Kymco rep for my area.  He explained what the issue with the S-8 was.  The electric system was designed around the Asian models which have LED lights which use less power.  Since the US version had to put in regular bulbs due to DOT requirements the Charging system was not sufficient to run the lights and charge the battery at idle to that control module was put in as a fix.  Since that module has not been reliable Kymco put out a recall on the S-8 with the fix being an upgraded stator.  Dealers should have gotten the word on this but I suspect many didn't.  If your S-8 is having problems with the headlights ask your dealer about it.  You might be able to get it fixed for free.  This only applied to certain year S-8s and I'm not sure which. "

[scooterfan]

Okay, since my previous post I decided to install two separate 4 pin relays and a separate 6 pin toggle switch to solve my headlight problem. As mentioned before, only the high and low beam lights at my scooter didn't work, all other lights worked.
When I tested the power feed to the high and low beam bulb, I did not get any voltage reading.

I didn't trust the small light switch and thin wiring, so I decided rather to install thicker wires, two relays, and a good quality toggle switch to get the lights work properly.

The wiring to the park lights was left as is, because it worked, and I already knew that the battery didn't run flat when the park lights was on.
According to some reading the stators on some models had to be upgraded, because the bulbs on those models draw more power than what the stators could handle, so the batteries kept on running flat.
I did not know whether my Agility has an upgraded stator, or whether the battery would run flat when the high / low beam bulb would work - so I decided rather to install a separate/ independent power feed to to high / low beam bulb. Fortunately I've had a couple of 4 pin relays and 6 pin (On /Off /On) toggle switch which were lying around, so I didn't have to buy anything.

For a start - I'm not an auto electrician, but I do know how relays work. So I concocted a plan to do my own DIY modification. There might be a better way to do a modification like this,  but I decided to use whatever I've got.
So I used two 4 pin relays - one for high beam, and one for low beam.

By using  the 6 pin toggle switch, both the high and low beam functions can be switched off while the park lights are on when the engine is running.
I wanted the high and low beams only to work when the Ignition Switch gets switched on, therefore I decided to use the thick black wire at the original Ignition Switch as power supply to 86 on both relays. These links (86) and 85 (negative / earth) are just an additional "switch part" on the relays. The switch part on relays only draw small current from the Ignition Switch. When 86 and 85 (the switch part on the relays) get activated by means of a separate toggle switch, the  bulb (high and low beam) draws a higher current directly from the battery (via a fuse, and terminals 30 and 87 on the relays).

In the end the modification worked exactly as I was hoping for.  A modification like this will not be suitable for other kinds of light problems though.

In short , this is a drawing of what I did:

[CROSSBOLT]

That is hot! Good show!

[scooterfan]

That is hot! Good show!

Thanks!

I should have mentioned - I used two "normally open"  4 pin relays at this modification.  Anyone who might be interested in using the drawing to do a similar modification, must use "normally open" relays - otherwise the modification will not work.

[scooterfan]

In the meanwhile I bought a 10-80 VDC  / 1080Lm  LED bulb from a local part shop. It only draws 9 to 12W from the battery.

Initially I was hoping to install a suitable LED bulb for the scooter without doing a modification, but couldn't find one. Just when I started looking for a LED bulb to do a modification, I stumbled across a dealer who sells LED bulbs which fits 100% to the original socket.

I haven't tested the LED light during the night yet, but during daylight the LED bulb clearly makes a big difference.
These photos have been taken during the day:

Photo 1 = Original bulb / Low beam.
Photo 2 = LED bulb / Low beam.
Photo 3 = Original bulb / High beam.
Photo 4 = LED bulb / High beam.


 

[scooterfan]

This is what the bulb looks like:

[CROSSBOLT]

Show us a picture of the light pattern on a wall.

[scooterfan]

Show us a picture of the light pattern on a wall.

It's already dark in our part of the world but it is raining at the moment. I will try to take pictures tomorrow evening, or the day after tomorrow.

[CROSSBOLT]

It's already dark in our part of the world but it is raining at the moment. I will try to take pictures tomorrow evening, or the day after tomorrow.

You are in +2 and I am in -6 which is 8 hours difference not to mention a different date as well! However, must be the same rain cloud! Har, har!