The Honda PCX / Forza / ADV150 / SH Forums

Hi all.

Fairly new here (and to riding for that matter). Have come across a small hiccup recently. My daily commute is about an hour and 10 min. I notice at the end of the commute if I stop to go to the shops for five min, when I come back the engine wont start. A couple of times I waited a few min then it kicked back in. Last week Friday stopped at the end of the road to go to the shop and it just would not start. Tried a few times (waiting a couple of min between tries) with no luck. Had to walk it home.... oh the shame... Started fine Saturday morning though. Today had the same thing, got home from work and stopped around the corner for petrol. Wouldnt start. Tried twice with no luck. Waited 5 min then it kicked back in. Is this something anyone else has encountered?

Hello. Does the engine crank and it doesn't start or is there nothing happening. Also, is the side stand down or are you pulling the rear brake lever enough? Sound stupid I know but it's been done.

Alibally wrote:Hello. Does the engine crank and it doesn't start or is there nothing happening. Also, is the side stand down or are you pulling the rear brake lever enough? Sound stupid I know but it's been done.

Oh yes. Most of us have been caught out at least once

Alibally wrote:Hello. Does the engine crank and it doesn't start or is there nothing happening. Also, is the side stand down or are you pulling the rear brake lever enough? Sound stupid I know but it's been done.

Hi Alibally. Nothing happens at all. Very rarely use the side stand (it wasnt down on those occassions) and if I had pulled the brake down anymore I would've probably snapped the lever lol. *hulk smash!*

you you wrote:

Alibally wrote:Hello. Does the engine crank and it doesn't start or is there nothing happening. Also, is the side stand down or are you pulling the rear brake lever enough? Sound stupid I know but it's been done.

Oh yes. Most of us have been caught out at least once

Oh I have been caught out doing much worse but glad to report I am not guilty this time

You get ignition lights? Does the headlamp look bright? There has been some reports of battery problems.

I do get the ignition light and the headlights are on but in all honesty didnt check if they were as bright as usual. On that note, this morning it cranked but wouldnt come on. Coupla tries with no luck. Had to call in the RAC. The guy plugged in his charger and it came on straight away. He reckons the battery is on its way out and to replace it. Spoke to a friend who says just to get a battery charger and all will be fine. Confused now...

I think I would be getting a battery. You don't want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere. Either that or take it to a dealer that has a good battery tester to get a second opinion. I have seen battery's that charge up ok but go open circuit randomly for some reason.

I'd take the bike to the dealer, especially if it's still under warranty.

FWIW, when I got my PCX150 back after the 600 mile service in August (performed at 900 because I didn't give it up so quickly!), the head tech brought it out to me from his garage and turned it off, reviewed everything he did, and left me to suit up and leave. When I tried to start it though, it was dead. I called him over to check out, and it still wouldn't start. He brought over a jump starter and said that this has happened before, and was likely caused by moving it from the shop to the garage, moving it around to bring out to me, and then another start when I tried... all these starts with no actual riding to recharge may have drained it. People here on the board have said that is a line of BS and that the battery may have been faulty, but I've never had a problem since then. However, I've since installed a trickle charger in my garage, as I know I won't be doing much if any riding until spring at this point.

I know of other riders who have had problems with their batteries. If it isn't strong enough to handle multiple starts in a day then it needs to be replaced. If the engine won't turn over but the lights come on, try to jump start it just for the sake of testing. If it jump starts when it wouldn't otherwise turn over it is the battery trying to tell you that it is about to die....probably a bad cell. Replace the battery and see if it does the same thing. I bet it won't.

Thanks all for the help in diagnosis and suggestions. I am thinking battery replacement may be the best place to start.

Mel46 wrote:I know of other riders who have had problems with their batteries. If it isn't strong enough to handle multiple starts in a day then it needs to be replaced. If the engine won't turn over but the lights come on, try to jump start it just for the sake of testing. If it jump starts when it wouldn't otherwise turn over it is the battery trying to tell you that it is about to die....probably a bad cell. Replace the battery and see if it does the same thing. I bet it won't.

Apologies for being a complete novice here but how would I jump start? May sound a silly question but I will plead lack of experience on two wheels.

Quick question about batteries. Would a battery with slightly higher Ah be a good idea. I know the owners manual says 5Ah but even a dealer was saying a 6Ah battery would be fine. The best options seems to be a Yuasa YTZ7S which is rated at 6Ah. I assume that isnt a big difference but too high, i.e. 8 or 9 might fry a few fuses... any thoughts.

The ah rating won't affect the fuses. It the capacity of the battery not the voltage. As long as it's 12 volt and it fits in the hole it will be fine. A higher ah rating means it will power any loads longer than the lower one.

binje wrote:.

Quick question about batteries. Would a battery with slightly higher Ah be a good idea. I know the owners manual says 5Ah but even a dealer was saying a 6Ah battery would be fine. The best options seems to be a Yuasa YTZ7S which is rated at 6Ah. I assume that isnt a big difference but too high, i.e. 8 or 9 might fry a few fuses... any thoughts.

Increase in ah is ok, but check for physical size.

binje wrote:Apologies for being a complete novice here but how would I jump start? May sound a silly question but I will plead lack of experience on two wheels.

Keep the car off. Black terminal on the scooter to black on the car. Red on the car to red on the scooter. Just like you'd jump a car.

Is it possible/ok to pushstart the scooter?

You can't push start a CVT scooter, sadly.

I got my PCX 150 7 days ago and after over 200km of riding, I decided to check the voltage of the battery for the fun of it. I got 12.61V or 12.62V, at most! For a new scooter (ok it's last year's model), I expect the battery to be a lot more than what I have at the moment. I'll check again tomorrow morning. If the voltage is the same, I'll recharge it. I hope that the battery isn't flat before and got sulphated

The battery is only 12V!!! Don't charge it for christs sake! An alternator on a car puts out between 12-15v. This is a scooter with a 12volt system.

If your having any trouble at all with no starts replace our battery. I left the key on for six hours the other day and forgot about it. When i came back I left the key off for 20 minutes and then it started up, maybe cranked 1.5 times as long as normal but no problems. I never use a charger and ride several times a week if that makes any difference.

gohjohan wrote:I got my PCX 150 7 days ago and after over 200km of riding, I decided to check the voltage of the battery for the fun of it. I got 12.61V or 12.62V, at most!

That is what it should be.

It isn't the voltage that you should be checking it is the amps under load. Jump starting you PCX may be a bit of a problem because of where you access it, but it is doable. Like Maddiedog said, it is just like jumping a car. When I first purchased my Burgman the battery was dead so we used a car to jump start it. I couldn't ride it home because the battery acts as a voltage stabilizer, which won't work if the circuit gets interrupted when you stop the bike because it isn't charging during idle.