pcx 125 not starting at all

[mikebh3000]

Hi,
I am new with a bike, and my pck 125 is not starting at all, I followed the instructions but nothing happened, the previous owner left the bike inside his garage for a while, wondering if it may be a battery issue or something else.

Thanks
Mike

[GeorgeSK]

We will need details.
You turn the key on. What happens with the instrument panel? Headlight? Do the turn signals and horn work?

You flick the kill switch to ON. Do you hear anything?

Obviously when you squeeze the daylights out of the left (or even right) brake lever with the sidestand up, nothing happens, but without knowing the whole story we know nothing.

Adding location to your profile would also be a nice touch. Thanks.

[Mel46]

If you turn the key to the on position you should hear something, and see some lights on the dash. If not, charge the battery.

If you get lights make sure the side kickstand is up. It will NOT start with the side Stand down.
Then squeeze the left brake lever.
Make sure the kill rocker is in the proper position, give the bike a little gas and press the start button.

If nothing happens, charge the battery. How old is the battery? If a charge won't hold then buy a new one.

[mikebh3000]

Hi Guys,
When I turned the key on everything lights, and you can hear the fuel pump pumping but when I hit the start switch nothing happened at all.

I did centered the bike and kick the stand up but still nothing.

I do not know how old the battery is.

I will try tonight adding some gas before hitting the start switch.

Thank you

[GeorgeSK]

You did not mention squeezing the brake lever....

[JustPassinThru]

Hi Guys,
When I turned the key on everything lights, and you can hear the fuel pump pumping but when I hit the start switch nothing happened at all.

I did centered the bike and kick the stand up but still nothing.

I do not know how old the battery is.

I will try tonight adding some gas before hitting the start switch.

Thank you

With fuel injection there is no need to add gas to start it.

The starter/stator (the stator, the charging doo-hickey, doubles as the starter on the PCX) doesn't spin. Squeeze a brake handle and try again. Then squeeze both.

Make sure the side stand is up.

[Mel46]

If I don't give mine a little gas it sputter but won't catch. Still, even if it does not catch it should give an indication that it wants to start. I haven't gone outside and tested it, but does anyone know if you would even get the fuel pump online IF your side Stand is down?

I am thinking that the battery is too weak , Mike. You may need a new one. Try to jump start the bike. If that works it is definitely the battery. Batteries are the weak point on these scooters.

[mikebh3000]

Hi Guys, thank you for your help, I got the new battery and the scooter is working just fine.

Looks like the battery wasn't holding enough power.

Thank you

[GeorgeSK]

Yea for a simple fix! Excellent.

But it sure can be a PITA head-scratcher until you find the simple fix...

[JustPassinThru]

If I don't give mine a little gas it sputter but won't catch. Still, even if it does not catch it should give an indication that it wants to start. I haven't gone outside and tested it, but does anyone know if you would even get the fuel pump online IF your side Stand is down?

I am thinking that the battery is too weak , Mike. You may need a new one. Try to jump start the bike. If that works it is definitely the battery. Batteries are the weak point on these scooters.

Interesting...I had to replace the battery in my 125. The proud new owner got a nine-month-old battery.

That seldom happens these days...batteries have become miraculous, almost. I was thinking maybe Honda cut corners at their PCX plant...but then...

...Forty years ago, I worked on a golf course. We had a new Jacobsen reel-type professional riding lawn mower we had set for tees. Tees, of course, were cut one height; greens another (very close) and fairways longer. Roughs, the areas off the fairways, even higher.

So we had different mowers for each. This Jacobsen had the latest/greatest innovation...a belt-generator that doubled as a STARTER. No need to worry about the starter clutch stripping out. This thing would always spin, would always be engaged; and a button near the footrests, looked like an old floor-mounted dimmer switch, turned the Delco-Remy generator into a starter.

Neat trick, I thought. Until I found that jump-starting that thing was almost routine. Battery was fine; and there was an ammeter gauge by the starter button; but apparently with that technology of that bygone year, combining a starter purpose with a generator purpose, gave you something that was marginal in both.

Of course, times change, and progress marches on; and...a bit of trivia here, GE locomotives, and they're Mister Big in the locomotive-manufacture field now...they use their prime-mover alternators as starters now. Odd to experience...you twist the starter switch, and that big old Cooper-designed diesel starts creeping around...gaining some speed, and then you hear telltale clatter as it starts catching. I guess THOSE are up to it, since those alternators generate 600 volts at 1400 amps, to move googobs of freight cars; but maybe the PCX design was a little light-duty for its task.

[Mel46]

Well the PCX starter/alternator seems to work fine, but one problem with normal batteries is that they continually discharge, even if you are doing nothing with it. Thus, when you start your bike it has to use whatever is left in the battery to start it, and then it has to work at recharging all that lost energy before it can balance out. Each start pulls on the battery reserve again. That is tough on batteries.

Short runs dont always get the battery back up to full, and the start/stop system works fine only if you are doing enough riding to get the battery back up to full again.That is the nature of it.

Lithium is different in that it discharges a whole lot less while sitting, so it can last a long long time. However, when it dies, it is stone cold DEAD. Slight disadvantage.

[JustPassinThru]

Yep.

A trickle-charger with a quick-disconnect, is a worthwhile setup - if there's a place to plug it in.