Vespa Immobilizer LED Fault Code Diagnostics
Most modern Vespa scooters are fitted with a factory immobilizer system. While this is a good idea to help keep new scooters safe, after a few years these immobilizer systems can start to fail and cause problems. Or, the original keys get damaged / misplaced and the Vespa scooter can no longer be started without the correct coded key for the immobilizer.
Below is a description of the system, if you have any questions, please contact us. Or, if you have lost all your Vespa Keys and cannot perform the following steps, then we can create a new set of Vespa keys and barrels for you with the correct immobilizer codes.
The Vespa immobilizer system incorporates a flashing LED on the speedometer or instrument panel. When you insert your blue Vespa Key and turn it to the ON position, the immobilizer LED should flash once and then go off. This indicates that the immobilizer has successfully been deactivated by the key and an engine start is possible.
You will get a slightly different sequence if you use the Brown Master Key. Using the Brown Vespa Master Key, the immobilizer LED will flash once as before, but then you should get a couple of very fast flashes before the LED goes off. Those fast flashes are telling you how many keys are programmed to the Vespa Immobilizer System.
If there is a fault with the Vespa immobilizer system, then you may get a different flash sequence from the immobilizer LED on the instrument panel. These flash sequences are diagnostic codes and can help to point you in the correct direction to resolve your immobilizer problems. (Note: They can also be misleading if a component of the immobilizer system has failed)
Below is a picture showing the common Vespa immobilizer LED fault code sequences. These code sequences are obtained using the blue service key, not the Master Key:
You can see that the diagnostic sequences can tell you if the system is programmed, if the immobilizer system can see a key, and if it is the correctly coded key etc.
For example, if you get the single LED flash, followed by two more flashes, and then the diagnostic LED goes ON permanently, it means that the transponder inside the key is not detected. That could mean that there is no transponder chip inside the key? Or, it could indicate that the transponder chip is faulty. Alternatively, the key antenna that wraps around the ignition barrel could be faulty or unplugged from the CDI unit.
It can become a bit of a mission trying to figure out where the fault is.
If you have an older carburettor Vespa scooter, like the Vespa ET4 125cc, or the earlier Vespa LX125, or some of the Gilera Scooters, then one simple option is to remove the immobilizer completely. We sell CDI units without the internal immobilizer that replace the original Vespa CDI. After installing our CDI your Vespa scooter will no longer have an immobilizer. Any key that fits the lock can start the engine.
We sell those immobilizer bypass CDI units here on our website.
We even sell an immobilizer bypass CDI for the early Vespa ET4 125cc / 150cc Scooters manufactured between 1996 - 1999, know as the pre-Leader models.