[RustyHalverson]

I know that there've been lots of threads concerning the kickstand kill switch and rewiring tricks and even kits to fix issues. I also recall a very detailed step-by-step with pics on some ducati mechanic's website. Can anybody steer me to the straight solution for bypassing the switch for now until I can order a new system (wires, switch, etc)?
My bike won't start until I get around this.

 

[dallas_duc]

When I first got my ST2 the po had just cut the wires and twisted two of them together to bypass the safety. Luckily the switch was still there and I was able to wire the two back together. Anyhoo, I know it can be done so you'll just have to figure out which two to wire together. Shouldn't be too hard, just listen for the fuel pump to kick on.

 

[RustyHalverson]

I don't know what you mean by twisting two wires together. There is a set of relays above the ECU, is that what you mean?
Here's my quandry: I'm not really mechanically inclined - but I'm inspired to become so by the bike, the forum and the memory of my dad who had bikes and built them. I'm going through what must be the beginner's painful process of emotions due to ignorance.
I have spent the last 5 hours reading everything on all the Ducati forums regarding the side stand safety switch and there are so many different statements and solutions to so many different threads that I'm in near tears with frustration. I feel like I am the most ignorant person on the planet. I've spent an entire 2 hours with the workshop and parts manuals and failed to track down the actual path of the wiring assembly which I can clearly see on my bike. If I, in the end of this, have to have my ST2 trailered all the way to the Ducati shop 30 miles away for something as simple as a damned safety switch repair, why I guess I'm not a true Ducati guy, merely a poser with a gorgeous bike and a bottomless wallet. Well, I don't have the wallet for that second guy - and it's why I was so fortunate to get into the Ducati club of owners in the first place-ST2's are damned cheap to get into. Mine was $3,450.00. I'm not giving up but I'm not making much progress here at the moment, either.

Any specific advice will be greatly appreciated by me. My wife and dog will be relieved, too as my demeanor has degraded steadily since the bike didn't start two nights ago.

 

[mlukason]

Don't worry Rusty, we'll get you through this! I think you have the right attitude!

Now to the issue at hand. You say the wiring looks fried...do you have a pic? When was the bike last working, and what, if anything, was done prior to it not working? Also look to see what/why the wires would be melted. Follow the wires that come out of the side stand switch. Look for a plastic connector that'll connect the switch to the wiring harness. It is here that you want to connect the pins of the wiring harness together...this will simulate the kickstand in the up position and the switch closed. The bike should then start as usual.

Look for a service manual in the stickies section at the top of this forum. This should help you in this and future endeavors.

 

[va duc]

Rusty,
You will find more support here for you and your bike than anywhere else in the world. Don't panic and don't get frustrated. Take a deep breath. Just so you know, some of us are freezing our asses off and can't ride our bikes if they were running perfectly. Besides, we have more mods watching in this forum than any other one at the moment. We must be top notch stuff! Welcome!

 

[Tripod]

http://www.ducati.ms/forums/56-superbikes/369705-how-bypass-kickstand-sensor-ducati.html

 

[RustyHalverson]

I'm now trying to learn how to upload pics - and have been for a while. Grrrrr. One of those days! I have pics and will get them up asap

I'm going to eat something and then work through the mod you sent. Thanks!

 

[mlukason]

I found that it's easiest to upload your pictures to a photo hosting site like Flickr or Photobucket. Once the photo is there, you can copy the image's web address and paste it into your post on the forum.

 

[RustyHalverson]

Although the wiring to the side stand shutoff relay is a blistered and fried crispy wreck, it is still operating as it's supposed to. I spent the additional hours needed to read through the many threads you have shown me and finding even more that this forum has on bypassing it and - I'm sort of proud to say - I will repair/replace the section of damaged wire but keep the kill function as I was finally convinced by the argument of some of our older/wiser members that it is prudent and safer to have it functioning lest I ever forget to put it up and drive myself into some nightmarish potentials.

I know its functioning because the fuel pump activates and there are some sounds, too from back near the seat when I turn the key and punch the starter and it tries to turn over but never catches with the stand in the retracted position, yet it does nothing at all when I leave the stand down.

I guess it could be that there is a clog or some other reason the thing isn't turning over/firing. Tomorrow, I'll remove enough fuel from the tank to be able to lift it up and check the lines below it to see if there's a simple clog and then if that's not it then take it apart and inspect the fuel filter and whatever else is in there. Does that sound like the proper sequence or what do you guys think?

If my use of this thread and forum exceeds propriety, please tell me otherwise I am only too happy to do everything I can to resolve this with your gentlemen's supervision. It's such a wonderful and motivating way to really learn how it all works and of course, since I have the time and lack the funds to take it in, it's certainly cheaper! That is until I get ahead of myself and put something on backwards or whatnot and fuck it up worse! Lol.
Thanks for reading and commenting as you feel like it.

Your most spirited apprentice, Rusty

 

[Tripod]

If you have a smart phone, install the motorcycle.com app. Very simple to upload pictures from app.

 

[RustyHalverson]

I did the spark check and its sparking. Getting ready to spray a bit of carb cleaner into the air intake and see if it fires up like that. I had to drain the gas tank to get at the air cleaner. So now I take off the air filter and spray into the hole and try starting it like that -correct?

I'm working through some of the sequences that you guys recommend in troubleshooting a non starting situation like this on other similar threads.

 

[va duc]

I did the spark check and its sparking. Getting ready to spray a bit of carb cleaner into the air intake and see if it fires up like that. I had to drain the gas tank to get at the air cleaner. So now I take off the air filter and spray into the hole and try starting it like that -correct?

I'm working through some of the sequences that you guys recommend in troubleshooting a non starting situation like this on other similar threads.

That sounds correct. Not sure why you had to drain the tank, just prop it up and remove the airbox. Now that is a pain in the ass on the ST2!>
Might as well look at the fuel lines and change the filter now that the tank is drained.

 

[RustyHalverson]

So, I just fire it up with the gastank raised and the airintake open like that and then if it starts then shut it off? First I've got to go get a new can of carb cleaner. This one doesnt even drip its so empty of propellant.

The battery is good but it seems like it cant even get ther thing to try to turnover. Long ass pause before it throws out a try then another long wait.

Bupkiss. Nothing going with the carb cleaner into the intake so now i take off the whole tank and break it down to get at the fuel filter. Discouraging isn't the word for this. I've got my beautiful bike stripped down to unrecognizable already and not an inch closer to a solution. I don't get this shit. So many could be's. So it could be the starter, the sprag gear, the solonoid, a relay, a hose, the injectors, the ecu, what the fuck else is there? I know - LOTS.

Times like these I know exactly why I didn't spend time with my dad working on his motorcycle. This is NOT the fun part. Once I know what the fuck I'm working with I could get into it. I mean even if its something tough, at least I'd know what it is. But this not knowing is - aaaaah, stop your whining. It's the learning curve and you're complaining to the wrong people. They've paid the same dues times a hundred and don't need to hear it. Don't make them disgusted or you'll have no incoming intelligence. After all, Pop's dead now so he can't give you any answers. Ack!

 

[mlukason]

Before anybody throws out suggestions, some background information is needed. To diagnose this problem you will have to be methodical! Remember to start with the SIMPLE things/explanations first.

1. How was the bike running prior to it not running? Was everything fine then all of a sudden, no start? Or has it been running crappy? Did it die and not restart? Has it been difficult to start?
2. Battery condition: how old is the battery? You say it's good but it won't turn the engine over. Have you checked the voltage? Have you brought it to a parts store and had a load test performed?

Let's get the answers to these and then plot a course of action.

 

[RustyHalverson]

Patient History

OK, Mike. Here's whats been going on:

I bought it in November of 14 and it's my first bike. I had trouble starting it right off the bat so I bought a new battery and, although it didn't always catch on the first punch, I always got it started and commenced to teaching myself how to ride. I say this because, as you might imagine, it takes a bit of practice to get shifting smooth and then even more time to learn how to use the brakes and the engine downshifting and all that can be tough on the parts.

I tend to use the downshifting process to slow myself down about fifty percent as much as I do the front brake - at least untill I'm rolling to a stop in second. Often the bike will backfire. I do most of my practice riding on the city street late at night here in Southern California as I don't want to have to divide my attention to traffic until I'm more comfortable. So one cool night at about 1:30 am I was tooling around in the foothills and had alot of backfiring and such due to coming down hills in 2nd and 3rd gears. I was pulling into a parking lot to turn around and grabbed too much front brake and stalled the bike. It wouldn't start and I couldn't jump it, so finally I gave up and hid it as I was too far from my house to push it.
The next day was the same result; I couldn't get it to start. Finally I started on the long push home. After a couple of miles in the hot sun I was wheezing (54 years old and a smoker) and came to the beginning of a pretty good downhill stretch so I got on and put her in neutral and let her take me for a change. What the hell, I thought, I put the key in and tried to crank it up as I rolled along. Then I got up a head of speed and popped it into gear. rrrr............rrrrrrr.......rrrrrr....sput sput sput brrrrroom! I was back in business!
I drove around for quite a while trying to get the charge back up on the battery and afraid I'd not be able to restart once I shut down. But it did start. I didn't have the trouble starting again until a couple weeks ago I downshifted when I meant to upshift which really overrevved the bike and scared the bejeebers out of me. The engine suddenly made a bogging sound and felt like it was going to die but I gave it gas and it got past it.

A couple of nights ago, I was practicing speed-shifting and the blip with the throttle you do to get the engine revs to match the new gear position and damned if I didn't do it again1 Went down instead of up. Bogged down. Died. I had just made the turn onto my street so I pushed it home and I've been trying to figure out what the problem is since.

~more storyline/patient history after I get dinner for my wife...~

 

[mlukason]

Okay. The backfiring upon deceleration can be from the fuel system running a little lean (fuel to air ratio a little on the too much air side). But don't worry about that now. A good tune-up will probably straighten that out.

Do you have a voltmeter? What's the voltage off the battery terminals? [the ECU requires a minimum voltage to run. If it doesn't get it, it stops the engine if it's running or will not let the engine start]
Do you have a battery charger?

From your second to last paragraph: the bike was running well. You over-revved the engine. The engine began to bog and then it stopped. Would not start again.

Additional questions: would it crank at a normal speed after the final shut down? How was the cranking speed at the beginning of the night, before the over-revving? Was there any sound from the engine when over-revved (a snap, thud, tink, etc)?



Caution: be careful when jump starting these bikes. People have been known to fry their ECU's by jump starting their bikes with a car. While we are talking batteries...also be VERY careful about connecting the battery cables! The forum is littered with tales of woe from people who accidentally reversed the polarity by putting the battery in the tray backwards (easy to do, cables reach). This is a sure fire way to fry the ECU.

 

[RustyHalverson]

I have a multimeter. I dont know how to use it - and I even bought a book on how to use it for $20 at Radio Shack and I can't understand the book! I use a trickle charger to top up the battery but rarely as its a new battery.
The speed of the crank has really denigrated. Sometimes now I just hear a sort of metal plate spinning very slowly and no kick at all. I also hear a clicking from the seat vicinity. I did do a spark plug check earlier and there is a spark. I read on one of the threads of a sprag gear which sounded like a possible match in terms of symptoms and the solonoid seemed to be a possible cause? I have been careful about not trying over and over just to see if it vanished. I can sense that whatever it is its not going to disappear and dont want to wear out the other things trying. So dont worry I won't try to jump it with a car battery or from a wall plug or anything. I did read about a few of our members frying their ECUs.

I never heard a breaking sound, per se but I have heard crackling shorting type sounds and it has comtinued to make the whirring humming trying noise well after I removed the key and stepped away from the vehicle with my hands in the air, eyes rolling. lol.

 

[RustyHalverson]

I recorded what it sounds like when I turn it on and hit the button:

https://youtu.be/suy_yOnmwdk

 

[mlukason]

Hmmm...that sounds weak. Slap that charger onto the battery and get it up to snuff (if it's a trickle charger it'll take a day or so). It is possible that the sprag clutch is not catching and is slipping. But, I don't know if it'll slip when the battery is really low and the flywheel is turning so slowly. After the battery charges, get your multimeter out and measure the voltage on the terminals. I bet the engine will turn over faster. If it still doesn't start, measure the voltage on the battery while the engine is turning over.

 

[RustyHalverson]

I will get it fully charged up and note the levels on the multimeter for the fully charged battery as well as the charge as it is trying to start. In the meantime, I will replace the fuel filter and thoroughly clean out the gas tank and tubes and hoses in that area. So I'll post again later tomorrow after I accomplish this set of things. Ciao, and thanks again for the directions!