Hi, I went to start my Monster today and and it wouldn't start. The fuel pump primed and the fans for the radiator started running, (at 2 degrees)! but all the dash lights were flashing and the side stand warning light was still lit despite it being retracted. The battery seems ok but the starter motor didn't engage and the dash seems to have gone haywire; please see pics below, the video file was too large to upload. It was running perfectly on Saturday, I washed and cleaned it then ran it to temperature to make sure that any water evaporated. Any helpful answers appreciated!
Side stand light out even though it’s up and washed it the weekend could be a clue, wd40 the switch or remove it and try.
You won't be the last one to have problems after washing ,sounds like it has water where you don't want it .
Thanks all, Hope I never have to use it in the rain! I'm also hoping that when the temperature rises it will correct itself through evaporation as long as there is no corrosion in terminals or earthing points At this point I'm reluctant to start pulling apart what looks like a very complex bike unless I really have to. If anyone has any pointers for known problem areas on these bikes areas to look at such as junctions, census or ECU terminals I would appreciate it
I’d start by making sure the battery is 100%. Do you have a multimeter? Can you use it? Test the voltage of the battery when everything is turned off it should be 12.5v or there abouts. Then turn in the ignition and see what, if at all it drops to. Then press the starter and see what if at all it drops too again. If it’s good it should stay around the same level each time. If it drops below 12 then it’s time to get a new battery before doing anything else. The only issue is the battery, if it’s like my 1100S, is a pain to get to, it’s under the fuel tank. So plastics off, fuel tank securing fixings unbolted and lift tank up and somehow hold it up so you can attach the multimeter to the battery.
Just running the bike after washing won’t evaporate all the water, especially if it’s lying on connectors. It needs to be removed by wind. Does sound like what’s already been mentioned ie water in a connector or dodgy battery. Might be worth checking the connectors you can reach, check them for water ingress. How old is the bike or when was the battery last replaced, also is it kept on a trickle charger and how cold does it (get in your garage ?)
Sounds like the battery may be iffy (it’s a bastard to get at on a 1200, it’s in the swing arm) but I’d check the side stand switch first
The bike is a 2014 1200 S with 4,444 miles on the clock. It was meticulously maintained by a mechanical engineer and kept in a heated garage. The battery has enough juice to power all the other functions on the bike but the starting circuit has been bypassed by the malfunction. I had only had enough time after work the other day to have a quick look around the bike, I removed and checked all the fuses which were okay and checked and sprayed the connections to the coils, plus any other connectors I had access to before it got completely dark as It is currently kept outside. I got it to fire up which was encouraging but after I turned it off it was exactly the same as before. Today I removed the small cowling in front of the dash and sprayed the connectors there, then the connectors to what looks like the ECU under the seat and the other wiring connectors in the rear room that were visible. I managed to get it to fire up and run until it was hot, however now the dash is lighting up with random errors from Can Bus to engine management light, oil et cetera, while other functions blank out and the front and rear indicators are flashing randomly. From extensive googling it looks like this is a familiar problem with various Ducati models following washing or getting wet in the rain, and it’s often associated with water getting into the electronics under the seat. At the weekend I plan to check the connectors here to the ECU and the others to the rear of the bike and I’m hoping that this will be a simple way to resolve the problem and that the ECU has not been fried! Thanks everyone for the pointers and if I can narrow it down to one connector I will look to pack it with a silicone grease to try and stop this happening again. These bikes do seem to be the Gremlins of the motorcycle world and I just need to keep it away from water...
Check the connector to the BBS unit under the seat. It connects various units; indicators, fuel gauge, stop light and fans to the rest of the bike via CANbus. Water has been known to get in there on other models with similar effects.
It worked! Thanks for the heads up. I had quarter of an hour before it got dark and decided to try that one connector and sure enough the rubber shrouds were not meeting in the middle. Spraying it and making sure the shrouds were connected seems to have done it. Happy days.
