Ducati Monster Forum

Well.....after 18 years of no trouble what-so-ever, the wiring on my Monster is beginning to fail.  It's actually done quite well considering most of that time was spent outside, in salt-air conditions, desert conditions and temperature extremes.

Wires are broken and cracked up front coming from both the left and right control boxes down into the harness plug-ins.  2 years ago i chased some dis-continuity on the starter wires, found it in 3 places, fixed it with soldering and shrink-tubes but now other stuff is starting to go...horn, etc...

Problem: bike is a '99 and all the places i've looked are only offering 2001+ model year replacement parts....older Monster items are becoming few and far in-between....

Question(s): it's late at night now and all the Ducati dealers are closed for the evening so I have to wait until tomorrow afternoon when I have time, but do you guys think OEM wiring is still available to purchase?  I really don't want to go the custom route as I like the stock control setups.  I'd be down with doing some kinda custom or aftermarket thing if need-be because I obviously still want to ride the bike but want to locate OEM replacements if possible.  I'm worried about getting something off eBay and have it not plug in, etc; wiring on the older bikes was seriously hit-and-miss with near-zero consistency from year to year....trial and error with eBay sucks.

Thanks for any direction!

Ducati has been cleaning out a lot of parts lately to wholesalers.  They buy at a fraction of the cost and pass the savings onto you.  Ducati gets clean parts shelves.  win-win-win.

I've been following an ebay seller: Valtermotousa  (I wish I knew of another but my wallet doesn't.)

They seem to have a lot of odd-ball-as-hell Ducati stuff.  They could be your best bet.  But, to answer your question, if the harness is available from Ducati expect it to be stoopid expensive.

I checked a while back for a harness for my '98 M750, and it came up NLA.

Checking now, it's shown as available, as is one for a '99 M900.
Both about $310.

A new harness would be good. Used might be ok. A sparky wiring up a new harness would cost a lot (I know two here for $40-50 an hour).

Thanks man, I'll give Valtermotousa a shout.....   [thumbsup]


THAT is what i was afraid of.........Grrrrrr......

Yeah, i'd probably tackle this myself.  If only i would've bought extra parts back then, too.....

Honestly, considering the time, effort, and cost of sourcing all of the various connectors, IMO $310 for a harness is a bargain.

 [laugh] [laugh]   that's an excellent point, Sir.  I may just go that route....considering every wire on the bike is now 18 years old.

If I were to guess earlier today, I would've added $1000 to that price.  Honestly.  $310?!?  Save your time and the hassle.

Word......

Well i've got an irritating development to add:   I tested continuity and i've got good wires from the starter button down past the plug-in into the main harness.   Everything else works, horn, turn sigs, high-low beams, kickstand light.....

this is super irritating.

i hate electrical problems. they are the worst if you not an expert.

at this point i'm not sure i even NEED a new harness....  i DID notice that my coils got super warm while i had the power on, even without trying to start it.  just flipped the switch and coils began getting hot.   not sure if that's normal or not?

What isn't it doing?

+1

Your coils will heat up with the key on.
That supplies them with +12V to the primary, and the ignitor boxes are a ground for the other end of the primary.

Everything seems to be fine and working, but when i hit the starter button i get NOTHING. 

not even a click.   [bang]

Okay cool, thanks.

I am getting 14.43V from my ballistic 12-cell when it's at rest (starter toggle off).  So the battery is fully charged....i checked that first.

You can use a scruffy open-end wrench to short across the terminals of the starter solenoid, and determine whether the solenoid has died.

The starters themselves are pretty reliable.
If you inadvertently spin the stud trying to get the nut and the hot lead off, it'll break wiring inside and it's fuxxored.
I've seen some killed by stuck solenoids, they just run until they wear out.
Some killed by bad sprags, get spun to death.
And some die when the seal gives up, and they get filled with oil.

But the majority of 'no crank' conditions are caused by parts upstream of the starter.

First thing to check is the small wire connector on the back of the solenoid is tight.  While there, the red/blue wire in that connector should have voltage when you hit the starter button and the black should have continuity to ground.

Unplug the small white connector from the solenoid...plug it back in.

Try again.

to add to the above:  The female terminals inside the white plug are thin metal and can spread open a bit over time.  If re-seating that connector doesn't help, look into using a small pair of pliers and close up the diameter of that terminal inside the white plug a bit.

Thanks Howie, I'll try that when i get home from work!

I get home at 6PM today, will try that and report back.  Thank You DucP.

Thanks Duck-Stew that is something i never thought of.  I'll post the results either tonight or tomorrow.  I appreciate everyone's help with this.  I can do pretty much anything mechanical - it's the electrical stuff which confuses the hell out of me.

Also, years ago I started putting a quality zip-tie around the middle of the starter solenoid to retain that stupid white plastic connector as there is NO tab on the thing to keep in held in place. 

Ridiculous that Ducati didn't provide that on the early Monsters.

O M F G.....

IT WORKED!  turns out the little plastic plug needed to be re-inserted  ;D

what a pain in the arse trying to get it back in there.   I replaced that solenoid a couple years ago and do not remember it being that much trouble getting it re-inserted...if you've got large hands, it ranks among the most frustrating things ever.  Bike fired right up when i re-inserted.

Although it will have to wait a few months when i get the time, i AM going to proceed with getting a new harness and re-wire the entire bike.  it needs it badly as bits are starting to go here and there....cracked wires, broken wires, etc...

A BIG THANKS to you guys for helping me.   [bow_down]

now off to ride!!