07 ST3 - after first 20 min. ride, no start (electrical)

[One1DucNUT]

This was going to be a first ride report; I picked up the 07 ST3 in St. Louis yesterday and put about 30 miles on it today during my first ride. It all "started" when I stopped for lunch.

After eating and returning to the bike, I inserted the key, turned it right and the normal "dash board lights on and swing of the tack needle" didn't happen. I turned the key back to the left, and tried it again. Nothing.

My first thought was the new battery installed at the dealership after purchase (a bad one?). I turned the key again and heard what I think was the fuel pump. I tried the horn - it worked. Running lights were working. I pulled on the "passing lever" and the brights came on.

The battery was putting out plenty of power.

There were signs of electricity everywhere but "the dash" - no indication of neutral, brights indicator, temp, clock, etc. - no start-up movement of the tach needle. Not a sound. Not a flicker of movement. Not a wink of light anywhere in the "dash".

I called the Duc dealer in St. Louis and asked for help. The mechanic ran me through some "try this, try that" (fuses, wiggling wires, wiggling the key, etc). Nothing.

No worries. I called AAA and they sent a tow.

As luck would have it, the tow driver was a Ducati owner. He tried the same stuff - wiggled a few things, checked fuses, and he swears it has something the do with the key ring/code/holder (not sure what it all meant, but he swears same thing happen to him).

Good news, I love the bike (my fourth Ducati). Bad news, I had to tow it home. Good news, I have all winter to figure it out.

Any ideas??

[danrduc]

Search for the ST3 dash, I think I have read some stuff about them. I don't have one and mines not that new, so I haven't paid lots of attention. The key switch shouldn't be an issue just taking a lunch break.

[Gearbox]

The dash just plugs in so I would suspect a bad connection there.
You can access it by just taking the perspex out and the 2 inner panels so take a look and see if it is clean and correctly seated.

[DuckMan]

Believe it or not but this is a fairly common problem with this model. Remove the cover below the dash to get to the fuse box on the left side. Remove and replace the fuses. In 25000 miles mines done this twice.

[Ken]

This happened to me on my ST3 exactly the way you described. Another ST3 owner in town frequently has the same issue.

I simply disconnected the electrical connector for the gauge cluster, cleaned the terminals with electrical cleaner, used dielectric grease on the female end of the terminal and all was well again. Haven't had a problem since.

[One1DucNUT]

Originally Posted by Ken

This happened to me on my ST3 exactly the way you described. Another ST3 owner in town frequently has the same issue.

I simply disconnected the electrical connector for the gauge cluster, cleaned the terminals with electrical cleaner, used dielectric grease on the female end of the terminal and all was well again. Haven't had a problem since.

thanks everyone. my Monster will be keeping me distracted today as warm weather has invaded Kansas City...

I feel lots better about figuring this out after the responses...

[One1DucNUT]

It's been a busy week, but I've finally got around to taking a look at the ST3 no start issue...

First thing I noticed yesterday was the battery was now almost totally dead after sitting the last five days in the garage (low temps here in Kansas City have been in the high 20s F)

I have a good buddy who introduced me to his Ducati Paul Smart a few years ago. When he first heard about my problem last weekend, he told me, "Charge the battery. It will probably start right up."

The dealership was installing a new battery the day I picked up the ST3 (It seems they had discovered the "bad" battery during their pre-delivery inspection. My buddy's theory is they may not have put a complete charge on the battery and his experience with the Paul Smart was the "dash board" was very sensitive to necessary voltage)

Long story short, I charged the battery from about 4pm till 2am this morning. I unplugged the battery charger at 2am and left the bike to sit in the below freezing temps till I awakened this morning.

At 9am, I inserted and turned the key... lights started blinking quite enthusiastically...I heard the fuel pump.... the dash board was as pretty as a Christmas Tree on Christmas morning....

Push the start button. Magic. She started right up.

I guess now the question is, will she hold the charge? I'll give it a day and see.

[pgeller]

Sweet! Now, get yourself a Battery Tender for Christmas and keep it plugged in.

Merry

pg
DD

[One1DucNUT]

I'm no mechanic - let's get that straight from the get go... but I finally relented and purchased a voltmeter to go along with my two screwdrivers, a hammer, and the Ducati toolkit.

Here are some notes from discussion with other motorcycle mates at another web site regarding my ST3 electrical issues:

After charging the battery last night and a CONSTANT GREEN (fully charged light from the battery charger) there to meet me this morning... I put the Voltmeter to use.

Test #1 (battery issues):

13.38v - the reading on the battery (measured between the pos and neg terminals) after disconnecting the battery charger this morning (battery unattached to the ST3). My plan is to let the battery sit unattached to charger and ST3 for twelve hours and retest.

Test #2 (wiring issues):

13.33v - motorcycle ignition turned off, removed the negative lead on the battery and positive lead attached, I then measured with the voltmeter between the negative terminal and the negative lead. I was hoping for zero - but I got 13.33v. (see my mate Charlie's response to this point below)

According to the Electrical Diagnosis Page I'm following:

1. I have an accessory that is constantly on (like a fuel gauge or clock?)

or...

2. I have a wiring short

or....

3. Both.

Hmmmm......

Which raises the question (says the man with two screw drivers and a voltmeter).... is there an "accessory" that I'm missing? (this is a stock ST3). The only sight or sound evidence that I see of something on is the "blinking immobilizer indicator" and I'm assuming it's not pulling that much voltage from the battery (does that question sound like I have any idea what I'm talking about? If so, it's accidental!)

RESPONSE FROM CHARLIE, A FELLOW DUC OWNER BUDDY OF MINE:

Does that bike have a clock? If so, there will be a very, very slight amperage flowing to that clock from the battery. The voltage everywhere on the bike will always be essentially whatever voltage is in the battery.

Also, many bike computers have a standby mode whereby they stay live for a period of time, usually a couple of minutes, before completely shutting off. Triumph had a problem for a while with their programming, and their computers were not shutting themselves off after a few minutes, thus killing batteries quickly. Triumph issued a software "patch" in order to fix the programming to shut the computer off quickly, and the problem with killing batteries went away.

Voltage only comes into play in this type of search as an indication of the robustness of the battery, and the competance of the charging system. Everything on the bike will always have 12 to 13 volts indicated, unless the battery plates are dying.

It's amperage that will indicate a 'short', or a device drawing power from the battery. It's amps that blows a fuse, not volts. A device draws amperage, not volts. It's amperage that sucks the potential power out of a battery.

Click the tester over to amperage and check the gap between the positive battery clamp, and the positive terminal, with the negative (ground) clamp attached to the battery, with the master switch turned off and the key removed. Check this right after turning the key off, and check it a half hour later.

Remember, Nut, it's an amperage leak from the battery that you're seeking.

Volts only come into an electrical search as a chemical symptom (in the battery) of an amperage leak (or a defective battery), and during a charging test.

When seeking a power leak from a battery, it's all about amps.

So, eliminate a clock, or the computer-sitting-in-wait-mode first, as the amperage draw.

THE NEXT DAY'S TESTING:

Thanks Charlie for that clarification on amps (I was totally confused by the "voltage test" from the neg terminal to the neg lead wire).

As fate would have it, my voltage meter does NOT have an AMP test (will exchange this voltage meter for an upgrade once voltage readings are sorted out)

Here's where I am at the moment:

I re-tested the unattached (from bike) battery this morning at 11am (about 21 hours after being fully charged): 13.22 was the voltage reading (down ever so slightly from the 13.38 when fully charged - yes, there is a clock and the security blinking light).

I then tested the charging system by attaching battery to bike and starting the bike (checked between 1k and 5k rpm): 13.95 was the reading - according to the guide I'm reading, that tells me the charging system is working fine.

Is it safe to conclude at this point? 1) the battery is good? 2) the charging system is good, 3) IF there continues to be starting problem, then the problem HAS to be something (short?) drawing down the battery?

With all that said, I am still confused by the fact that on my first ride, the bike started and transported me about 30 miles before it refused to re-start....

The next question is, while I'm figuring out (assuming there is a short) where the short is....is it safe to assume that I'm ok to ride the bike a few hours today wihout threat of being stranded (since the battery is now charged and the re-charging system is working)?

******************

I did ride the ST3 for a number of hours yesterday with no issues. There were many stops and starts along the way and with each successful start, my nervousness faded a wee bit more.

My plan is to exchange the voltmeter for one that has an AMP feature and see if there is in fact amp leakage...

After all that, I still can't figure out why the ST3 did not start after that first 30 minute ride??? A fluke? A battery right on the edge? Oh well.