Sometimes the coil stick can get corroded (horizontal more often) with rain etc while riding.pull it out and clean it,then cover it with die-electric grease .see if that helps

 

Is it an 03/04?

Look around and see if you can find the upgrade coil packs for these as well. You will continue to have this issue down the road unfortunately. Just don't be like me and end up having to pay dealer prices for them.

 

Is it the front cylinder? Is your ECU an IAW 59M (there is a small sticker on the ECU which tells you what model it is). Only runs on one cylinder now? Swapping coils around does not help and problem stays on front cylinder?

If yes to all of the above, your ECU has suffered the "sudden death" problem that is so common with 59M ECU's. This is in that case a hardware problem and your only option is to get a replacement ECU. Note: You do NOT have to change your instrument cluster, keys etc. There are other, simpler and cheaper, ways to get the bike going again.

If the above is indeed the problem, please feel free to ask more questions!

 

Well, had a look at the coil when the bike was recovered to my house. Pulled it out, cleaned it from rust/gunk, put it back in and it was fine. Running on both cylinders. Was a bit wary of it so I pulled it out again and cleaned it, greased the cylinder, cleaned the spring on the inside. Put it all back together and went for first ride to work today. Was fine until 12 miles in and lost cylinder. Went on for a few miles and it went away for 20 secs and then came back. Did that one more time and then I limped into work. Pissed off. Does this sound like the ECU?

 

No it is not the ECU. That problem is permanent when it happens.

To avoid your particular problem (humidity), clean out the hole - including the grease you put in there - blow it bone dry with compressed air. Use (clear, preferably) normal bathroom silicone around the "stem" of the coil where the "lid" sits and put yet more silicone under the same lid so that when you assemble the coil, no humidity can ever get in there. My 999S had the same problem back in 2004. Never happened again after this treatment and I've been riding through torrential monsoon rains in the tropics and all sorts. Never missed a beat. Tip: You may as well opt to change your sparkplugs now at the same time. If you use Iridium plugs, chances are you won't have to open things up for many many years to come...

 

ilampa has some pretty keen info.....you might just need to buy another coil stick. Ebay is a great place to start. If you do, buy the upgraded 2005 coil stick. The upgraded coil stick has a "sealed" wire on the stick itself, there is no connector on the stick as with the 2003-04' model run. You'll simply install the new stick, plug it into the female end of the connector coming off the battery box. Then zip tie the connector out of harms way. I ended up removing the battery box, removed the heat shield, then zip tied the connector behind the battery box where it tucked in nicely. The vertical(rear) cylinder isn't as critical, by I installed a new upgraded coil anyway. One of the problems I discovered with the 2003 coil stick is that the connector is right on top of the cylinder haed cover, which gets hot. When I looked at the female end of the connector I noticed that where the cloth tape wrapping ends, there are 3 bare wires that enter the back of the connector. I found 2 of the 3 suffered cracks in the plastic coating on the wire. The wire appeared fine, not broken. I removed the tape so I could more easily spread the 3 wires, individually wrapped the cracked ones, then re-wrapped the 3 wire bundle together again.
Just a tip....

 

Thanks guys. I've managed to source a later coil pack at a 1/4 of the price of dealer price. Second hand but off a bike which has done very few miles. Thanks for setting my kind at ease over it being a ECU fault. I'll follow all those tips when I get the new one. Thanks again. This bike was supposed to be more reliable than my old 750ss...

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My coils are original and thus of the 2003 vintage and still work. The LT leads plug straight in on these, the later have a pigtail. The "lid" on the later ones is permanently moulded on. I would still silicone them in. Also, the stem of the later ones is in plastic, not metal, so less chance of shorts in the hole once mounted.

Because of the strange locking on the old style coils, (ham-fisted) people used to break the plastic of the coil when trying to disconnect them. But correctly handled and mounted, they are just as reliable or not as the new style ones. My bike is living proof of that.

On the lighter side: "Italian and reliable" is about as much of an oxymoron as "military intelligence" (comes from an ex. military man himself!). And that is, at least for me, why we love Italian bikes.

 

The 05 coil as previously mentioned is hard wired into the stick coil and plugs into the wiring harness, away from the engine, whereas the 03 coils plugged in at the stick coil. The plug is against the engine, the vibration will cause the contacts to lose connection and create your problem. I know because this was my situation and have retrofitted the 05 coil sticks, and have never had the problem again. This engine had about 25k miles when it happened.

To test to see if the 03 coils are the problem. Unplug the connection at the coil stick, replug, then start bike. The code will be gone and you can ride the bike for a while, but the problem and code will reappear dropping a cylinder. The vibration/heat of engine is the issue at the contacts. This first happened at at a track day, at wide open throttle about 11k revs. Second time was in AR, and I rode home on one cylinder. I replaced with 03 coils, still had the problem. replaced with 05 coils, therefore the connectors were away from the engine, problem solved. I hope this helps.

 

Not only from vibration, but as I stated I found the plastic coating cracked in 2 of the 3 wires coming off the bundle into the back of the female connector. The heat cycles as well as vibration, removing/replacing and the severe angle of the wires when the leave the connector could cause problems with the 03-04' coils. Ducati obviously thought so by changing the design. I never had any issue's with mine either, but seeing the wire coating cracked was disconcerting.
It's a simple fix though, along with new plugs and a Motolectric kit should resolve most slow cranking/starting issue's w/ the 999.

 

So yeah, changed to an 05 coil and problem persists...

 

Rats. OK, wiring loom is next thing to check.

That includes making sure the all the ground wires (including the one to the ECU housing) are properly attached. Proper grounding is critical.

Is it still intermittent? Is it always failing on the front cylinder?

 

At this point I would remove every connection, (battery, solenoid, starter motor, battery ground wire base of vertical cylinder) scotch brite each bare metal terminal connection. Then add a little dielectric grease and tighten down. See what happens.

 

Joy, indeed. I'm wondering if the 10.2 error code is a red herring. Reason being, my '05 Multistrada (same ECU) has been throwing that code off for 2 years but runs beautifully. I tried cleaning all the connections this Spring before putting her all back together, and the damn light still comes on. Last year, I put one of these electrical upgrades for motorcycles kits on. The bike does turn over faster now, but it didn't change the error codes one jot. I know this doesn't help you, but misery loves company...

 

I'm back to thinking it's a problem with the ECU. I'm on my third ECU (or fourth, whichever way you want to count). The first one gave the original owner all sorts of grief, like running on one cylinder. I explained earlier how I fixed that when I bought the bike. It never failed in that way anymore, but instead I used to get various error codes, mostly 34.0 (barometric pressure sensor). It still ran OK, but not fine. Then, it started giving charging overvolt errors, yet when measuring charge, it was all within specs. Because I was being offered an exchange ECU, keys and dash (this was way before DucatiDiag!) I decided to try a swap and voila! Problem gone! Well, not really: I was still getting the occasional 34.0 and running was still only OK (no power under 4k rpm).

Then that ECU died two months ago. No more spark on the front cylinder and error 10.2 and that was permanent.

I then got two 2nd hand ECU's, one 59M as fitted and one 5AM. Flashed them with DD, disabling the immo function and using more suitable maps for my bike (03 999s with 57mm full race system). Right now the 5AM ECU is on the bike and I have had no more error codes since, plus the bike really runs well now.

So, the short of the long is: I would get a replacement ECU, 2nd hand, preferably a 5AM and give it a try. The 59M are notoriously unreliable.

If indeed your bike has the older 59M. First thing to check. The 5AM became standard in 05, but some were also fitted to 04 bikes, it seems.

 

ilampa, I spoke to a mechanic yesterday and he thinks it's ECU problems. He's picking it up next week and will send off the ECU to someone who flashes them. May be a month before I see it again. My only worry is that the problem may come back?

How do I tell the difference in ECUs? I know have a look at the sticker on it but all mine says is "Ducati 749 018" or something along those lines.

It's weird though as sometimes when the bike is started and fails to lug over, the 10.2 disappears. With Ducatidiag I presume I can fix the ECU myself? All is needed is the cables?

 

The problem may or may not come back. Impossible to tell, but chances that it does come back are smaller with the later ECU. The sticker which you have to look at is on the other side of the ECU. Or, in some cases, under the sticker you saw. In very small print, it should say "IAW" then the model and hardware number. What year is your bike?

To flash your ECU you need the cables, a Windows computer and download and install DD first. Using DD you make a dump of the contents of the ECU (also for safeguarding), then using this information you pay the license fee of 100 Euro at which point you will be sent a license file and a link to download the WRITER program, which is separate from DD and not what you find for free on the web. With the writer (which is license based on the serial number of your ECU found in the dump) you proceed to flashing it.

From the time I paid the license fee until receiving it took perhaps 1 hour (European timezone helps).

How skilled are you with computers? I'm asking this, because if you use the writer program in the wrong way, there is a definite risk of "bricking" the ECU (bricking=turning it in to something as useful as a brick, in nerd language). Also, if for any reason you hook up the cables the wrong way around (plus where minus should go) then the results will not be pretty. It has even happened that the cables came with the power wires inverted from the factory (black was plus and red was..guess twice...) and the operator did everything right but still fried the ECU. It is therefore IMPERATIVE to TEST the polarity of a new set of cables BEFORE hooking them up to the bike. This is simple to do and instructions can be found on the DD website.

The developer of DucatiDiag and the "DD community" have made several safeguards against bad things happening, like cable test programs, communication and dump function programs, diagrams, etc. and those should be used.

I just want to make clear that like any advanced engineering procedure, it should not be taken lightly and you must follow the instructions to the letter.

 

Thanks ilampa. I read 25 pages on the ST forum regarding DD. I'm in two minds, potentially fix the problem myself or have it done professionally. I'm edging towards professionally as with the service I may be able to swap the ECU for a 5AM refurbed one, will talk to the mechanic tomorrow and discuss prices.

I'm going to have one more go this afternoon as I have yet to take the spark plugs out and look at them.

 

So, I flipped the coils over again as I didnt have a chance to start the bike last time I did that. EML has gone but bike won't start. At one point a new error code of 34.0 came on. Turned off the bike and turned it on and it disappeared. Been cranking a few times and EML comes on but when trying to get an error code on dash it nothing comes up. I can't even tell if the ECU is playing up or if it is the newer coil!

Charging up the battery now and I'm off to see if I can get a spark plug tool

 

34.0 is "barometric pressure sensor error". This is a classic error code which is thrown on bikes with dodgy wiring (read:grounding), a dodgy ECU, or even a dodgy crank sensor (!!!).

The only way to sort these problems is by being methodical and to use a checklist:
- Battery fully charged and not failing (tested using load meter as well as volt meter)
- All connectors properly fastened, cleaned from oxidisation. By all, I mean ALL. Every one of them in the wiring loom that you can get to should be disconnected, checked for oxidisation, squirt a dash of electric contact cleaner on them, put them together and disconnect for a few times to work them over. One should put extra effort for all the sensor connectors. Grounding points should be disconnected, brushed or filed free of oxides and put back. Check the loom for chafing or exposed wires at the same time. Some of the signal wires are ultra-fine gauge and delicate.
- Check that the ECU is properly mounted, that the grounding wire is properly connected and work/clean the two main connectors over.

There are unfortunately no shortcuts. When I first bought my bike, I dismantled the whole wiring loom front to back, and did exactly this, at which point pinpointing and fixing the intermittent loss of ignition to the front cylinder was dead easy. i fixed a mates 03 999S exactly the same way. He had had the dealer replace several sensors and relays but it was still stalling and playing up.

 

ilampa, going to give it a going over tonight and tomorrow morning. Before I went out I put on my motobatt battery that is perfect for cranking. Bike started and 10.2 error code, so it is looking like ECU or wiring loom. Thank ilampa, you have been very very helpful, will let you know how I get on.

 

@ilampa, so in the end it was an ECU issue. All replaced and (very very costly for me). TPS and CO is being sorted by garage. In the future I'll keep an eye out for cheap ECUs and if I have the issue, I'll replace it and get garage to sort out the rest.

Thanks for your help.

 

Glad you got it sorted finally, even if it did require a wedge...

This is important knowledge for everyone, I would say. Helps pin-pointing similar gremlins.

It would help even more if you could provide a few details of your bike, like year model and ECU model.

Thanks.
IL

 

Of course, the bike model is 2003, the original ECU was an IAW 5.9M. I'm not sure if it has been swapped for the newer model ECU but will find out tomorrow. I hope that this thread helps anyone who may have the problem in the future.

Thanks for your time ilampa