Duc 1000ds 2003 (new to me) - very lazy to start. Big idea - upgrade leads from batt.neg to earth; from solenoid to batt. pos; from solenoid to starter motor. Whilst doing all this take out battery bring inside and charge slowly for a few days. All wired up AND...... NOTHING! Dials sweep; fuel pump primes; and solenoid CLICKS! That's it - no starter motor - nada. Please point me in the correct direction. Many thanks.
apart from stating the obvious ( i.e. have you replaced all leads - that engine to frame short run is a pesky one on most) next thought from your symptoms are that the battery, despite you charging it, is at the end of it's life. How old is the battery?
Hi Chris - don't know how old it is. It was on the bike when I bought it two weeks ago. My guess would be OLD though. I dont understand how it laboured and the starter motor turned over slowly before and then with new leads NOTHING. Perhaps I haven't wired everything up correctly. Your analysis regarding the leads has baffled me a little - "that engine to frame short run is a pesky one on most " I'm not sure I know what you mean. I replaced the lead from the - batt. to the engine point. Is this what you are reffering to.? If the solenoid is clicking does this mean its working? (sorry for the daft questions ) I have a new battery on order. Thanks for your advice. I have tried a search and reading past problems and fixes but I'm afraid I'm just getting more confused .
the original Ducati batteries are notorious for dying on you as a Christmas present! If you don't know the age of the battery treat yourself to a new one, with the leads upgrade you've just done, it'll spin like it had no piston rings! The lead that chris is talking about is a short lead from the back of the engine near the breather tower and connects to the frame on the footpeg hanger area. Some people have taken this out of the equation by running it back to the battery. Wait till your battery arrives and take it from there
If it churned over before you did the wiring, and won't turn over afterwards, it's the wiring. But it would be wise to buy a new battery anyway if you don't know the age of the old one.
Thanks Chris, Sev and Figaro for the advice. No alarm fitted dukesox. I think I'll wait on fitting the new battery as Sev suggested. Cheers again guys.
How many miles on it Conkers ? see how you get on with the battery first. maybe time for new brushes in the starter....from electrex £25
Update: - Well, new battery charged and fitted AND nothing. Same symptoms as before. I checked all the connections and all seem good. Could any of this be connected to the side-stand? (cut-out switch) I'm at a loss as to what to do. I've never had an SS before and it's all a bit of a steep learning curve for me. Any more suggestions - constructive ones please! Cheers.
Excuse me asking this but last year I stopped to help a guy on a broken down old Harley. He`d run low on fuel and had not switched the fuel from main to reserve. He must have felt a mix of stupid and grateful when I did it for him. I know you don't have that on your bike but could it be as simple as that you have accidentally flicked the kill switch ? Apologies if you have already checked that but I cant see any mention of it in the posts.
When you removed & fitted the starter cable to the starter post did the post terminal in the starter body turn at all ? brian.
Good question dukesox - you got me doubting myself for a moment there. I double checked the kill switch flicking it off and then on again and guess what - the starter relay doesn't click now. I wonder if its a dodgy handlebar switch?
Brian, I did take everything off the post - the nut and washer to hold the cable on and also the nut holding the largish lipped washer which , I think is to hold the rubber boot on. I gently cleaned things up a bit and as far as I'm aware nothing turned when I removed these things. It was the first time I'd done this so I wasn't looking for any rotation , so I can't honestly say "hand on heart" that there was no rotational movement. It was all pretty grubby down there and I was just pleased that nothing seemed siezed . I re-checked the post and it does seem to be firm.
Hi Conkers, I am a crap mechanic so if faced with your problems and having established it is not the kill switch and having fitted a new battery I would then try to jump start it from my car and if that didn't work I`d try to bump start it. If that didn't work I`d give up and call the AA or similar. They did once start a 900ss of mine.
It sounds like the relay I think that's by the handle bars My last SS was doing similar it would start then stop nothing put new battery on same thing put new key barrel on nothing If you wiggled the wires running along left hand side it would intermittently start then nothing the next time or the next Maybe it's that relay on left side handle bar Have you checked fuses
Just to be sure starter is really doing its job run a cable straight from the battery(non earth) to the place where the cable is secured to the starter touch it on the stud.... it should spin up ( might be an idea to run a new earth lead onto the engine too.) if it does not you know starter dodgy if it does you know its maybe the starter relay, side stand switch, kill switch.
Conkers, Firstly, with the ignition off put the bike into gear and with the clutch out just rock it backward and forward just to make sure the starter motor isn't jammed or starter sprag clutch stuck. Take it out of gear and go for start. Make sure the two large cables are securely attached and the smaller power cable is firmly pushed into the connector on the rear of the solenoid and double check the security of the cable connections. . Go for start. If no good then, double check the earth connection from the battery to the frame and the engine block to the frame. Its the latter that is likely to be the culprit. Im not sure if it in the same place on the 1000ds but on the 900ss the engine to frame earth strap is on the back of the engine and connected to the rear of the right hand footpeg. If none of the above, get hold of some good quality electrical cleaner, (not WD 40) and give the kill switch and starter switch a blast out. Remove all the fuses and check them and do the same with the main relay. The side stand switch can be eliminated as the cause by tracing the wiring from the switch and unplugging the connector, join the two wires at the battery end with a third piece of wire or paper clip then try the starter button. At all times make sure the battery is in good charge. Its just a case of being methodical. Do one thing at a time, try, then move onto the next.
