On arrival at Santander after an 18 hour crossing, the Multistrada didn’t have enough charge in the battery to crank the engine. Use of a booster pack got me running and I didn’t have the problem again until I took a rest day where I didn’t start the bike for 24 hours. Despite a 250 mile ride the previous day, the bike was very reluctant to start. I fitted a new battery in the hope it would resolve the issue but sadly not. I understand that the CANBUS failing to isolate every system at shut down resulting in a small but constant drain on the battery is a known, although not common issue. I have a digital multimeter but not the knowledge to use it to confirm that there is a small but constant drain. Guidance would be greatly appreciated as I’m told it’s a fairly simple process to unplug each system in turn to see which one isn’t being turned off, if that is the problem. TIA, Andy
Is the loom in sections? ie front section connecting to instruments, headlights etc with a large(ish) plug connecting to the main loom with a similar arrangement for the rear. If so then should be fairly easy to isolate the problem to one part of the whole system. Do you have aftermarket accessories fitted which can be disconnected to eliminate or confirm. This would be my initial approach on one of my bikes with older electrical systems but if you have a canbus system on a newer bike I don't know if this will still apply/work.
with a multimeater set to amps (dont forget to put your leads back to normal after) between the earth pole and earth lead in series pull one fuse at a time. you do have a time latch so you might have to wait for up to min every time you pull one for the amps to stabalize. probably looking for something like 0,1Amps?
Nothing after market fitted apart from the Bike Trac which was the first thing I disconnected for 24 hours and it isn’t that. I have an official Ducati workshop manual on cd so should be able to work my way through what can draw current. Just need to know where to stick the multimeter probes. Andy
It would appear that the starter motor relay is the culprit. There is a small but measurable current across the terminals even with the fuse pulled and when I reinserted the fuse it sparked which I don’t think should happen. Will get a new one and see where we go from there. Andy
Are you aware that the 30A fuse at the starter solenoid is not for the solenoid itself but is the main fuse for the whole bike?
The bike is never truly off.... Do you have heated grips? Wasn't there an issue with heavy current drain if you failed to turn them off before turning off the bike... and something about have the red switch down.... the bike is always looking for the key?
Send a picture of your multimeter... or at least the make / model number. What Fin proposed is putting the meter in series, but that may be a problem. Most meters have a couple of settings for current and two or more fuses inside. You are looking for a current measured in 10's of mA or may be 100mA (1/10th of an Amp). Having the bike battery disconnected put the leads into the current position. Normally Black to 0V and the Red into the Amps terminal (normally it's in the VOLTS socket). Select the highest current setting and put the meter into circuit between the bike Earth and the Black or Neg terminal on the bike..... nothing else should be directly connect to the battery Black or Neg terminal. This way any current would be going through the meter...... with the bike off this should be very low... just a few mA.... your alarm / tracker will not have a steady draw, it may pulse over several minutes. Gradually reduce the current range on your meter until you are able to read the current draw. If you turn the bike ignition ON the current will jump to many amps. This may blow the low current fuse. Some meters have separate connections for low and high current. Don't be surprised if the internal fuse on the meter is blown. This would cause the meter to read ZERO current and nothing the bike would work. As FIN said, remember to switch the leads back afterwards.....
Yes, switching the bike to ON will definitely blow the meter fuse, certainly on the low current >2A range. It would possibly blow the fuse for the 10A range too. Switching the bike on with the meter in circuit is not a good idea.
Do you have anything that is directly wired to the battery, like a power lead? USB? battery indicator lead?
As I clearly can't fix it with a spanner or a hammer, it's obvious I've bitten off more than I can chew aa I'm way out of my depth. I will change the starter relay as that is an easy and relatively cheap option. If that doesn't solve the problem, it'll be going to the workshop to sort out. Thank you everyone for your time and advice, it's what makes this forum special. I'm just disappointed I'm the weakest link this time. Andy
Even the clock draws a tiny trickle of current , to maintain the correct time ..... unless they've started fitting a backup battery in it ..... innit
Nice one Andy, there must be information somewhere on what ancillaries are drawing what current while ignition is in the "off" position.
