Attempting to start the engine (1000 DS) and it cranks over nicely but fails to start. Plugs wet, so fuel is getting through. JPDiag shows no error codes. Spare spark plug attached to vertical cylinder lead and plug body grounded, crank over and no spark. Found the thread regarding the corrosion on the back of the ecu causing earthing problems so need to check that, although this cause an error 38 I believe. Anything else I should be looking for? Thanks.
Sounds like a good starting point, would a fault with this sensor not be detected and reported by the ECU?
If the sensor is not faulty then the ECU will think it's fine so won't show an issue. The sensor needs an air gap of 0.6 - 0.8mm. You can undo the inspection cover in the generator cover to access the bottom of the sensor. Ducati sell 3 different shims to get the right spacing - 0.6mm (copper colour), 0.8mm (steel colour), 1.0mm (brass colour). It's worth checking as it will take you 5 minutes.
Ok, new crank sensor arrived this morning, fitted and gapped to 0.6mm, crank the engine and still no spark. The signal, to the HT coil, comes directly from the ECU and this is still reporting no errors, what are the symptoms of a fried ECU? or should I just go back to a Yamaha!!!! Any clues appreciated.
There could be corrosion between the ECU and its heat sink ....that stops you too. been there done that. 2 screws hold it on to frame and 4 torx screws hold heat sink to ecu .....do not try to split it any further !! clean, grease and reassemble
Fuse 'G' is the 'Ignition/Injection unit' supply. 3 Amp and not blown. Not fitted alongside any of the others but attached to the main 30 amp fuse.
Here's a quick update, as advised, cleaned the back of the ecu where it fits against the heatsink, and tried to 'bumpstart' with the rear wheel off the ground. During these tests I noticed the occasional spark on the test plug, but still no engine start. With the ecu connected to the laptop using jpdiag I noticed the battery voltage to be 12.7 volts, this seems a little low and I'm wondering if the voltage drops too low during cranking (this bike has an extra earth connected to the engine). I've not measured the voltage, whilst cranking, with a multimeter yet, I've given up for the day! Does this voltage seem to low to you guys?
Check the output from the ECU before it hits the coil at the connector. This will tell you which side the problem is - coil down plug or connector up to ECU. Divide and conquer!
If you're getting the plugs wet, then the crank sensor is probably good as the same signal fires both injectors and coils. It's probably your starter motor.....it's drawing too much current and dragging the system down preventing a spark. Turning the engine over by hand with the plugs out negates the current draw hence the sparks. Did two last year with the same symptoms.
Starter motor next then! I am considering buying one of those jump start / power packs (my daughter leaves her car lights on all the time!) the extra current available would possibly start the bike. Checking the connections to the HT coils is a PITA as the tank seat unit has to come off again. Off to the garage to make a start. Thanks guys.
Booster packs don't usually help. Good test is to bump start it. Ignition on and get a push.... If that works, then it's more or less a cert' the starter is the problem.
this was the fault with mine, took a long time to diagnose as it was intermittent and got progressively worse. i did everything to prove it wasn't the starter, but in the end after biting the bullet replaced the unit its been perfect ever since. my advise is replace with new when carrying out diagnostics. i came pretty close to replacing ecu as i suspected coil drivers where faulty. engine turned over normally with old starter.
I have had this problem since my 2003 Multistrada 1000DS was rebuilt after a motorway-lane-changer smashed it and it then suffered an attempted theft while on the drive after I bought it back Cat C. Someone tried to hot wire it while the ECU was on top of the fridge indoors... then dropped it after trying to push it down the hill, I was out there at midnight in my undies and bare feet after a passer-by had knocked the door to tell me... After the theft attempt Carole Nash kindly agreed to repair those parts damaged in the theft and I said I would put up with some damage and pay for other bits. Dave Robinson at Ducati Wandsworth rebuilt it including a new ECU I believe When I picked it up I had issues starting and Dave said I would need to hold the throttle a bit open to get it started - I hadn't had to do this before, I was a bit doubtful but happy to have it back to life After that the starting problem got worse and worse. I fitted a new crankshaft position sensor, replaced the brushes in the Starter with a kit from Webmoto - still playing up Pete of Pro Twins at Redhill then fitted a new stock genuine starter they had taken from a bike being race prepared - saving me a few hundred pounds - AND new leads to the starter that they apparently make up from submarine cables as the factory cables can, apparently, also be a problem. It was still not starting properly. We then put new park plug leads and as the issue was not completely resolved. Still playing up. It would start after a lot of effort turning over - thoroughly unreliable I used it less and less. It wouldn't start at all for most of Sept 2014 - March 2015 then I paid another guy to get it staring this year and it did. He said he suspected an intermittent issue with the starter relay, by now I am fed up blindly switching bits - it worked for a few months after a fashion. Last Thursday I'd got panniers packed and kit ready, bought new £220 boots for rain and overboots too.... to replace my leaky SIDI all ready for a weekend tour of Wales, but I had to call Carole Nash Breakdown because it wouldn't even turn over, this is a new low...even after I attached jump-leads from a car to start it. It had been rained on torrentially on Wednesday - incredible rain all day, I'll cover it in future, to be fair it live on the drive. While waiting for Assistance I spent an hour removing and replacing plug leads and fuses it finally started just as Assistance guy Del arrived... who then came with me to the petrol station in case it wouldn't start after filling up, good man. This weekend it sometimes started well but mostly was a bit of a wait while onlookers gazed as it wheezed and chugged on the starter and my mates applauded when it finally fired up (redeeming itself by it's performance once it did work). Last night 200 miles after we had all split up - it just refused to start - 70 miles from Home at Oxford Services at 9.30PM. I had error code 34 from the ECU. I think this may have been the underlying problem all along... I never checked the error codes before myself, but when you have a 3 or 4 hour wait for recovery you get time to research... and read about PCP's on new bikes while eating all the crisps and chocolate at the Services... The recovery guy arrived and didn't say hello, before slamming his truck around like he was in a go kart- never had a bad recovery guy before - my top-box is now badly scratched and panniers too where they were thrown off the back seat before being subjected to his hard braking hard & accelerating style - he stalled the truck 3 times before we even left the services unreal. I got home at 3.30 AM too tired to do more then protest like a resigned man - I'm getting very dejected with Ducati as a brand, this Multistrada is my first Ducati, after 12 years of Bandits that needed £100 of work every 2 years at Lamba Motorcycles, and many years of Honda before that . I have been reading up in even greater detail deciding whether to get rid of it or carry on trying AND the most popular suspected causes of this ongoing starting problem are: (1) Barometric sensor, apparently, in the dash / ecu - but see below. (2) Crank position sensor, again? - I don't think so (3) A fault in the original software of the ECU This is a hyper link to my latest ray of hope. Need info... error code 34.0 Signal Panel Sensor - Page 3 - Ducati.ms - The Ultimate Ducati Forum where ilampa says: Update on an old thread: I still get emails occasionally asking me how to wash the dash circuit board to get rid of this error and want to explain the cause and cure for this problem once and for all. Although washing the circuit board helped for a season, the next season the same code came back. It turns out that the problem is actually related to a software bug in the early 59M ECU, as far as I can ascertain. I've since flashed several 59M ECUs with later software and they all have in common that they fix the problem - and a host of other random error codes as well, e.g. speedo sensor, charging overvolt and so on. Any later 5AM ECU never has this problem (or the other ones). I have seen information on boards telling people to change or adjust this that and the other (most commonly the crank/RPM sensor). I haven't tried any of those "fixes" but can confirm that later software in the ECU, or a later ECU altogether, solves the problem. Coincidently, as time has gone by, there seems to be fewer reports on the 34.0 error... Hope this is of help. YES it is...now how do I flash the ECU or get that done. And Ducati MUST be aware of this - why no recall or free upgrade or apology at least....I will be trying to contact ilampa for a price to flash the ECU, and asking Dave Robinson where this one came from , you have 6 years under consumer law if an item supplied has a fault in it's manufacture or was not fit for purpose,
