My ST2 has been sitting and minding its own business for the past few weeks. It is on an Optimate charger and that was showing that the battery was fully charged. I went to turn the engine over to move the cam belts about and pressed the starter with no choke. The engine turned over a couple of times and then the whole bike went dead. No lights or dash or anything, The battery has gone back to full charge, but the bike is still dead. I am just finishing off my Monster before I put it on the motorcycle stand and start work on it. It looks like the main fuse has gone but why this is, i don't know. Just wondered if anybody has ever had anything similar on an ST2? It is totally standard with no alarm or immobiliser fitted. Done about 24k miles and was going perfectly, before. I have three Ducatis, and this one was always 'old reliable' - until now.
At a guess I'd suggest you have look at the 25 way connector joining the front loom to the main loom. It is located just below the fusebox at the LH side under the top fairing. These are notorious for corrosion in the lower part where water can gather.
I will check that, thanks. I've got to take off the whole fairing anyway, as it is being smartened up with new (used, but new to me) panels that need painting.
Quite possibly but my my experience with Ducatis is to be never surprised... It could be something simple!
Had a problem with the wifes ST2 a few weeks ago, it would not start but would turn over. It has been fine for 3 years so this was the first time. I took off the ECU connector and refitted it and it was fins again after that.
Interesting. Although it's not the same a me, exactly, it does point to checking connectors. I have the Monster done, now, so the the ST2 will go on the workbench tomorrow. I'm not in a rush to get it back on the road as I have two other Ducatis. Gonna do the belts, as well.
Could easily be as simple as a corroded battery terminal. Another simple possibility is your fuses need a wiggle in the holders.
Fuses likely. I had the battery terminals undone when I connected up my Tomtom last year. I always clean and grease the terminals when I have them exposed. I'll start at the fuse box. I think that it is quite possibly a bad connection in the fuse box or something has caused the main fuse o pop.
My SS was always a problem until I made sure the fuses were completely flat to maximise the contact area. Any twist will cause issues.
UPDATE: It is the starter motor relay. Was acting funny as sometimes it was completely dead - no lights anywhere - and sometimes there was clicking from unspecified places. I disconnect the wire that goes to the relay from the battery and everything is fine. I don't know if the faulty relay was grounding live or just sucking up all of the battery voltage. The relays are known to fail and that is not the end of the World. I've got a pdf version of the factory manual and it is pretty unhelpful. There are a couple of big electrical items on the right under the fuse box (kinda), I don't know what they are and the manual does not give an illustration of where electrical items are located around the bike. Can anyone point me to a place with the location of electrical items on the unfaired bike? At the moment, I'm having to work things out from the wiring diagram!
UPDATE: It is the starter motor relay. Was acting funny as sometimes it was completely dead - no lights anywhere - and sometimes there was clicking from unspecified places. I disconnect the wire that goes to the relay from the battery and everything is fine. I don't know if the faulty relay was grounding live or just sucking up all of the battery voltage. The relays are known to fail and that is not the end of the World. I've got a pdf version of the factory manual and it is pretty unhelpful. There are a couple of big electrical items on the right under the fuse box (kinda), I don't know what they are and the manual does not give an illustration of where electrical items are located around the bike. Can anyone point me to a place with the location of electrical items on the unfaired bike? At the moment, I'm having to work things out from the wiring diagram!
The bits under the fusebox are the main relay that most of the power goes through, the headlight relay and the flasher unit.
I know the headlight relay unit (As my ST3 one failed a few weeks ago) and the flasher unit is next to it. A bit further back highlighted in yellow are the two units that I can't identify.
@Derek knows infinitely more about this stuff than I do but to me the one on the left looks like the sort of multiplug that would attach to an ecu or similar and the one on the right looks like a starter solenoid.
The yellow bit on the left is the multiplug that joins the main loom to the fairing sub-loom. The bottom part of this is where corrosion can happen. The yellow bit further back is one of the ignition coils. There is another one on the opposite side of the bike in the same location.
Was the optimate charger plugged in to the bike when you hit the starter button? I wouldn't think that would be good for the electrical system,
Probably was but I don't think it matters. I've had it plugged in to this bike and others lots of times before. Actually, come to think of it, it it may not of been - not sure. Anyway, it is the starter motor relay that is the problem. Picking up a new one this week. With the lead not connected to the battery, everything is fine. Well, apart from not being able to start the engine! I am sorting out a few things on it over the winter and the cam belts will be tackled once I verify that it was the starter motor relay.
