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05 800ss wont start

9K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Stick 
#1 ·
just picked up a wrecked 05 800ss.
ran great when i stopped to look at it. now it's not wanting to start. this is also my first ducati so i'm not real up to date on anything that might differ from the jap bikes.
but i turn the key and the fuel pump hums, lights come on, everything it should do. i hit the start button and all that happens is you hear the fuel kick on again but it wont even try to turn over.
am i missing something here. is there some kind of security switch i need to hit or something? i would assume it's nothing more than an electrical conection somewhere i'm overlooking. but any help would be pretty cool.
 
#2 ·
Welcome to my life about 3 days ago:D

A few things to try (in this order):

1. The red key. There is an immobilizer that turns your key off if you leave it in too long, the red key will reset this. If not that, the code will.

2. The ground wire and battery wires. Make sure it's tight, I spent 6 hours on saturday chasing the same problem, even tore open the engine, and it was the ground screw being loose. It's located on the right side of the bike, just above and to the left of the clutch cover.

3. Fuses. Lift the tank (the rubber gromet at the front of the tank), the fuse box is on the left side.

If none of that works, try to jump the starter. Clip jumpers to your battery, the negative to the master ground (See #2). Then, put in the key, and turn it to on, have someone hold the clutch. The starter has a little rubber boot on the wire (very bottom right side of bike), pull it back and touch (DONT HOLD) the + jumper there, see if it cranks that way.

If none of that works, my next thought would be a seized induction gear, but at that point, you need the ducati tool to pull the engine cover.
 
#4 ·
well i know the bike runs like a top. i road it the other day. my first guess from what you listed would be the key issue. i've checked all the wires that i can get to and have unhooked the battery with the thought that it might reset a computer issue.

so how do i go about resetting/bypassing the red key thing?
 
#8 ·
Courtjester said:
anybody know anything about the red key thing???
The only way to bypass the 'red key thing' is with the correct code for your immobilizer. If you didn't get the red key, it's likely they didn't give you the code card as well. You can't miss the code card. It has a big key symbol printed on one side. :)

From other posts here it sounds like the 800ss has the same kind of immobilizer that's in my ST4s. Basically, each 'black' key has a unique chip in it. There's a pickup aerial around your key lock. When you turn the key, the immobilizer reads the code in the key. If it's a recognized code, the bike will start. If it's unrecognized, the bike will turn over and not fire.

You say the bike doesn't turn over. Then it's probably nothing to do with your immobilizer! For the record, the 'red' key is a master key that you use to program the immobilizer to recognize a 'black' key. Without the 'red' key, you can't get additional keys cut.
 
#9 ·
There is a procedure to bypass the immobilizer in the owners manual. Would be worth a try. I would spell out the procedure for you, but not at home. If nothing improves in a couple days, when I get home I'll get it for you if you still need to give that a try.
 
#12 ·
bad ground likely

I had this happen with my 04 1000ss. It was a loose ground where the battery grounds to the frame.

It is not the imobilizer...the bike would turn over without spark.

In any case, a day at a ducati dealer and they will have it running. Mine was done under warenty, and it took them 4 hours total to find the problem. Had to rule out a starter, solnoid, and fuses. Grounds can be a brutal problem, intermitant even.

Lou
 
#14 ·
strange

I thought I posted but... anyways,....

I got my red key stolen out of my car and after looking through ebay and everything else, I ended up getting a whole new set from the dealer at close to 2,000 bucks.

Let me go downstairs and look through the Manual and check out how to bypass. do you at least have the code card thingie?
 
#15 ·
The immobilizer 'bypass' procedure is not a permanent solution if you haven't got the RED key and your BLACK key is not recognized. You can only follow the procedure if you have the key code card anyway.

The whole point of an immobilizer is that without an authorized key, you can't start the bike. If you have the key card code, there is a way to 'dial in' the code using the throttle that will 'bypass' the immobilizer and allow you to start, but you'll have to follow the awkward procedure each and every time you start the bike!

An activated and registered immobilizer is tied to the ECU via an encrypted code. If you lose the RED key, you need a new immobilizer. There's no way to reproduce a 'master' RED key. You also will need a new ignition lock to go with the new key and even worse, you'll need a new ECU to pair with the new immobilizer (the existing ECU can't be used if it was tied to the old immobilizer!). This is why is costs mucho $$$$s to fix a lost RED key!

However, in your case, it doesn't sound like you have an immobilizer issue. Your engine will turn over but not catch if your BLACK key is not recognized. Your engine isn't turning over, so look for other causes rather than the immobilizer.
 
#17 ·
Courtjester said:
hmmmm...
well, i'm short on time at the moment. but i'll sit down and play with it this weekend and see what i can come up with.

at any rate, knowing how to bypass the immobilizer would be pretty nice. if anyone knows how, post it up.
Not to be mean, but I hope that if there is a way to bypass the immobilizer that nobody posts it for the protection of everyone on this board with an immobilizer system. As far as I know there is no way without buying thousands of dollars in parts, and if you do red flags should certainly go up.

If you are legit, then I sincerely wish you luck, but I don't think that information should be shared on a public forum even if there was a way.
 
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