So I was riding the other day and the bike cut out. Thought it was fuel so I filled her up. Barely got it running to get it home. Started trouble shooting and discovered that while the battery is showing 12.2V the coils/ignitors are only getting 8V. Been tracing the circuit. The kill switch was showing a little resistance (20 ohms) and after a little cleaning it was good to go but coils are still showing low voltage. Engine ground was replaced last year. Regulator/stator checks out okay. Anybody else ever seen this? [bang]
start checking grounds and connectors.
something is either crossed (and going to burn) or is not grounded right.
There's the 4-way splice right before the coils/ignitors. I'm suspecting that or the coil ground.
wiring has always been the weak point on ducatis. unscrew all the grounded points and wire brush them, replace. you may find a new bike underneath.
Okay. Here is the latest. Plenty of trouble shooting with no outcome yet. I've determined that the circuit drops voltage when the coils AND igniters are plugged in. If either is disconnected the voltage goes back up. I ran ground straight to battery with no change. Could the coils be drawing that much power? It drops around 1-2 volts. Also the master fuse is hot when the ignition is live. If I pull the ignition fuse the master cools off.
Have you checked resistance to the pickups?
Maybe a short?
Pick ups check out fine. I think most of the voltage drop is at the kill switch. I'm pretty sure it's not the switch itself. Probably the 4-way connector. Going to check all the grounds again tonight. If that doesn't help I'm thinking about installing a relay inline to give the ignition 12V directly from the battery. Also removed, tightened, cleaned, and soldered the Master fuse connectors in the fuse block. Before I could wiggle it and the taillight was blinking. That's fixed but no change to the ign voltage.
Checked grounds. Wire brushed everything and even replaced the main ground ring terminal and soldered. Also replaced battery ground cable. No change. I also checked resistance between battery ground and ignition ground. Engine off it reads 0 ohms. But while running it's more like 200+ ohms. This isn't normal is it?
Quote from: J-Cee on June 12, 2014, 07:29:43 AM
Checked grounds. Wire brushed everything and even replaced the main ground ring terminal and soldered. Also replaced battery ground cable. No change. I also checked resistance between battery ground and ignition ground. Engine off it reads 0 ohms. But while running it's more like 200+ ohms. This isn't normal is it?
No, it is not. You should also never check a live circuit with an ohmmeter. Use voltage drop. Positive from the meter on battery negative, negative on ignition ground. Look for less than .2 volts. Please tell us exactly which terminals you are checking, both for voltage and ground.
Ended up being water in the fuel tank. I guess from some downpours we had. I ran 97 miles on that tank of gas with no problem. Checked the cap and it seems sound. Drained tank and lines. Runs great now. Oh well...at least my electrical system is in top condition now. A week trouble shooting. Lol