Have you guys tried lithium ion batteries?

[Mickelous]

I wonder if they help with lackluster starting power vs cheap internet batteries. After getting the spark plug changed everything was fine and a few days later leaving work it took several tries to get the bike to turn over with the battery light coming on. I think my internet battery I bought might be just a POS.  Thinking if I upgrade to Li ion it will solve my problem.

[wbdvt]

Have you checked the voltage regulator?  The VR may have failed and not charging the battery.  You need a digital multimeter to make voltage measurements at the battery with scooter not running, scooter running at idle and scooter at around 3000rpm.

What model/year is your scooter and how many miles?

[Mickelous]

Have you checked the voltage regulator?  The VR may have failed and not charging the battery.  You need a digital multimeter to make voltage measurements at the battery with scooter not running, scooter running at idle and scooter at around 3000rpm.

What model/year is your scooter and how many miles?

its a 2013 with about 3300 miles on it.  I have a spare reg rect just was a pain to install so I haven't done it.

[CROSSBOLT]

Ever get cold where you live or visit? Lithiums don't do well when cold.

[Mickelous]

Ever get cold where you live or visit? Lithiums don't do well when cold.

Nah Tampa Bay area nice and warm here.

[wbdvt]

well if the VR is the problem, and it is not fixed, you will just ruin a new battery.  Have you taken the battery into a shop to be tested?

[rdhood]

"Have you checked the voltage regulator?  The VR may have failed and not charging the battery.  You need a digital multimeter to make voltage measurements at the battery with scooter not running, scooter running at idle and scooter at around 3000rpm."

THIS!  It seems we have two or three threads where people are questioning batteries and charging systems, and they are throwing stuff at them to fix them without ever doing this basic troubleshooting.  It frustrates me just reading it...

[CROSSBOLT]

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger....

[scooterfan]

"Have you checked the voltage regulator?  The VR may have failed and not charging the battery.  You need a digital multimeter to make voltage measurements at the battery with scooter not running, scooter running at idle and scooter at around 3000rpm."

THIS!  It seems we have two or three threads where people are questioning batteries and charging systems, and they are throwing stuff at them to fix them without ever doing this basic troubleshooting.  It frustrates me just reading it...

Let me put it this way . For what it’s worth - before I retired I have been a workshop manager for about 17 years at a company which manufactured industrial machines for the local market. Many of our machines were driven by petrol and diesel engines and we often did repairs on those units as well.
As far as batteries and electrical problems are concerned - we have learned that at least 80 persent of electrical problems are caused by faulty batteries. Therefore our starting point in doing basic troubleshooting was to get the batteries tested properly BEFORE we bothered to start looking for other possible causes of a problem.

I must be honest - I do get a bit frustrated if people “get frustrated” about reading about advice from other forum members. We all can learn from each other - even when certain advice are not applicable for a specific problem. Most people usually join forums like this in case they have problems, or to solve problems. Therefore members should never be discouraged to give advice at any forum.
If we start going that route - this very forum will die a slow death.

Sorry about my “Wronglish” - English is not my first language.

[mousejunks]

I wonder if they help with lackluster starting power vs cheap internet batteries. After getting the spark plug changed everything was fine and a few days later leaving work it took several tries to get the bike to turn over with the battery light coming on. I think my internet battery I bought might be just a POS.  Thinking if I upgrade to Li ion it will solve my problem.

No need for lithium unless you can deal with the initial cost. Get a good AGM battery such as Motobatt, Yuasa or Katana etc rather than a conventional wet cell. Also check your regulator for charging voltage output, minimum of 14 volts at 3000-4000 rpm.

I wrote a detailed guide a while back: https://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=24424.0

[rdhood]

"I must be honest - I do get a bit frustrated if people “get frustrated” about reading about advice from other forum members. We all can learn from each other - even when certain advice are not applicable for a specific problem"

Sure we can, but there's no reason to go round and round for 20 replies when basic troubleshooting hasn't even been done. You are biased to change a part. Everybody's trying to learn something, and the bit to learn here is that it's better to troubleshoot than to throw Parts at the problem. The first bits of information that you need to know are: your resting voltage, and voltage while running (at idle and at speed).

[rdhood]

BTW, the three easiest places to take measurements are : at the battery, from the accessory socket (if yours is working) , and up under  the front fairing.  If you have a tender on the battery, that is ideal as well. Whatever is easiest for you to get a voltage.

Now, here is what my Downtown does and what you should expect:  When I turn the ignition on, the voltage is going to drop into the 11.x . After you crank, it will go to charging at 13.9 v to 14.4v.   I would test the battery and then change the regulator if it ever dropped to below 13.2v charging at any point after startup.  If my Downtown drops into the 10.x volts , it is iffy if it will start. Sometimes I get lucky.  I dont mean to be disrespectful.  I want you to find the problem , and fix it, and ride! After two weeks you are still scratching your head on it, and I think you are making it way too hard on yourself.   When I decided to run heated clothing, I had to figure out what exactly the Downtown could do, lest I find myself at the side of the road frozen. I decided that I needed to know the state of the battery and charging at all times.  So I put an accessory-to-SAE plug in the accessory port, and ran it to an SAE voltage indicator. Since then, I have kept an eye on it just like I do engine temp, etc.  But even if you dont want to mount one somewhere,  It is always good to have in your toolkit ($12) , and it will attach to your battery tender cable ($8) (which you should also install to do battery maintenance).  You might already have done so!  While my wheel is off for tire change, I am currently installing a second 15A cable with SAE end connector to the glove box.  Unlike the accessory port fuse, this fuse will be accessible through the cable window in the tub. I used a fishtape to pull the wire from the front through the tunnel . You can see both the tender cable and soon to be glove box cable here:

 

[Mickelous]

BTW, the three easiest places to take measurements are : at the battery, from the accessory socket (if yours is working) , and up under  the front fairing.  If you have a tender on the battery, that is ideal as well. Whatever is easiest for you to get a voltage.

Now, here is what my Downtown does and what you should expect:  When I turn the ignition on, the voltage is going to drop into the 11.x . After you crank, it will go to charging at 13.9 v to 14.4v.   I would test the battery and then change the regulator if it ever dropped to below 13.2v charging at any point after startup.  If my Downtown drops into the 10.x volts , it is iffy if it will start. Sometimes I get lucky.  I dont mean to be disrespectful.  I want you to find the problem , and fix it, and ride! After two weeks you are still scratching your head on it, and I think you are making it way too hard on yourself.   When I decided to run heated clothing, I had to figure out what exactly the Downtown could do, lest I find myself at the side of the road frozen. I decided that I needed to know the state of the battery and charging at all times.  So I put an accessory-to-SAE plug in the accessory port, and ran it to an SAE voltage indicator. Since then, I have kept an eye on it just like I do engine temp, etc.  But even if you dont want to mount one somewhere,  It is always good to have in your toolkit ($12) , and it will attach to your battery tender cable ($8) (which you should also install to do battery maintenance).  You might already have done so!  While my wheel is off for tire change, I am currently installing a second 15A cable with SAE end connector to the glove box.  Unlike the accessory port fuse, this fuse will be accessible through the cable window in the tub. I used a fishtape to pull the wire from the front through the tunnel . You can see both the tender cable and soon to be glove box cable here:

I'll hook it up to a multimeter when I get home and check it out.

[scooterfan]

"I must be honest - I do get a bit frustrated if people “get frustrated” about reading about advice from other forum members. We all can learn from each other - even when certain advice are not applicable for a specific problem"

Sure we can, but there's no reason to go round and round for 20 replies when basic troubleshooting hasn't even been done. You are biased to change a part. Everybody's trying to learn something, and the bit to learn here is that it's better to troubleshoot than to throw Parts at the problem. The first bits of information that you need to know are: your resting voltage, and voltage while running (at idle and at speed).

You are misreading my comments. I am not biased - I always advice owners to get their batteries PROPERLY TESTED before they do anything, or buy any component.

I have no idea where you are getting the “you are biased to change a part” from.
 

[CROSSBOLT]

BTW, the three easiest places to take measurements are : at the battery, from the accessory socket (if yours is working) , and up under  the front fairing.  If you have a tender on the battery, that is ideal as well. Whatever is easiest for you to get a voltage.

Now, here is what my Downtown does and what you should expect:  When I turn the ignition on, the voltage is going to drop into the 11.x . After you crank, it will go to charging at 13.9 v to 14.4v.   I would test the battery and then change the regulator if it ever dropped to below 13.2v charging at any point after startup.  If my Downtown drops into the 10.x volts , it is iffy if it will start. Sometimes I get lucky.  I dont mean to be disrespectful.  I want you to find the problem , and fix it, and ride! After two weeks you are still scratching your head on it, and I think you are making it way too hard on yourself.   When I decided to run heated clothing, I had to figure out what exactly the Downtown could do, lest I find myself at the side of the road frozen. I decided that I needed to know the state of the battery and charging at all times.  So I put an accessory-to-SAE plug in the accessory port, and ran it to an SAE voltage indicator. Since then, I have kept an eye on it just like I do engine temp, etc.  But even if you dont want to mount one somewhere,  It is always good to have in your toolkit ($12) , and it will attach to your battery tender cable ($8) (which you should also install to do battery maintenance).  You might already have done so!  While my wheel is off for tire change, I am currently installing a second 15A cable with SAE end connector to the glove box.  Unlike the accessory port fuse, this fuse will be accessible through the cable window in the tub. I used a fishtape to pull the wire from the front through the tunnel . You can see both the tender cable and soon to be glove box cable here:

One little point about ignition switched on, the volts show "11.x?" Should be 12.6 basically no load with fully charged battery. Least it is on mine (X2).