Ducati Monster Forum

Hello all;
Yesterday I went for a pretty hard ride through the country, averaging maybe 80kmph? Anyway I stopped after about an hour and a half to fill up and could smell burning plastic.
It was coming from underneath the heat sink on the front of the bike near the horn.. has anyone else had this problem? Is it anything to worry about?
Thanks guys :D

The only thing like that is when either my boots or my rain overpants started to melt on the exhausts - it'll happen after a 7 day holiday on the bike to P Island - you tend to find new ways to stretch on the bike!

Can't help with your particular problem, though my initial thoughts are maybe not cabling? I've not heard of issues like that before. Sorry can't be of more specific help.

The heat sink you mention sounds like your regulator/rectifier, these nornally get quite warm during operation, make sure that nothing is touching it and have a look to see if anything hasnt got too hot or melted. Do this before panic sets in  [thumbsup]





                                  Mmick

Monstermick!
Im the owner of the black monster that you left that note on today, haha.
Thanks for that, this site is great.

Yeah it looks like the wires have been tucked under it on purpose, but Ive only had the bike a few months.. maybe the previous owner wired it all wrong (that would be the least worrying thing he has done to the bike)

Yep, that will do it, give yourself a little time and tackle the problem straight away otherwise it will lead to more problems. Nothing should be touching the reg/rec except where it bolts in and the wires that go into it.
Hope this helps.





                                      Mmick

Riding at speed = alternator running at full tilt = regulator working hard

check your regulator.  i bet it is failing.

Curious, when did a reg/rec smell like plastic burning?

Vinn would have posted something a bit different, maybe lights acting up or battery leaking or some such thing.




Looks like the problem to me.





                                       Mmick ( hope I didnt sound to gruff )

My reg on my 900ss burned out .  Smelt of plastic.  They are often filled with vinyl insulation

Gotchya  [thumbsup]




                                      Mmick

biggest problem with regulators is dirty ground make shore its clean  [thumbsup]

+1

Unbolt it from the frame and make sure it's not wet or corroded underneath. Like Baz says, it it'f not earthing properly it's gonna cause problems - cooling battery and burning out alternator kind of expensive problems. And getting hot is one of the symptoms. If it's hot enough to cause a burning smell, I'd guess it's already causing problems somewhere... If you want to do some more diagnostics, check the system voltage when the bike is revving (with the headlight _on_ if you've got a way to switch it off) - if you see anything more than 14.5V you've got a reg problem. Also, if you've got a battery you can see the fluid levels in, check that - if it's overcharging you'll be losing fluid...

big

Well, whatever it was, the bike didnt even light up when I put the key in this morning :(
Will take apart heat sink tonight and clean.. Might post some pictures if it looks really bad. Hopefully nothing a resolder cant fix..

as some of the guys said, sounds like a regulator gone, and may well have cooked your battery too.. did it on my old 900SS a few years ago, also fried some of the wiring in between... hope it's not, but sounds like it..

not sure how old your monster is but the single phase bikes would often have charging issues, the reg/rec isn't earthed very well and the earth that attaches to the neg terminal on the battery isn't enough, run an extra earth from one of the mounting bolts to the negative side of the battery to ensure a better charge rate at idle especially. also make sure the positive side is contacted well, i think the reg uses it as a voltage reference and a poor connection can lead to overcharging.
If the reg/rec is faulty and allows too much charge it can/will melt wires, the insulation in the back and boil the battery. if it doesn't allow enough your battery just goes flat.
If you're not sure your battery is ok, check the fluid level and top it up if necessary, then measure the voltage across the terminals, a healthy 12v battery should have between 13 to 14.5v, use the starter, if you get anything less than about 11 volts at the moment you hit the starter it's probably dropped a cell.

paul

Update: Opened the fuel tank, acid burn EVERYWHERE. Checked the charge on the battery and its completely dead and the cells have no water. Swapping the battery today (since its the easiest for me to fix), then the regulator tomorrow.. My poor baby.

just be careful you don't cook the new battery, sounds almost certainly like your regulator's gone..

+1 _don't_ run it with the new battery without checking that reg.

I'd also have a good look at the alternator wiring - check the bunch of wires that come out of the front of the left hand engine sidecover, it's possible for a dying reg to cook the stator windings as well as the battery... If it's done that it'll mostly end up with obvious heat damage to the wiring and connector down there...

big

Ok, took off the regulator tonight. Found pretty bad burns just on top of it, but the wires going into the regulator look ok.
My old battery is full of water and on charge now, tomorrow morning will conduct the test. Just hook the voltmeter to the battery terminals and try to start the engine? From what Ive read, Im looking for a variation in the voltage as I rev the engine?
Also, last few times I have had to pop up the fuel tank I have noticed moisture on top of the battery, but the water level looked pretty normal. Im thinking this is pretty important.
Im hoping it isnt my alternator, but it was a long ride and at the end of it I could turn my bike on and off no problems.
Thanks so much for this guys, you've been a huge help. Cant wait till a thread opens up that I can help with, haha.

Acid burn?  Battery splattered?  Neutralize it fast.  Might have to wire brush the spots where it ate thru the paint if any.  Battery acid will dry and crystalize and reactivate with moisture.

I am sorry to say I told you it was the regulator.  I put a charge light on mine from Kurykuran (SP?) that is a tiny LED readout of voltage output.  US$30 and it's been very helpful. 

Are regulators expensive? How bad, argh..

not so much for that bike.  google Electrex, they make good aftermarket regs.  i think i paid $125 for mine..

:| What are you doing up at 2:30, lol
Ah yeh, cool, thats not so bad. Looking at about 230 after I buy the battery too. About expected anyway. Is it just plug and play, or is there a lot of rewiring?

Its not 230 here in DC!

Basic wiring.  Might have to crimp a spade or connector. Heat shrink the ends.  The Electrex unit comes with good instructions and you can find howtos on the web.  Worst part will be your acid cleanup!

here it is:

Electrex RR51 (http://www.electrexworld.co.uk/rr51-regulator-rectifier-regulator-rectifier-ducati-cagiva-laverda-350ss-400ss-600ss-750ss-900ss-500-pantah-600-750-900-monster-748-750f1-737-0.html)

turns out its the same model for pretty much every pre-EFI ducati, cagiva, laverda and guzzi. Still US$100 (or thereabouts)>

Acid clean-up = bi-carb of soda, every general food store will sell it, mix it to a watery paste and paint it on affected areas then use copious amounts of water to rinse off, thats copious (lots) amounts of water






                                    Mmick

AAH!

You're the owner of teh black 600 I often see at Mac Square.

Nice, clean looking bike you have there, hope you get it going soon!

I have nothing else to add. Sorry.  :P


Wood Duck (aka Super)

Former Monster Owner :'(

wood duck are good eating , not long now to duck season , ceep ya head low super ,aka wood duck  [cheeky]

Jeeze you bikeless woodDucks keep popping up, not that there is anything wrong with that  ;D   [thumbsup]



                        Mmick

Hey WoodDuck, buy another monster and we should all go for a ride :D
Managed to track down a possible used regulator (new they are $240), picking it up tomorrow, along with a new battery.
Now, someone mentioned the stator... Should I test that before I install the parts? How do I test it?
mmick, will try the acid cleanup tomorrow. Will then be after colour matching paint.. but maybe that's for a different thread, lol

Vin, I wouldn't put in a used model unless you know the source and it was a very very cheap deal.  The electrex models are warranteed and widely used.. 

You can have the stator tested, but you'll have to send it out. 

Ducatiz;
Yeah here in Aus the prices are inflated for some reason.. To buy a new reg they quoted me about $200 USD, which is a little more that what I wanted to spend, the refurb is only $60 USD.. Might have to end up just shipping one in, the importers here are pirates.

get a friend in the US to order one and ship it to you.  they are small.

California Cycleworks has them, $109 USD.. Chris is a good guy to deal with too  [thumbsup]

http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/shop/catalog/ducati/elec.html (http://www.ca-cycleworks.com/shop/catalog/ducati/elec.html)

yep, +1 on that, chris and his crew are very professional.

paul.

Hey Vinn I was going to pop in today (Tuesday) but it looked a bit dis-organised I heard that you had a little bit of a water problem.





                                 Mmick