Longjia Alien 50cc - Turn Key -> Electrics Die
 

Hi folks,


I have a Longjia Alien 50 (2010) that's been serving as main transport for the last few months. Was in a pretty poor state when I got the thing and it has already served me twice as long as expected.

I noticed a slowing reliability with the battery being enough to get the thing started, chalked it up to drain and promised myself I'd buy a new battery and do all the checks later on.

Started relying on kickstart, safe to say - for too long. Kickstart began slipping and struggling to start the bike, and decided it was time to fix the electrical issues.

Bought a new battery, fully charged, run the multimeter over it - no issues.
Dash clock comes on, but when the key is turned to ignition, it dies immediately... Checked the main fuse with the mutli, all good.

Unfortunately, a bit out of my depth when it comes to electic. Currently sitting in my garage with the full body kit off and looking for someone to point me in the right direction.


Many thanks! Cheers.

When you say "it dies immediately" - what dies? All lights etc go off? If so, you have a short or bad ground. Start by checking ALL connections you can easily see, including inside the headlight and anywhere else you can easily access. Take the connectors apart and make sure they look clean and shiny. Put back together and see what happens. Still nothing - look for more fuses, and disconnect them.Disconnect any wiring "chunks" that you can and still have the ignition light come on - in other words, reduce the number of things connected. See if the problem is solved.
Check especially all grounds - they are more important than you think.

If it was simply hard to start, it's not necessarily "electrical" issues making it hard to start.

It's a 2 stroke, so the first thing I'd do is put a fresh spark plug in it. No matter what, I'd do that. On a 2-stroke, always carry a spare plug. They're wonderfully simple and reliable, but with one big weak point - spark plugs.

good luck!

Hey Grant!


Thanks mate. The clock is the only thing that functions, and "it dies" when ignition is turned on. It's an old bike, likely been fixed by a youngling at some point judging by the stickers plastered over the kit. I know the headlights were an issue so I disconnected those first and tried again. There are a few connecters that seem to have wires running back into themselves - and all of them are definitely dirty.

I'll take your advice, give everything a clean, sort out a new spark plug and trial and error disconnecting and reconnecting some things. I found a video series called "Scooter 911" that covers testing the starter relay circut - so I'll follow that along and see what I can figure out.

I'll play close attention to the gounds as you suggest. May I ask for you to clarify what you mean by "chunks"

Cheers mate! I appreciate the advice.

Look up how to do a Voltage drop test.

It's pretty easy and only requires a cheap multimeter.

Start with the cable going from your battery to your ignition switch. And check the positive and earth sides.

If this is beyond your comfort level, then I'm afraid there's not much more you can do beyond what Grant originally advised.

"chunks" = headlight system, or handlebar switch etc. i.e. SIMPLIFY and ELIMINATE. :)