Fuel pump? What's that? FIXED!!!!

[ilya]

... My fuel pump quit on me today. At Pt. Reyes Sta. I gased up, turned the bike on, rode 100 yards to the Bovine Bakery, turned the bike off, had a chat with friends... When it was time to ride, the engine would not start... The starter turns it just fine, there is a spark on the plugs, but the plugs are dry = no fuel in the heads.
We (at least four of us) listened to the pump priming noise, it is there. The electricity part seems to be working, the fuses are fine and the pump turns on.... but the SOB does not pump the fuel into the fuel lines.  

Can anyone diagnose the problem? Please? Many thanks in advance!

P.S. I miss carburetors at moments like this one.


ok, 1 hour job and all is fixed! the pump was disconnected from the jets unit that release fuel into the lines. rays of good karma to Ernest Schmitz in Venhorst for outlining the process of the fix. rays of diarrhea to Munro mechanics - the metal clamp that's is holding the line to the pump was pushed way out of place. in fact i dunno how it could have moved there by itself. the only scenario i can imagine is when they were yanking the pump out of the old tank they disconnected the line and moved the clamp in the process. when they were shoving the pump into the new tank, they just pushed the line in place but did not bother to clamp it down. the clamp has ducati factory quality control green mark on it. i doubt it would have been marked by quality control if it had been half way up the hose instead of at the end where it suppose to hold the line in place. i consider myself lucky somewhat - had i lost the engine power on freeway in the fast lane unaware of what was happening... it could have been ugly.

anyway, in this episode i acquired a gas can, a fuel siphon pump, a ramp (thanks Joe!), and after all done and dusted (with towing included) it came to about $150.... escape more or less. 

[desmoquattro]

With something like this, I almost always let Scott diagnose the problem. Running a fuel pump dry can't be good, and unless you're willing to have the bike apart for a few days while you take the assembly apart and try to run it on a table with fuel, I strongly recommend letting a shop work their magic.

That said, as we discussed last night, you have two choices:

1) Wait until Tuesday and make <dealer that we all hate but which shall remain unnamed> fix it for free...since they last put it together

or

2) If you're impatient, take it to Desmoto...you'll pay for it, but it'll be done right.

[ilya]

that's the plan of action so far... hopefully it is an easy fix. i suspect that the folks, whom we are not naming for some reason, just did not connect the pump to the tank properly when they installed the new tank.

[Spidey]

The symptoms don't really sound like it, but did you check for a pinched fuel line?  If the tank has been up recently (and it sounds like it was), that could be the culprit.

[desmoquattro]

The symptoms don't really sound like it, but did you check for a pinched fuel line?  If the tank has been up recently (and it sounds like it was), that could be the culprit.

His tank was completely replaced.

[ilya]

yeah the tank is new - replaced by ducati as it deformed and expanded from CA gas. its a warranty issue. the fuel pump is housed inside the tank body with two fuel lines coming out of it - one for each cylinder. if one of the lines is not functional the other head would be firing still. so this is not a fuel line issue.
in order to replace the tank the folks, whom we still do not name for whatever reason, had to pull out the pump from the old tank and install it into the new tank. yahoo sport-classic forum tells me that connecting the pump to the tank is not exactly straight forward and there were some recalls on that connection. i am suspecting that it was not done right when the tank was replaced. i am almost tempted to take it apart myself - it is accessible. just need to find a garage space and a gas canister.

[desmoquattro]

yeah the tank is new - replaced by ducati as it deformed and expanded from CA gas. its a warranty issue. the fuel pump is housed inside the tank body with two fuel lines coming out of it - one for each cylinder. if one of the lines is not functional the other head would be firing still. so this is not a fuel line issue.
in order to replace the tank the folks, whom we still do not name for whatever reason, had to pull out the pump from the old tank and install it into the new tank. yahoo sport-classic forum tells me that connecting the pump to the tank is not exactly straight forward and there were some recalls on that connection. i am suspecting that it was not done right when the tank was replaced. i am almost tempted to take it apart myself - it is accessible. just need to find a garage space and a gas canister.

Why do that? Roll the damn thing back to <worst dealer in the world> and demand that they fix it. They need to be held accountable.

BTW - Walk in there with printouts of the threads you mentioned...

[ilya]

i am struggling with the idea of taking it back to munro - i have no faith in quality of their work, re-work, re-re-re-work, and more re-work.

[desmoquattro]

i am struggling with the idea of taking it back to munro - i have no faith in quality of their work, re-work, re-re-re-work, and more re-work.

I get it. I've been through this with them...but why should you pay for it? Make them eat the cost. Then, if it still doesn't work, take it to Scott. And be sure to tell him that it was <dealer I refuse to publicize> screwed it up.

[B.Rock]

Could also be a burst or slipped line. It's easy enough to see, open the cap and look in when it's priming.

[ilya]

hmmm... i am not sure i can see the pump from the cap opening - the pump is all the way in the rear of the tank and below it.

just received step by step instructions from germany how to check for bad fitting of the tank/pump connection... gonna try it tonight. fingers crossed. 

[ilya]

i fixed it. haha