Battery appears to die when ignition key is turned on

[urbanista]

Originally Posted by bull

Lots of possibilities from corroded terminals in the switch, to battery going bad, to charging system problems. Grab your DMM and carry it with you, when it happens next time check batt voltage. When you get it running check the charging voltage.

Oh . . . so this is where it gets embarrassing. I don't have a volt meter and I don't even know what a DMM is. :-(

Is it possible that the battery is strong enough to power the clock but too weak to start the scooter? Over the weekend, I tinkered with the fuse (there's a skinny red wire that connects to the positive terminal at the batter and then runs god knows where from the terminal) and that seemed to work and I was able to get the scooter started, etc.

This morning, I started it no problem and rode to work. About five minutes in, I stopped to fill up at the gas station and it happened again. After messing with the fuse and connectors, I was able to get it started again, but only just. Whatever was happening must have happened again when I was riding because I noticed the turn signals in the dash display were weak, and the voltmeter (and gas gauge) jumped up and down in time with the blinkers. And, when I hit the brakes or was stopped (holding the brakes down), the voltmeter dropped to zero (as though the switch was "off" or the leads were disconnected).

In the absence of the tools or know-how to troubleshoot the wiring/electrical system, is there any chance a new batter may be the solution?

[kz1000st]

Check the connections at the battery. It sounds like a weak ground. You may even have loose wires at the battery terminal.