Hmm, how do i reset the TPS? if it requires the red key, it aint gonna happen because i dont have a red key. i suppose itl run slightly more lean, but it shouldnt be as severe as the bike not starting.
Yeah, but if the motor wasn't starting properly before you changed the exhaust, that same problem is still there. Added to that, the mixture will be off because of the new exhaust. So unless you've fixed the original issue, its just got worse. You out can't reset the TPS without a load of software and leads. I'd take it to a specialist to a dealer and ask them to check it. Probably won't cost a lot. If that's not the issue, they may be able to find out what it is. Has the bike been sitting with a flat battery for a while?
no the bike was working fine before the swap, the problem started to happen when i tried to start the bike with no cans, because i wanted to hear what the bike sounded like ( it still fired up with no cans, but i did notice it took a little more juice to get it going) then i put the new exhausts on, and fired it up (again it took a little bit longer than usual to fire up), worked fine, then a few seconds later i gave some throttle and it cut off and wont start ever since. the bike hasnt been standing with a flat batt, the last time i used the bike was 3 days ago and like i said, it was working perfect, but it has been sitting outside in the rain, so i dont know if thats ruined some electronics...
I know you have said it hasnt been standing but it sounds like a flat battery to me. Doesnt take much of a drop to make them a bugger to start, especially when many have dodgy earth circuits. Charge it up, flick the kill switch a few times (could have water in it if its been out in the torrential rain) and try again. Im with Jerry in that if you are having problems it probably needs a good service. Has it been serviced recently? Belts/tps etc?? Oh and make sure its not in gear - we have all done it.
it hasnt been serviced at all, i bought it at 4200 miles, and now its 6000 miles. could that be a problem? and the battery is currenlty on a trickle charger, which im going to leave overnight and try again tomorrow.
Yep, leave it overnight and look what the charger tells you in the morning. It needs doing at 6K anyway so your due one on mileage. Is it still on its original belts?
no not on the original belts, the previous owner bought it in 2010, changed the belts and has ridden the bike only 300 miles, but yeah its basically been 3 years since the belt change.
You need to get those done but that's not the problem. You really should get the bike to somewhere like Louigi Moto out of Bristol. The good thing there is they have Chris (CJS) working on diagnostics . I have had a not dissimilar problem 2 yrs ago , hard to start ,change of exhaust , all the time getting harder to start. Tried jumping the bike with booster pack ,jump leads all to no avail. My frustration had me removing battery trying new one , recharging ,putting old one back , trying lithium ion race battery all sorts . Plus in my haste to get to the start line in the events I compete in I had unwittingly reversed the polarity of the battery putting it back in ( Not exactly a nice big red + for ease of use on display) , anyway I'd done damage to the ECU , luckily Rich at Luigi had a spare he sold me , then Chris put the bike on the dyno and worked his magic. I think you should have the bike looked at.
i would get the bike looked at, but the problem is i live in the highlands of Scotland and there is no Ducati specialists here other than a normal bike dealer. and i have no trailer to transport the bike about.
Man, this reminds me of the troubles I had with my 749. The bloody thing would never bastard start. Arrrggghhh!!! Then when it did start it would decide to stop firing on one cylinder or just to stop working at all when I got to a round about. Looked nice in my green house though. I would check the wiring behind the battery box. If it's damaged behind there you get all kinds of gremlins. The battery needs to be toppers with juice or it'll through a hissy fit. Your ECU, if it is the standard one, might be no good with your new pipes. When you turn the key does the Rev counter stay stuck at the top, twitch or get stuck half way? That's a sign of a battery with not enough juice. Things that mostly caused all my problems - dodgy wiring from where I removed the Alarm system, battery with not enough charge, poor earthing. (This was a big one and solved a lot of problems when I added an extra earth lead - ChrisW thanks again.)
well when it cranks over the rev counter is at 0 but it slighty moves up and down at each crank. i assume thats normal. the battery is on the trickle charger at the moment, its 7am and im still awake :| the ECU should be standard... but ive not checked. on the GPR ebay listing i says no modifications to the bike needed to make it work. so it should be fine imo.
Does the display unit light up like normal and display all the usual info or does it switch on and off and then remain blank? Do you have an engine management code? I can't remember how to read them, I think you have to hold down the left button while you turn the ignition on. Have a google though if it doesn't work. There is a list of error codes on here somewhere. My trouble shooting was something like this: Is there any sign the battery is flat? - Fuel pump doesn't prime, tacho wobbles or gets stuck, dash doesn't display anything, engine turn over sounds weak. Is there an electrical reason it isn't starting that isn't behind the battery box? You just changed your exhaust, did you unplug anything during that process? Did you plug everything back in? Did you knock any connections when you lifted the tank/seat unit. Have you fitted an extra earth lead? This solved most of my starting problems. Is there fuel getting in to the cylinder? - Is the fuel pump connected, priming, is there fuel in the tank, are there any kinks in the hoses between the bottom of the tank and the injectors? If it still doesn't start then it's time to get the bloody battery box off, change the relay, check all the wiring behind the box for damage. Check the connectors to the coils, check the ECU is connected properly. Put it all back together, try again, give up. Phone garage. My money is on the battery + earth. It's the easiest to sort too, thankfully. If you PM me your email addresss I can send you a PDF of the workshop manual.
well the dash is displaying all the correct stuff, nothing unusual there. there is no engine warning light so there is no error code, the pump is priming, but il check the fuel hoses etc to see if there is any kinks and whatnot. where can i buy an earth lead? and where do i connect it? PM'ed you
You don't need to buy one, and you can try it out quick enough it you want to see if it is the problem. Run a wire from the -ve terminal of the battery to an engine case bolt then try and start it again. If you want to try it as a quick fix and you have a reasonably robust bit of cable lying around you can give it a go. -ve terminal to any point on the engine. Re-connect the other battery leads, try and start. I will find the thread on here that I used to fix mine. I will email you shortly.
Halfords - under a tenner. At this stage dont go mad looking for things. There are plenty of issues with these bikes and many of them are listed above but best stick to one thing at a time or you will get confused and/or frustrated looking for fixes without result. The battery should be good by now.... go hit the starter and see what happens. I still say a duff battery.
In my experience the position of the 'cold start lever' is important to ensure a good clean start. Each bike is different in what position the lever needs to be in so I can't give you any advice as to what position is the best. With my 749s I find that it starts perfectly every time with the lever aprox' 90% on. My advice would be to remove the plugs. Removing the vertical cylinders plug is a bit time consuming as the seat & tank needs to be removed, but this time spent will pay dividends,as you will be able to check the plug and therefore eliminate any nagging doubts as to whether or not it's the plug possibly this causing the problem, and with the plug out it will also allow the cylinder to hopefully evaporate any excess fuel. Same thing applys to the horizontal cylinder, you will be able to have a visual check of the plug and dry out any accumulated moisture from the stick coils that could hinder starting and also allow any excess fuel to evaporate from the cylinder. Only attempt to start the bike with a healthy fully charged battery ( I have used jump leads from my cars battery with care when necessary to supply a good supply of Amps) and I would say experiment with different positions of the 'coldstart lever'. Initially try say 25% on, give it a go, if that doesn't work try it 50% on, etc....... Ducati's do seem to be a bit sensitive to damp conditions so do try to dry everything out first, especially the stick coils. Ensure you connect the connector under the tank back correctly and that you can heat the pump priming and that you have sufficient fuel in the tank. Good luck!
Good advice. Since I've had CJS remap my bike I do not need to use the cold start lever at all , in fact I've removed the left side handlebar switchgear inc the cold start, this is now tucked below, near the steering tube , if ever I needed it I'd just pull the cable using the nipple.
still no progress, but ie noticed my bike doesnt even have an earth wire? look at this pic. its been cut off, but in the workshop manual it shows there should be a wire running to that point. ive used a jump lead to act as an earth cable and the bike shows better progress... this time its like spluttering and coughing as if its about to start, but again, it doesnt start.
