Finally got round to fitting higher grade starter leads today . Need quite a bit of soldering but it does make a big difference to turnover . The original joints are all dry crimped and are not the best I have seen . The battery box come ECU come voltage regulator container certainly dosent get any easier to get off and on though . Especially with thicker leads . What a bitch.
I made my own with 35mm square welding cable and had the ends crimped by a local car battery shop, no soldering though! They start the bike much better, and yes, it is a damn tight fit behind the battery box!
Crimping is posssibly a better method, running high amperages through wires generates heat which in time will weaken the soldered joint There have been interesting debates on other forums over the crimping vs soldering Also there is some super flexible welding core cable available that is more flexible than standard ducati ht leads
I used a very high quality cable , even used red for live and black for earth , 10 mm multi core . On my bike there were lots of leads all joining at the terminal . To take them out to be able to crimp them properly would entail removing the wiring loom, and that wasnt going to happen, The cable from the solenoid to the starter I crimped and soldered both ends off the bike. The live and the earth from the battery have one end crimped and soldered, the ends that go to the engine E and the solenoid L , but the ends that go to the battery have maybe 6 smaller wires that go off into the loom. These I crimped as good as I could and soldered but there isnt much room as they are short. But all seems to work well and if they get hot enough to melt solder I think there may be other fire damage as well.
Dont mean to come over all confrontational here but whilst I agree that best joint is both mechanical crimping and soldering, there's nothing wrong with soldering only if it's done properly and general corrosion aside, i'm not aware of any age or usage element that would impair such a joint. If heat is frequently targeting a soldered joint then either the wrong duty was chosen or the soldering quality/surface area attachment was poor.
I just take mine off and go to Halfords and match them up with the thicker made to measure ones they do, lazy but very easy!
Hi is this generic on all models? I have a 07, 1098S the battery is on the way out so that's getting replaced. I wondered if this is also a worthwhile mod to do maybe in the Winter. I guess you guys are referring to the load side of the solenoid cable that connects directly to the battery and the cable from the solenoid to the starter. I understand the principles I just wondered if the mods are still required on the later bikes and advice on what needs upgraded. Haven't really had any cause (up till now) to go poking around that area John
The leads that ducati use are big enough. Just . But bigger leads means less current, or amperage , drop . The Earth lead thst goes to the engine is also a bit slim. If you are changing any you may as well change them all . 10mm multi core is what I was recommended and used.
The standard leads are adequate when new - on my SS you have a short earth lead from the battery neg. to the frame, then another from the frame to the engine. This is two joints more than necessary, after a few years of dust,oil & rainrot the connections will go grotty, meaning a high resistance & a slow-starting engine? No amount of charging or new batteries will cure this. :wink: I ran a fat lead from my battery neg to the engine earth point, this made a HUGE difference, £5.49 from Halfords... Kept the original leads in place, also a fat lead from my battery pos. to the solenoid, once again leaving the original leads in place: Further improved by renewing the solenoid - starter lead? The boot on the starter connection can and will fill with water, making a right mess of the connector! Get it looked at... Bike has gone from a slow-chugging pig to spinning like an IL4! Same battery...
Just finished this mod to my bikey. I used the mig wire stuff and mix of M8 and M6 crimps. My crimp tool had a cut out marked "ignition leads" which I used to crimp the lugs down, couldn't exert enough pressure by hand (non-ratchet tool). I put the tool handles in the vice for a final squish! Now spins over like a proper spinny thing from spinny town! (No, not a small copse or clump of trees) Result....!!!
You could run an auxiliary earth lead from the starter motor earthing brush terminal directly back to the battery terminal. This bypasses various voltage-dropping interfaces, which is just as beneficial on the earth side as on the feed side.
