Idle stop worries

Scottish · Post by **Scottish** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:06 am

Several times now I've been at a set of lights and the idle stop has failed, it's over two years old now and this has happened 4 or 5 times..
today was the worst tho as the bike wouldnt start after the incident (normally it does) after 15 mins I came back and it started, however as my helmet was still in the top box i had to turn it off again and yep it didnt want to start again after that, pressing the starter caused the dash to turn off and on again...so after waiting an hour I finally managed to get it started (wearing my helmet this time) and was able to get home!

So i'm going to quit using the idle stop from now on, I'd rather know that I'm going to get away at a set of traffic lights instead of saving a teaspoonful of fuel every hundred miles.

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:19 am

How often do you ride your scooter and does it get a good run or is it mainly city use?
Mine will be three in October, is approaching 16,000 miles and has never had any such problem although it spends most of its time between 55 and 60.

Hyadum · Post by **Hyadum** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:46 am

I think the battery is dead. They seem to have a better on the pcx 150, but nevertheless if you spend more time between stop lights that actually riding to charge it up, it will loose power.

maddiedog · Post by **maddiedog** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:52 am

Is it possible the sensor under the seat was messed up?

trigg123 · Post by **trigg123** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:44 pm

give the plug a clean or change and give the battery a charge......see how you go :-)

Scottish · Post by **Scottish** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:02 pm

I ride on average every second day, mostly city riding with the occasional long haul (100+ miles), I dont think its a seat sensor thing tho, I may be wrong on that but I dont think so...I'll try trigg123's idea, thanks for that!, and then just continue without idle stop until its time for a new battery.

Alibally · Post by **Alibally** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:02 pm

Bridge the wires for the switch at the front of the seat and try it. Also the side stand switch may also stop it starting , but if that was faulty the bike might cut out when riding it.

Cascanciu · Post by **Cascanciu** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 5:26 pm

You have just described the symptoms I had before my battery died.

Sorry for the bad news. I got mine replaced under warranty because the dealer accepted to replace it. Honda Spain had actually refused to do so. Now I don't use the idle stop any longer. The engine is quiet enough at traffic lights and I don't wanna chance another flat battery.

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:31 pm

Does it go into idle stop mode with the orangie/yellow light on the dash blinking or do you not see the light. If you dont see the blinking light its possibly the seat pressure switch. Only time Ive had trouble starting is when it gets flooded. Just go through the flooded engine procedure of cranking at full throttle to sort that.

Pcxdemon · Post by **Pcxdemon** » Wed Jul 03, 2013 2:47 am

Its the battery..full stop! Idle stop will chew the battery in no time if using it in the city all the time...I just replaced mine with Shorai Lithium Ion battery that has 135cca power instead the Yuasa ytz7s 130cca. Shorai has another one for Pcx thats even more powerful at 210cca.....Also its cheaper than Yuasa by quite a bit.

Pedro-agogo · Post by **Pedro-agogo** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 3:45 am

I quit using the idle stop after my first day. It's too eerie sitting at a highway intersection with cars & trucks roaring past with no sound coming from the bike. It adds a level of stress (whether it will start) that I don't need. If I really want to save fuel & money I'll ride a bicycle!

haildamage · Post by **haildamage** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 7:27 am

i agree, its the battery. replace it ASAP before it leaves you stranded. i had to get a jump start twice before i figured that out. luckily here in the dense urban jungle there was a bike shop or car shop within 50 meters both times.

Taz · Post by **Taz** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 3:56 pm

My first tank of gas I ran the pcx without idle stop to get used to it. After that I used idlestop and once used to it after a couple of commutes, think its brilliant. Its so nice waiting at lights in tranquility and no vibrations it reduces stress

Cascanciu · Post by **Cascanciu** » Thu Jul 04, 2013 5:59 pm

Taz wrote:My first tank of gas I ran the pcx without idle stop to get used to it. After that I used idlestop and once used to it after a couple of commutes, think its brilliant. Its so nice waiting at lights in tranquility and no vibrations it reduces stress

I agree that it is a nice feature of the PCX, but it looks like it still needs to be refined a bit more. If you remember my thread complaining about my dead battery, I had posted a link in which there were some explanations on how the idle stop system works. The stator charges the battery when idling, when decelerating and when running at constant speed and never under acceleration. If you do short commutes within the city as I do (usually 15 to 20 minutes of urban jungle in my case), there's not much of constant speed, there's quite a bit of braking and a lot of acceleration. The battery won't charge much. I have, therefore, decided to quit using the idle stop.

Scottish · Post by **Scottish** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:01 am

is it easy to replace the battery yourself? or is it better to get a shop to do it?

Best price i could find was £30.36 with free delivery
http://www.allbatteries.co.uk/motorbike ... -2011.html

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:24 am

Piece of piss to swap the battery, five minute job.

Urbanian · Post by **Urbanian** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:57 am

For those of us without idlestop (who encounter LOOOONG red lights in our regular rabbit trails), the easy way to kill the engine is to discreetly lower the kickstand briefly. It’s the only way to stop the engine without turning off the lights; which is good to keep in mind when travelling in the evening. Just keep your thumb on the starter…

Not sure I would want to kill the engine at every stop, but you know where the long lights are, and you know the frustration of barely missing the green. So, for the occasional tedious wait, I take the liberty of sitting quietly.

Marko · Post by **Marko** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:49 am

Slightly off topic here, but a couple of people mentioned a seat sensor. I have a 2012 (red) model PCX. I have just done the valves, and therefor removed the seat and all the plastic, but didn't notice a seat sensor. Does my model have one, where is it and what is it for?

gn2 · Post by **gn2** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 5:53 am

If it had one you would have noticed two wires near the hinge which have to be disconnected to get the seat off.
I believe the switch was removed on newer models.

khaosaming · Post by **khaosaming** » Sun Jul 14, 2013 6:20 am

Scottish wrote:is it easy to replace the battery yourself?

--------------
Do it yourself. It's very easy.

1. Open the seat
2. Find the battery compartment hatch and release the plastic notch by pressing it
3. Remove the hatch
4. Disconnect and reconnect battery terminals in this order -+/+-
5. Release the rubber belt
6. Take out the battery (it's in a reclining position)

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