Went out yesterday to take my 2012 MTS out and I got a "Battery" and "Device ECU" warning and the bike would not start. Battery out and charged and tested perfectly. Back in this morning, same messages. Bike comes to life with dashborad, solenoid noises, lights etc, but nothing when I hit the starter. Any advice other than the dealer tomorrow would be gratefully received?
98% off strange starting problems is due to a bad battery. Even if you have charged and tested the battery, I vould try with another one!
Yep the only way to see if a battery does work is to do a load test.....need special equipment usually at an auto electrician or dealer! It may be just easier to buy a new one on fleabay! Ps I used my old battery, built a wooden box with a nice carrying handle, and wired up one of those cheap tyre compressors....now I have a mobile pump for my and the missus's tyres.....you see I'm too tight to spend 50p for a blow at the service station!
If your battery is flat the bike will display "Low battery" with a picture of a battery. The same message will flash if the voltage is high. 1. I assume the battery terminals are clean and the connections solid? 2. A good long charge (overnight) may help or else replace the battery as mentioned. 3. The only other advice is to check the earth. This is a little complicated as there are 2 main earths on this bike and they are hidden a little. It one is loose or has a bad ground it may cause the same symptoms. You could try to start the bike with another battery wired to the current one like a jump start and this should rule out a bad earth. 4. A good battery shop should be able to test your battery. It may give good voltage but not be able to provide the current if it has failed. This is unlikely as it seems the bike is sensing low voltage. If you need a new battery it is worth considering one of the new ultralight LiFePO4 batteries such as Shorai or ballistic. They weight much less than the current battery and work very well. They may need to be cranked once as a prestart warming if the bike is really cold but I will be getting one when my current 3 year old battery dies.
Quote MartinP: "Bike comes to life with dashborad, solenoid noises, lights etc, but nothing when I hit the starter." If the key battery was bad, he had not got the bike to this stage :smile:
Cheers Tim. I've actually got a new standard lead acid battery that I am just conditioning before I drop it in tonight and see what happens? I'm not particulalry technical so the earthing issue is probably beyond me. I'm baffled as this is my first Ducati and it's just turned one year old? Over the years with other makes of bike it's mainly been mechanical issues I've wrestled with. Trying to remain positive, I did get out twice over the weekend on my old VFR so that helped take my mind off it. Just frustrating to have a disabled MTS sitting there?
Martin, Check out my post #15 here: http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/can-i-plug-my-optimate-into-my-powerlet-sockets-under-seat-charge-9468/ If you leave the bike for periods unridden (I never do :biggrin the battery drains and you can get battery sulphation and it will dramatically reduce battery life. If you plug in a good battery tender using the standard SAE plug or wire it up like mine, it will be much better for the battery. It is when the battery drains that the damage happens. Sulphate crystals fall to the bottom of the battery and if they build up, it will short the plates and the battery is stuffed! Keeping it topped up is vital. I have a very old Range Rover and drive it about every 4 weeks. I just wired up a similar system with a small solr panel to keep the battery topped up. Let us know how you get on.
the battery condition (v level) can be checked using the LH buttons and it will display the voltage level on dash. If all the dash lights are on it could be worth checking the gear position sensor or just go up and down the gears.
Thanks for all the advice, I've it all. Got out in the good weather this afternoon, checked all fuses, checked connections, battery, neutral etc.etc and couldn't make any progress. I'm calling Manchester Ducati in the morning?
Just to finish the story. Got Ducati Assist to collect the bike and deliver to Manchester Ducati on Thursday. Mark there was great and called me this morning to advise the bike was sorted and ready for collection. I belatedly asked about the coolant recall and Mark said "yes, we've done that". Picked up the bike and had a great afternoon in the sunshine in Derbyshire. The service from Manchester Ducati was superb, but the fault was one of the peripheral ECU's which just decided stop working! Unplugged and rebooted it fired up no roblem apparently? It'll take me a while to forget my concerns about a repeat somewhere remote? Thanks for the advice.
