It is true that smelling a burning smell coming from your scooter is quite disorienting. You feel a state of panic, but also of disturbance. You don't know if this is a serious or trivial problem. The more you ride, the more you can be sure that this smell is coming from your two-wheeler. What to do then? What precautions to take. It would still be wise to stop and properly diagnose the problem. This is because if you keep driving you put your scooter at a very high risk of being seriously damaged. This article will help you better understand the causes when your scooter smells of burnt.
Scooters - general information
Here is an article that serves as a guide and helps you choose your scooter better before purchasing. For this, we give you the details on the characteristics and the different types of scooter.
Scooter that smells of burnt: related to coolant
Coolant plays a crucial role in your engine. Indeed, it allows to maintain the temperature of your engine. In summer, it prevents overheating, and in winter, it serves as an antifreeze. Apart from that, the coolant also helps prevent the risk of corrosion between two metals. Now you understand the main role of this liquid. So if your scooter overheats, you may smell this unpleasant odor. If there is overheating, quickly check the fill level of your coolant. Also consider purchasing a new thermostat if this is the case. Likewise, at the level of your radiator, check if there are insects, external residues that have settled there, and clean it.
Failure of your carburetor causes the coolant to drop. Indeed, these two elements work in close collaboration in the cooling system of your two-wheeler. Once the radiator is faulty, you will also waste a large amount of your coolant. And so, your engine does not cool down either. So, it would be necessary for you to check the condition of your coolant first. Then check and replace your radiator at your garage.
Scooter that smells of burnt: overheating of the brakes
It is obvious that the brake pads are the most important parts in the braking system.. They work in friction to allow your scooter to slow down or brake. One of the main things about brake discs is overheating. You will also feel another strange metallic smell given off by the very hot brake disc. It could have, in certain cases, an emission of smoke noticeable to the eye. In fact, this overheating can be explained by: a failure of the braking system, improper installation of your pads, deformation of the discs, or the installation of poor quality discs.
A visual examination of your brake discs can also validate this hypothesis. At very critical temperature, they turn a bright orange color. Your mechanic will also help you notice this failure if you notice the color change. Thus, it is imperative for you to change your brake pads as well as your brake discs.
Scooter that smells of burnt: blown head gasket
The role of the cylinder head gasket is to preserve the seal between the engine and the cylinder head. If it is defective, replace it immediately, it is the source of this unpleasant odor. It ensures that the combustion chambers, the cooling circuit, and the oil circulation are airtight and waterproof. Having a blown head gasket can be costly. And the main cause is overheating. Crushing the armor around its cylinders causes the seal to fail. Your engine will lose coolant all the time. A blown head gasket is caused by poor quality or faulty installation. You will also see white smoke coming out of your muffler if it is a blown head gasket.
Scooter that smells of burnt: fuel leak
If you smell a familiar smell of raw gas with the burnt. It is really very dangerous. This is a very urgent warning sign. It means you could have a fuel leak somewhere. Perhaps from the fuel tank or cap, from a leaking fuel line, or from the line connector. But also it would also come from the inline fuel filter, the carburetor overflow line, depending on your system.
Fuel system leaks are potentially dangerous, so find out where the smell is coming from urgently. There is also an even more serious problem: the smell of smoke like when burning insulation from wiring, seat material, plastic or any other material that smells "hot". So, if it is a fuel leak, go quickly to your mechanic to replace it as soon as possible.
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