Peugeot Vivacity 125 Power Issues

[vivasheety125]

Hello all

I have a Peugeot Vivacity 125cc 2012 scooter which I'm having strange issues with. When i got it, it would not charge a battery at all. So i swapped out the stator and the regulator with used replacements.

I then get 13.2 - 13.3v with a meter and assumed this is normal (is it?) at the battery terminals and i took the bike out. 200 miles later and i could hear the starter motor was sounding rather laboured.. this got worse and worse till eventually all i got was a clicking noise and the clocks and lights would go out briefly and the back on again and when it did this the digital clock would reset the time.

I charged the battery and tried again and now 11 miles down the line its doing the same thing. The strange thing is, the lights will be bright and stay on fine but when you try to start it thats when the issue occurs and if you keep trying to start it without it turning over just doing the clicking thing the battery will eventually go flat and the lights go out.

Before i changed the stator and regulator it would turn over till it couldn't anymore like a normal flat battery does and slow down to a stop. Now it just clicks but the lights don't go dim if you don't touch the starter.

That said, while i was riding along tonight i could see the headlight brightening up and going dim as well as the clock lights dimming and brightening back up but then suddenly it all went fine and nothing was going dim?? This was the case till i got home but once i got home i tried to start it after turning it off and it just clicked again, dsh clock reset and everything like i explained earlier then the lights were fine...?

It's really confusing... is it not charging enough at 13.3v? (while revving the bike a bit not idle) I have to admit i did buy a very cheap sealed battery which is rated much lower than the bikes proper replacement battery (4AH vs 6AH and about half the amps) so perhaps it's that?

I was thinking it might be the starter relay or perhaps even the starter motor but I don't see how that would cause discharging nor why it would only happen when the battery appears to be close to being flat. well, at least flat where the starter is concerned as the lights seem ok... plus also how would it cause the lights to dim as im riding along.. argh... so confusing.

Can anyone help? Any advice greatly appreciated as this is (sadly) my only form of transport and I'm not able to purchase another bike as 125 prices are stupid at the moment it seems.

Thank you and ride safe.

[Easy-X]

~13.2V is okay but it's not great, ideally it should be ~14V with some revs. You say the replacements parts were used, I'd probably say they're a bit tired. Add to that a few lightly corroded connections and an underpowered battery I'd say your results are not totally unexpected

Just to cut to a cheap & quick solution may I suggest getting a trickle charger?
____________________
Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[vivasheety125]

[vivasheety125]

Made some progress... I put a properly rated direct replacement battery on it and tested it. This time I'm seeing some improvements. Could it literally just have been the cheap under rated battery??

Idle:

https://i.postimg.cc/bYnm7Nn4/IMG-20210602-133821.jpg

Revving about qtr throttle:

https://i.postimg.cc/X7cQvHQ8/IMG-20210602-133916.jpg

Riding i get 14.71 flat and it doesn't move (i presume that's the regulator kicking in) when i tried revving it before i never got over 13.3v now it's 14v+

I see the idle voltage is still a little low but i do have the actual idle at a low setting it ticks over nicely but i could get away with a higher tick over so maybe i should do that to bump the voltage up while idling??

The manual for the battery states 13.7 at idle is optimal to avoid discharging. at the moment it is 13.2 - 13.4v. The instant you touch the throttle it climbs to over 14v so will it be ok now do you think?

Could the starter relay cause this issue do you think? I've got a new one so if it could cause this issue i may as well replace it. I'm confident at this point that the regular and stator are working ok so just exploring what other problems there could be.

[Easy-X]

That sounds much better. Let's be honest here: scooters are just rag the thing on full throttle most of the time anyway, finesse is not an option In other words don't expect it to do a good job of charging the battery on idle, nothing on these things is built over-spec from my experience.

Does this model have a kickstarter?
____________________
Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[vivasheety125]

Tried a long 'ish ride and...

https://i.postimg.cc/q7yNCVcF/IMG-20210602-205517.jpg

That's with the bike idling too... It was charging earlier but now it not charging again. I only did 10 miles. I don't understand.

No, it doesn't i put a lever on it but theres no mechanism inside the case. also the lights are on constantly which drains the battery fast.

Driving me nuts, I can't understand this.

[vivasheety125]

Got up this morning, from a complete cold start (auto choke on)

https://i.postimg.cc/wx0sxPmg/IMG-20210603-095432.jpg

I can only assume the regulator is overheating? it's located in a stupid place stuck under a panel with zero air flow and directly under the exhaust and heat rises so... that's my guess.

And my solution?

https://i.postimg.cc/vHTx4zr9/IMG-20210603-104436.jpg



Might work..? Worth a shot.

[Nobby the Bastard]

Good luck on your next MOT....
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Robby]

Looks like a failing reg/rec. The reliable fix is to fit a MOSFET one. Shunt-type reg/recs will fail over time, cheap ones fail faster.

[vivasheety125]

[Nobby the Bastard]

They are usually 5 pin. 3 yellow wires in. 2 out of
Indeterminate colour.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[vivasheety125]

Mine has almost a rainbows worth of wires

https://i.postimg.cc/SNV2W0n1/IMG-20210603-134512.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/vZB1hP9Y/IMG-20210603-134526.jpg

God knows what is doing what there. Any ideas?

[Nobby the Bastard]

have a look at your stator. There should be 3 wires coming out.
____________________
trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Sprint ST 1050

[Robby]

From memory, 3 wires from the stator provide AC power to the reg/rec. Two wires out of the reg/rec provide DC12v, positive and earth. Look at your stator and wiring diagram to work which one goes where.

Look on ebay and do some googling to find a MOSFET. I think some of the Yamaha MT range have them as standard, but it's been a few years since I fitted one. Any 5 wire MOSFET reg/rec will do, but you will have to get/make an adaptor harness to make it work your existing plug.

None of this is difficult electronics, just getting wires into holes.