Good evening, I have a 96 916, went for MoT this morning, then on to my local Ducati dealer, on my way home, it started playing up, and making some strange noises, after a short while, it died Got the bike recovered home by a good friend with a works van, jump started the bike, put a volt meter across the battery, showing 11.5v with the bike on tick over, pretty much the same with revs on Bought a new battery, between ordering the battery and collecting, I had the original battery plugged into the optimate, a few hours later, the battery was showing just over 12v on the optimate, and on the volt meter Started the bike, showing 11.5v at the battery Stopped the bike, now showing 11.7v at the battery Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated *gratuitous pic of the bike looking pretty whilst waiting to be recovered
After searching, and reading the thread linked to by @DucatiScud I checked the wiring behind the battery tray, in particular the yellow wires, they have already been modified from the crappy block connector to a more solid looking connection, as pictured I did not check the other plug though, is that a common failure point, like the yellow wire connector?
Possibly your rectifier in that case which is also a common fault, it’s just a process of elimination. Here’s another thread on the rectifier. https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/threads/916-charging-system.84480/#post-1807840
It’s either the stator or the reg/reg but most likely the latter. You’ve already tested the r/r output by measuring the voltage across the battery terminals when the bike’s running. A healthy r/r should be supplying around 13.5 - 14.5v to the battery and this is the reading you should be getting with your voltmeter. To test the output from the stator disconnect the yellow output cables at the connection block to the r/r. Set your voltmeter to AC volts and insert the probes into the 2 yellow wires, or any 2 of the 3 if yours is a later 3 phase stator. Start the bike and raise the revs to around 3000, you should have about 80v of AC at those wires and the voltage should rise and fall as the revs rise. Don’t run the engine for more than a few seconds whilst the stator is not connected to the r/r just run it long enough to get a reading. The exact output figures at various engine revs can be found online with a bit of Googling, I can’t remember them off the top of my head. If you need a new r/r buy one from Electrexworld.com do not buy a 2nd hand one (they’re consumable items) off eBay.
If it turns out to be the regulator , as said, a genuine MOSFET version is by far the best choice and course of action, as hard to find a satisfactory good quality unit to replace the standard item.
This how my 916 alternator and R/R plugs looked like the day I switched to Lithium battery and Mosfet R/R. Which is why/when I decided to get rid of the infamous connectors. Wires had already been upgraded to bigger gauge by the previous owner, after breaking down during a two weeks tour around Corsica. So yes, both connectors are prone to overheating due to high resistance.
Quick update on the 916, took the bike to a workshop this morning, they checked it over, and concluded that the generator has sadly passed away, only showing just over 3v on tick over, and 6v at 3000 rpm RIP generator, and the contents of my bank account
satisfying fix though I can't remember if you fix stuff yourself - last price check I remember was around £175 to buy. I hope they "hot glue" both the entry and exits of the harness sheath as oil ingress/capillary seems fairly common despite never having experienced myself.
