Slight problem with my 92, 900SS and hoping someone can point me in the right direction!! Went out for a ride on Saturday, bike went well but coming back to base stopped at some lights and couldn't find neutral or should I say the neutral light was not showing on the dash!! No worries though carried on home and pulling up selected neutral and no lights!! Then I realised after turning off the ignition and turning on again that I have no neutral, oil pressure, side stand light either, plus the indicators are not working. Checked the fuses and all ok, non blown. Battery is in tip top condition, rectifier is an Electrix which is a couple of years old, hardly done any mileage with it either. Had just changed one of the front indicator bulbs as that had blown but that's it. Have checked battery connections and general connections throughout and can't find anything wrong. Pulled the light block from the dash panel to check the bulbs and they are all good also!! It's driving me mad and I am crap with electrics to boot, any ideas? Cheers
check the neutral switch itself. It lives on the back of the crank case, and is set by shims. If it hasn't worn or slackened and now running out of it's tolerance there might be a slim chance that the wires have melted on your rear header pipe. Failing that, it might be just tired. Do you have a multimeter to check continuity from the switch connection to the dash?
You'll find it much easier with a wiring diagram. Look for something which is common to all the failed items - most likely a ground connection, or a power feed from the fuse box. I normally go old-school, low tech here: enlarge the relevant section on a photocopier, then go over each circuit with a highlighter pen, starting at one of the faulty components. See where the wires go, and whether any of them are common to all the things that have stopped working. If there's a fault with more than one item, then it's very unlikely that the neutral switch or light themselves are faulty. Much more likely, IMHO, is a wiring or connector problem, and in my experience these are: - open circuits caused by water ingress, usually into a connector. Look for blue furry pins or sockets. Cleaning them might help, replacing them might help a lot more reliably. - open circuits caused by wires being pulled tight; do you have any aftermarket accessories which might be attached to the wiring loom with zip ties? Do any wires get pulled taut as you turn the steering from side to side? - short circuits caused by insulation getting worn through. Look for any wires whose insulation has worn through. (Often this results in a short to the frame of the bike, blown fuses are common).
Thanks for the suggestions; Sev - yes i have a multimeter so will check the switch itself. Andy - I did wonder about about earths etc, the bike has not been ridden in rain so unlikely to be water problems etc. But again think I am going to take a good look at all wiring throughout. Cheers
Looks to be all on the same feed from the fuse box, are you positive the fuse is ok (light blue lead away from the fusebox at fuse position 4 according to the circuit diagram I could find)
they sit on a washer, so it could be thesomething simple like the switch and shim just needs re-adjusting.
I agree it's probably an earth as it's common to all your lights. Check feed to the lights but also check resistance on the earth side
Before you even start id say invest in a decent set of crimps...paid 60 quid for mine second hand and theyre shit hot....if youre interested ill get them out of the garage and take a few shots...
My experience with an SS was that fuses could be perfectly intact but still not make contact. Firstly, remove and replace several times in order to remove any light oxidation. Secondly, make sure the fuse blades are dead flat so they make maximum contact with the fuseholder, any twist in the blade means only the edges are making contact.
Going to find time tonight to go through all suggestions, many thanks for the advice all. comfysofa - i would be interested to know what make/model you have as I have uncovered some work (previous to my owenership) that needs sorting although not related to the issue!! It seems you can spend a few quid up to several hundread quid on crimp tools...bit mad really!!
Check the ignition switch connector block and also the main relay (although with the latter, I would expect the bike no to start, but a single wire may have come off or broken)
Will do Arquebus As a sidenote having just replaced the re shock for something new shinny and that works!! Am looking to improve the front end, well probably a service and new springs as the preload is on the limit and still not quite in range!! Is it me or did the factory over spring the rear and underspring the front end?
Which forks do you have? My guess is Showa fully adjustable. How much do you weigh? Static sag at the front should be between 26mm - 28mm. Rear about 10mm. Standard pre-load should be 18mm between top of big nut to top of small nut (best way I can explain). Standard rebound setting (top adjuster) 4 clicks out. Standard compression setting (bottom adjuster) 6 clicks out. Which shock is fitted? AL
Yes showa fully adjustable and about 90kgs fully kitted. With the preload fully wound in static sag is 30mm!! Rear shock is a Shock Factory one which was built for my weight and spec etc, I got them to build to the ie length to help quicken up the steering etc
Seems like better springs needed. The forks could also have been tampered with - IIRC they were probably originally progressive and maybe someone has replaced them with linear; possibly having to add spacers as well. Mine came from an early 900SS but someone had messed them up with linear springs (too short) and some spacers. Absolutely useless so I had them done by a specialist - he kept the springs but made new spacers. Oil was FL10 which made them a bit hard with the preload as well (6 turns in) but as I liked a hard set-up I didn't really alter them much. BTW - you are 20kg heavier than what Ducati consider normal for rider and full tank.
Ha ha..20kgs heavier, I would have thought that 90kgs is a pretty average weight (fully kitted) but point taken. Can i ask who set your forks up thinking about sending mine away over winter for a fettle!!
I sent mine to Maxton, they revalved, replaced springs and fluid, rechromed stanchions too. All at some expense but they told me that the standard forks are pretty good, with these mods they are more than enough for me along with the Maxton shock. Handles beautifully. There's various folk that can sort your forks at different levels. As stated, new oil and springs for your weight would be a good start. I'm not sure if progressive are best or not, others could help there. If you are unsure of fluid age, I would just change it. It's definitely setting up the front properly for you weight. Ian
I used MCT in Stowmarket mainly because they are only 15 miles from me (not far from A140) plus I had seen him race and how many other racers used him. http://www.mctsuspension.co.uk/Home.html A bit expensive IMO but very thorough - best if you take your bike to him and have him set the whole thing up (if you can afford it) but he will just sort the forks out if that's what you want. Always phone them - they are usually too busy to deal with emails etc. AL
AL - yes used MCT before on my RSVR when he re valved my Ohlins forks, was thinking of them but thought it worth asking. I think your right to ride there as well. I am just on the outskirts of Norwich so not far!!
