CDI died at 9200km (2009 125 Agility / Movie)

[scooterfan]

So after just more than 700 happy kms. my “new” scoot suddenly started letting me down. The engine started cutting out after a couple of kms., and I soon noticed that the engin started instantly after the engine cooled down a bit. But after riding a couple of kms again, the engine would cut out again.
Eventually the engine died completely, and would’nt start again.

My first thoughts were “feul problems” - and I checked everything. I checked the Feul filter, hoses, breather hole in feul cap, and stripped the carb for a proper clean. When I opened the carb, it became clear that the problem could not be fuel related. Everything was perfectly clean and the fuel level inside the bowl was correct.

So I realized I was facing an electric problem, and removed the spark plug to see if there is any spark.
I immediately realized that I should have checked the spark in the first place - there was no spark at all. I immediately tried a new spark plug, but could’nt find any spark either. Then I did an ohm test on the spark plug ignition coil, but could’nt find anything wrong.

So I started doing some reading at the forum, and watched some Youtube videos. I soon realized that
I should focus on on only three more possibilities - loose or faulty wire connections, the CDI, and ignition switch.
I checked all wire connections, but because checking the wires properly would take quite some time I started doing some phone calls to try and find a new CDI.
I then hit the Jackpot. A local scooter dealer offered me an aftermarket 2nd hand CDI just to see if my problem was CDI related. The dealer actually sells cheaper Chinese scooters and told me I just had to send him photos of the Kymco’s CDI. According to him he would’nt have a geniune Kymco CDI, and although some of the CDI’s in his posession might look similar to the Kymco CDI, it would not work. He wanted to see spesific appearance details on my CDI.

I sent a couple of photos to the dealer, and after a while he gave me a call. “Got one for you - it’s an aftermarket component, but it should work” he said.
So I collected the CDI, plugged it in, and Bingo, it worked and still works perfectly !

After I realized that the problem was solved I was considering rather to install a geniune Kymco CDI, but soon discovered that the price of a genuine Kymco CDI would be about three times more than the price of an aftermarket CDI. Being a “cheapskate” all my life, I decided to go for the cheaper aftermarket component from the dealer who helped me.
After all, this dealer was wery helpful and I have no reason not to support him.

[CROSSBOLT]

Outstanding report!

[jeeves]

Good report! [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
I've had similar problems with my Agility City ( https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ekymcoforum%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%3Ftopic%3D27284%2E0&share_tid=27284&share_fid=32396&share_type=t ), and narrowed it down to the CDI, TPS unit or wire harness.
Will probably buy a new CDI soon.
The scoot has been working fine the last couple of rides, but don't trust it.



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[Stig / Major Tom]

Would you like to give this helpful dealer a plug here? (name, location?)
Always nice to know where we can find dealers like this.
Stig

[scooterfan]

Good report! [emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]
I've had similar problems with my Agility City ( https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ekymcoforum%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%3Ftopic%3D27284%2E0&share_tid=27284&share_fid=32396&share_type=t ), and narrowed it down to the CDI, TPS unit or wire harness.
Will probably buy a new CDI soon.
The scoot has been working fine the last couple of rides, but don't trust it.


Thanks !
To my experience I think it might make sense to keep a spare new spark plug inside the the box as part of a “tool kit”. In my case the CDI did’nt die instantly - it started shutting the engine off more regularly by time.
Problem is, it looks like it is quite imported to check if there is any spark as soon as the engine died - because it would’nt help to wait untill the engine has cooled down. By the time the engine cooled down the plug will have spark again,  and the engine will start anyway.  I think there is no need to unscrew a hot plug from the engine when it died - just keep a new plug handy, remove the plug wire from the hot plug, connect the plug wire to the new plug, ground the new plug to the cylinder head, and hit the start button to see if any spark can be seen.

Should you decide to go the aftermarket CDI route, this info might help:

1. When I started making calls trying to find a suitable CDI, two different dealers told me they would’nt have the original part, but they needed to see what the original part actially looks like. They were not really interested in the part number on my CDI   (TYC-D401).
By trying to find out what they actually needed to see, they told my :
- They needed outer dimentions of the original CDI,
- They needed to see the color of the plug on the original CDI.
- They needed to see a close photo of the plug itself, to see what the plug pins look like,
- They needed to see if there is a small gap between the plug and the CDI body.
  (Aparently the existance (or non existance) of a small gap between the plug on the CDI, and CDI
  itself is very important.) They told me should the original CDI has a small gap between the plug and
  the CDI body, an aftermarket CDI MUST have a similar gap . According to them any aftermarket CDI
  without that small gap will simply not work - even if everything else looks the same.

In short - I received an aftermarket CDI from the supplier. Plug color is the similar (white), plug pins are the same, and the aftermarket CDI also has a small gap (about 4mm) between the white plug and CDI housing. And yes, it works perfectly - at about 1/3 of the price of an OEM component.



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[scooterfan]

Would you like to give this helpful dealer a plug here? (name, location?)
Always nice to know where we can find dealers like this.
Stig

Unfortunately I am from South Africa. Local dealers should be willing to help, but I think time and shipment cost might kill a deal.

I will try to contact the dealer tomorrow. Unfortunately the aftermarket CDI has no brand name or any ID numbers. Maybe I will be able to get a part number or brand name from the supplyer. All I know at this stage - they sell Jonway (Chinese) scooters, but they also work on all kinds of scooters.

[scooterfan]

Outstanding report!

Thanks ! I actually thought maybe we can actually try to keep record about the lifespan of these components, and maybe we can find a “short cut” to solve problems.
I wasted almost three days on reading, watching Youtube videos, even cleaned the carb., instead of just using my spare spark plug to see if there is any spark !

[Viper254]

Keep an eye on the rev limiters, they're not always set correctly on aftermarket CDIs. Otherwise, good job!

[scooterfan]

Keep an eye on the rev limiters, they're not always set correctly on aftermarket CDIs. Otherwise, good job!

Thanks for the warning. I never went faster than 100 km/h with both CDIs, and performance seem to be exactly the same. I don’t like over revving engines, so unfortunately I will probably never experience any difference.
Who knows - maybe all these things come from the same manufacturer ?

[jeeves]

Thanks for the info!
Just ordered an aftermarket CDI from www.racing-planet.de
They advertise that the CDI they are selling replaces original Kymco CDI 30410-LEJ3-E10 which I have.


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[scooterfan]

Thanks for the info!
Just ordered an aftermarket CDI from www.racing-planet.de
They advertise that the CDI they are selling replaces original Kymco CDI 30410-LEJ3-E10 which I have.


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Thanks for sharing the info.
Since my previous post I did more reading about the 125cc models and it became clear that due to specific problems at some stage,  it looks like Kymco has actually changed CDI's on certain models . I think the fact that the part number on your CDI, as well as the different color of the plug on your CDI is just further proof that Kymco indeed made some changes for specific reasons.

These are photos from the faulty (original) Kymco CDI - which has been replaced with a similar looking aftermarket component. The "gap" between the white plug and black CDI housing can be seen on the first photo:


As indicated before, the part number on the original (faulty) CDI on my Agility is TYC-D401.  This part number clearly differs from the part number at your photo.

I could be wrong, but to my understanding Kymco started using different components at a certain stage on these scooters due to constant problems with the front headlight bulb which often did'nt work. Apparently some models came with an LCM which was bolted next to the voltage regulator - but due to problems the LCMs have been thrown out at some stage, the stators have been upgraded, and it looks like they started using different CDI's as well:

http://www.kymcoforum.com/index.php?topic=23030.0


For the time being the bulb at my Scoot's front light does'nt come on. I have no idea how the dealer managed to get a roadworthy certificate from the traffic department, but I need to find a way to make it work. Taking the scooter back to the dealer is not an option ....

 

[CROSSBOLT]

This is nonsense to stick the owners and riders to sort this stuff out. However, that very thing was the nature of my letter to the CEO of Kymco USA: Let us help your dealers! Yeah, good luck with that! We will see....
Good show!

[scooterfan]

This is nonsense to stick the owners and riders to sort this stuff out. However, that very thing was the nature of my letter to the CEO of Kymco USA: Let us help your dealers! Yeah, good luck with that! We will see....
Good show!

Kymco has just been taken over by Bidwest / Suzuki in South Africa. I discovered this just after I bought the Kymco. I was quite shocked to discover that Kymco’s warehouse in our area has been closed comepletely, and that dealers who previously worked on Kymcos did not even know that parts are not available from the warehouse any longer.
By pure fluke I discovered that all Kymco parts have been sent to a local Suzuki warehouse.
When I asked somebody at the Suzuki warehouse for a CDI, he called me back after a while and told me “ We received lots and lots of Kymco parts. According to the computer we have stock, but the parts still need to be sorted and it might take some time to find the CDI”.

I’ve never been loyal to any dealer. Having said that - as far as my Kymco is conserned I decided to be  loyal to the dealer who sells cheaper Chinese scooters. After all, this dealer gave me very important info about how to identify an aftermarket CDI to keep my Kymco mobile. On top of this - this dealer sells aftermarket CDI’s wich cost more than 3 times less than the genuine CDI at a Suzuki dealer. As far as I am concerned the Suzuki dealers can keep on selling Suzuki parts, I don’t care at all.

Service cost in South Africa is very expensive and I will never take the Kymco to any dealer for a service or repairs. It simply would’nt make sense.  Fortunately I am mechanical minded and I’ve done all services and repairs on all my motorcycles and vehicles all my life. To my mind it does’nt make sense not to do own services and repairs on small, cheap scooters like my 125 Agility. These scooters clearly need regular services and maintenance, and it should be fairly easy for most owners with average mechanical skills to sort out problems themselves.

[jeeves]

Service cost in South Africa is very expensive and I will never take the Kymco to any dealer for a service or repairs. It simply would’nt make sense.  Fortunately I am mechanical minded and I’ve done all services and repairs on all my motorcycles and vehicles all my life. To my mind it does’nt make sense not to do own services and repairs on small, cheap scooters like my 125 Agility. These scooters clearly need regular services and maintenance, and it should be fairly easy for most owners with average mechanical skills to sort out problems themselves.

These are simple and easy scooter to work on. Keep in mind that some generic Chinese GY6 part do not work on or don't fit Kymco scooters.

[CROSSBOLT]

I have to rimind myself Scooterfan that you are in South Africa! Your last post had me going! Yes, simple is better and the forums are where most of the good info is!