You shouldn't need to! Does the Red key start it but the Black key doesn't? I'm wondering if your aerial is on it's way out now...
immobiliser aerial is located in the key surround, these have been know to fail, could check to see if this was replaced when the dealer did the work. If not this could have been the cause all along.
tried the other keys last night, no luck did the reprogramming like this: Programming Immobilizer Control Unit • Insert red key into ignition switch and wait for at least 30 seconds. • Turn the key to on. Led light will turn on. • Allow the led light to turn off and turn ignition switch to off within 1 second. • Remove the red key, insert a black key and turn the ignition switch to on within 15 seconds. • Allow the led light to turn off and turn ignition switch to off within 1 second. If additional black keys need to be programmed, repeat above. • Remove black key, insert red key and turn ignition switch to on within 15 seconds. • Allow the led light to turn off and turn ignition switch off within 1 second. • Allow a minimum of 30 seconds before you turn the ignition switch to the on position. • To check for proper key storing insert the red key after 30 seconds. Turn key to on and make sure that the led sends a 0.7 second pulse and then a series of pulses as the number of stored black keys, including the red key. NOTHING! tried the red key on its own too, no luck is it possible the aerial? and can you replace it? or change he whole ignition block? I am slowly losing confidence in the bike, must admit
The aerial is located inside the ignition cover, as funkatronic says above: The aerial is a press fit inside the plastic cover, held in by a couple of tabs and some luck: It is just a plastic ring with a coil inside and they are very, very low power, so the tolerances are very tight and if the aerial drops down inside the cover it will move enough so that it isn't able to read the code from your key and although the bike will switch on, it won't disable the immobiliser - the immobiliser light in the rev counter will stay on. They are also prone to water ingress and rotting away inside, causing high resistance and again it's not able to read the code from the key and you get the same symptoms. First check that the aerial is in place as it may have dropped down. If it's all correct then take the ignition cover off and pull the aerial out and check the condition. Any sign of splitting or "leaking" from the plastic seams means it's duff and you'll need to replace it. I think they're about £30 new from Ducati - don't buy second hand!! There is also a diagnostics test you can do with the red key that will tell you why the bike won't start, but try this first.
funkatronic and antonye, you guys are magic! how come you know so much about these "Ducati diseases"? I think I'll order one anyway. for piece of mind
any ideas where to get one? found a 2nd hand one on eBay and a new one from Italy (postage £25) any ducati websites that sell those parts? Thanks
My 1198 antenna was £23 from Ducati Leeds. It was not in stock so had to be ordered. Find your nearest main dealer and give them a call. If the antenna does not fix the problem then I would suggest that you have the immo disabled in the ECU. I have done this on several ST4Ss for forum members. You can then completely remove the immo box from the bike. One less headache.
I can recommend Nelly on here who runs Cornerspeed: www.cornerspeed.co.uk He does mail order so give him a ring and he'll get you one and send it out.
Hi chrisw, where are you based? I would be interested in disconnecting the immmobiliser I live near Reigate, South of London cheers
still not running. next is this air gap ignition sensor gasket? what is the procedure? can I do it myself and where do I get these gaskets ? Different thicknesses? cheers
changed the crank position sensor, no luck pretty desperate now. can anybody recommend some body who is willing to fix this? the bike is in good nick , will be a pity to sell it as it is willing to travel and deliver tried the Ducati specialist here South, but they are not keen on taking the job
Try Alex at Proteam,superb service and is the man to sort this. He will collect the bike for a very small fee, I think around £20 call him on 01634 71175556. Highly recommended by many !!
I would almost bet my mortgage that Alex would find the problem,at a very reasonable cost too. I would still use him if I had a bike he could service.
The 2001 ST4S has an ecu issue, failing to start and also dropping on to one cylinder when hot are two of the issues mine had. The only permanent cure we found was a replacement ECU, the 2001 version is NLA and Ducati supply a 2003 version as a replacement. This fits easily and the bike runs beautifully, however it will show a starter circuit error code as the later ECU triggers the starter motor whereas the 2001 bike uses a direct switch via the solenoid. This non starting and poor running problem caused a great deal of head scratching over the years but thanks to Nelly, we got to the bottom of it and those nice chaps at Ducati supplied a replacement ECU at no cost after Nelly persuaded them it was a good idea for them to do so!
I had a 2002 ST4S which would refuse to start usually when trying to return home. Drove me nuts. Had it to Ducati dealers more times than I can remember. Had a new free ECU. Relays. Batteries. Side stand switches. In the end I had to trade it in as it was seriously affecting my brain. I really loved the bike and when it was running I thought it was the best ride ever. It put me off Ducatis for a while but now have a really nice 1999 900ss.
