Looks like I have an issue with my immobiliser again. Sso far I got going again resetting with red key. But not this morning. Does anybody know if I can bypass it? (the risk of ST being stolen are quite low, risk of being stranded at this point much higher...) Alternatively do you know if Ducati still sells them and how much they are? Thx p
Oh.....the voice of support and knowledge LOL Philippe, the unit is about £160. Before you go down that road, check the main electric connector on the LHS of the light unit. Big, black multipole unit. Water can collect there and the wires corrode. Pull back the loom cover/insulation to inspect the back of the connectors.
I can deactivate the immobilizer on my monster (which I think uses the same engine and ecu as ST4S) with an ODB2 cable connected to my laptop, using the ducatidiag software. Its free and can be downloaded at ducatidiag :: Diagnostic and maintenance software for Italian bikes ODB cables cost around 30£ on ebay or amazon When I got immobilizer problems on my monster it was the speedo-gauges, changed them and everything was fine.
The ST4 in question has the additional immobiliser box, not just the ECU, so DucatiDiag is not able to sort this particular issue. Also, you were ripped off for the cables! You only need to pay £5 off ebay... Serial ot OBD OBD2 16Pin to DB9 Serial Port RS232 Adapter Cable 140cm | eBay OBD to Ducati Connector 3 Pin to 16 Pin OBD2 Diagnostic Adapter Connector Cable for Fiat Lancia Alfa | eBay
Not reckoning much to the odds, but ya never know. Replaced the box before and still no joy. The loom turned to dust when I opened up the connector. The immobaliser isn't the same as the monster. ST runs a seperate box away from the ECU and can't be accessed from diagnostics.
Ah thats sad, would have been an easy fix. Looking at my ebay order I paid 20$ for them, still a bit more expensive, but not enough for me to care
Thanks for all the input. Voice of reason with Nelly - I'll try and check for anything rotting down there. I have Ducati Diag and though i have not tried but last I connected it, there was nothing about the immob, so indeed I guess that this does not do anything to the immobiliser - so indeed. Has anybody tried bypassing those by any chance though? Would it be just a question of strapping the plug from one Pin to another if the problem was from within the unit? --> Nelly - still not managed to connect with the VSDT, I am getting somebody to lend me his old computer to see if it has to do with my computer or what. Sorry for how long this is taking.
All is not lost in disabling the immo. I'll post more when i get home at 5pm. Have done this before on a st4s
I recently resolved an immo problem that Ducati John Cellier had in his workshop. The IAW59M ECU for the ST4S is coded to the chipped keys. There is an external immo box which is found to the left side of the headlight when the cowling is removed. If the immo is disabled in the ECU then the bike will start but the immo light will constantly flash on the clocks. However, if the immo box is removed then the bike will start and the immo light will stop flashing. We initially tested this with a secondhand ECU to make sure it worked. I then flashed the original ECU with immo off. I can do this for you if you pick up postage costs.
Ah so there is a trickery to do with the ECU as well? i was hoping that i could short the connection and bypass the immo box. If you reflash the ECU what else do you need to do? Just remove the box? i wouldhave thought that you would need to "close the loop" at the plug?
With immo off in the ECU the bike works fine without the immo box by the headlight. Leave the immo box in place and the bike starts fine without a chipped key and the immo light flashes all the time. If you want to loan an ECU to test then PM me.
I think that I have some spare 5.9s from a 998. Would it be possible to reflash one of them to ST4S without ECU?
Not so simple as that. At switch on the ECU sends a code down the serial connection to the immobiliser. If it gets the correct code back from the immobiliser it switches on. I guess that Chris's change to the software allows the ECU to start without the immobiliser requirement.
Our experiments suggest that the immo box by the headlight is some sort of communication device that is not actually coded to the key but reads the code in the key and passes it to the ECU (hope that makes sense). The key code is stored in the ECU and if the signal from the immo box matches then the bike starts (on the later bikes this function is done by the dash). By disabling the immo in the ECU then the immo box is not required. The 998 ECU is an IAW59M and is compatible with the ST4s. As a bonus the 998's are virgin ECU's and go for good money on eBay.
Cheers Derek. That would suggest that by disabling the immo in the ECU the immo box is made redundant. Don't lose your red keys !!!!
I think that we have got to the bottom of this. Many thanks to Chris for helping. Solution one was to purchase a new Immo box and reprogramme everything using the red key. the immo box is available from Ducati still but costs the best part of £137+vat. Solution two which I went for in the end was the offer of help from Chris. Reprogramme the ECU to do without the Immob. This also requires unplugging the Immob connectors otherwise the light comes up permanently. So far so good, the bike has been starting without issues. The problem was intermitent but would be really stuck when it happened. So at least it seems to have sorted the issue. Good one and thanks for the assistance
The older the ST4S's get the more this is likely to be a problem. If the red key is missing as well then this is the only solution.
