Right so I visited the workshop today. It seems the mech is on the right track, much to my disappointment as now it is gonna cost a small fortune. The loom has a few repairs already, bad ones that have been botched over with insulation tape, I'm pissed right off tbh. The outcome is this. He has another ECU to try but now we are worried there is a fault within the loom and therefore worried that we will fry another ECU. So a new loom needed? I reckon the mech is right, what about you guys?
Are you saying the bad wires have been botched over with insulation tape by the mechanic or that it's always been like that?
Ah ok, insulation tape isn't good in moisture...however tight you bind it. I have always used amalganated tape with electrical 3M Skotchkote. Once water, or moisture gets in, it travels down your wires.
I'd get a second hand loom and fit that. You'll probably save money and have a more reliable bike in the long run rather than have your mechanic repair any more wires. As ChrisKing1 rightly points out water wicking along the wires could lead to more corrosion in the harness. Given where the ECU is and the environment the wiring lives in, even if your mech did a good job in insulating the wires properly, the damage could already be done. I've attached a short article which shows how easily water can travel along stranded wire via capillary attraction alone. Loom on flea bay LOOK GENUINE DUCATI 749 DARK 2006 WIRING HARNESS LOOM *FREE UK POST* | eBay
My sympathies with your problems. My 999S had aging wiring and similar conditions where some clown had done dodgy wiring repairs. I ended up buying a new OEM front and main wiring harnesses, as I didn't want my trusted mechanic running around in circles chasing intermittent problems. It certainly resolved most fault indication issues. I also bought a new, out of the box, factory ECU at a great price, as I was contemplating going the Microtec route. This saved me over $700 alone. Keep us posted on your progress
Hopefully this will resolve the problem for good and future proof the electrics. Some pictures of the carnage would be interesting to see
Aside from a few repairs the old loom 'looks' ok for a ten year old piece. There are a few pieces of factory tape that have started to show age and that's pretty much it. I can only assume at this stage that something is going on inside that we cannot see.
Given the number of signals the ECU has to receive to run the engine properly it does not take much to confuse things. If a wire goes high resistance due to corrosion this affects the voltage levels. The ECU, whilst being a clever bit of kit, can only give fuel injection duration and ignition timing based off these signals. There is inbuilt compensation for manufacturing tolerances of the sensors, but once out side of this then there are going to be problems. On the out put side, the signals from the ECU to the coils and injectors can be easily be affected by poor wiring. If for example a line goes high resistance the signal driving the injectors will be altered, hence the amount of fuel delivered will be reduced.
My harness had been modified for something at one stage in its life. When I saw the photos, I told the mechanic to forget it and wait for the new one.
Yeah, I couldn't believe it when my mechanic showed it to me. No way was I going to make him try and sort this crap out. He was very happy to see these show up at his workshop
Guys, I need some advice again. The mech now says I need a new ECU too and I am very quickly losing my patience with them. They 'say' that an ECU from another bike was sent off to have the immobiliser settings removed so it could be programmed to my bike. That was nearly two weeks ago and they have now said this cannot be done and now want me to purchase an ECU at the best part of 1000 pounds. What do I do? Can a second hand ECU be programmed to my bike? I have the red key and keycard. There is no way I can afford another grand, the repairs so far are going to be over 1000 already! JHS Racing by the way, near Bristol. I am beginning to wish I had not gone to them, I could have paid the same for an efficient service elsewhere. Slow as sh!t and I reckon full of it too, they haven't come through on not one promise. I'm not sure they know what to do next! Its just excuse after excuse. HELP!
I honestly think they're giving you a rediculous price for an ECU, so that you will fo away. £1,000.!? You can order a brand new Microtec fully programmable ECU for less then a $1,000 US. That was the route I was going when I happened upon new/never used 2005 ECU off of a 999S for $249. Don't pay a £1,000 for an ECU. This was the one I purchased and it will be getting setup by my mechanic 2005 Ducati 999s New Take Off Original ECU Computer Changed at Dealer | eBay
