Hope someone can shed some light on me. I have a M800ie 2004. Few weeks ago, went to start her up but didn't hear the fuel pump spin when the gauges sweep. Bike wouldn't start. So since then I've verified to the best of my abilities that power is reaching all the way to the fuel pump. (brown and white wire had about 11.x volts then dropped down to think it was 2-3 volts after prime completion. Is this normal?? Blue cable had 11.x volts the whole time.) I took the tank apart and tested the sensor and pump individually as well. At first the pump wouldn't fire but did after the second try when it was energized out of the tank. Can these pumps seize after time? Does the fuel filter have anything to do with priming process?
So last night got my new o-ring and gasket for the tank flange, put everything back together, put some fuel in her, no leaks and she fired up. Could hear the pump priming. Took it out for a spin and after about 30 miles, bike comepletely cut out and died while on the road. Lucky for me, this happened as I was getting close to home and was able to coast to the driveway and push it in to the garage from there. Other notes: Low fuel light has never worked since I've had the bike (3 years, 4,xxx miles), fuses and plugs all look good. Battery had been sitting on tender until yesterday, and lights were still on when she died. At first I thought there might be an electrical gremlin somewhere, but after last night I'm kinda leaning towards the pump. This morning, tried to start her up, no pump prime during gauge sweep and she didn't fire up. Kinda back to square one.
So I have a couple more questions...
Is there any other simple electrical test that I can perform? (I'm really a novice at this but do have access to a multimeter)
From my description and with your help, does this look like pump issue or possibly the fuel sensor?
Any other words of wisdom? I appreciate all the help I can get. Thank you
You would need to test for power to the pump when the problem exists. The pump being bad is possible, but cheap stuff first. More likely is the fuel pump relay or a break in the wire going through the sending unit. Easiest thing to do is carry a jumper wire with you. When the pump fails jump terminals 30 and 87. Pump now runs, replace relay
Thank you. I failed to mention that I did check the relays but I will check the relay sending unit.
So the relays tested out fine. Also tried a jumper wire. I do hear them click when the gauges sweep as well. Any other ideas anyone? I am waiting on a new battery because it looks to be original. This needs to be done anyway.
If I understood correctly you had the battery on the tender while replacing some bits, and the bike ran after you put everything back together.
If so, your battery might be dead due to age or an issue with your charging system. Put the battery on the tender again and once it's good, start the bike and use the multimeter to check the voltage across the battery terminals. You should see about 13V at idle and at least 14 when revving up the engine. If not, your charging system isn't working: check the wires and your regulator.
BTW, don't run your fuel pump for more than a few seconds when it's not submerged in gas: it can overheat and burn out.
BTW(2): you can check that your battery is charging even without a multimeter, turn on the bike and let it idle. Note how bright the headlight beam is, then rev the engine a little (3000 is enough), the beam should become brighter and then dim again as the engine returns to idle.
How To: Check that your battery is charging (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_r2Tb970Yg#)
I'm not sure if the 2004 M800ie has a plastic tank. But if it does, the problems you are describing sound a lot like what I faced with my motorcycle last year. There was nothing wrong with my fuel pump, any wires, relays, low fuel sensor, etc. Turns out a wire inside the fuel flange assembly itself was not soldered properly and thus, caused the intermittent failure.
Here's my thread from last year. The 2nd page might be of some help to you.
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=51710.15 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=51710.15)
I recently had a similar problem. The fuel pump would suddenly quit, usually when pulling away from a stop. In my case, it was a broken wire in the wiring harness up near the forks. Accelerating or turning the front wheel to the left would cause the wire to separate and the engine would die. Then it would start right back up again. Make sure your wiring harness is not too tight, especially when turning the front wheel side to side.