I've read as much as I could on here about cold starting issues on the 696.
- I DO NOT have the coil wiring problem. According to a thread I read on here w/ the help of pictures, I do not have the coil wires crossed.
- I am approx. 450 miles away from the first scheduled maintenance. My oil level is where it should be according the hash marks on the oil window.
With that said, why does it take me 5-10 minutes to start up the bike when cold? I've read the manual and have done what it stated. I've cranked the fast idle switch open to Position B and hit the starter button. No dice. I'll do it several times and nothing happens. It just turns and turns. It doesn't even want to attempt to catch and start up with the idle switch. I'll even do intermediate positions. Nothing happens. It feels like it wants to start up better with the fast idle "off". Normally once it finally fires up I switch the fast idle to Position B for a bit and then set the proper warm-up idle (~1500 rpms). This process is time consuming and embarrassing. I hope I don't wear out the starter.
What could be the problem?? Once it's warm though it fires right up with no problem.
I'll try to get a vid tonight when it gets cooler again.
For now, here's a pic of the coil harness. The brown-striped wire is on top (according to the posts here this is correct).
(http://i38.tinypic.com/dbmrtf.jpg)
What temperatures are we talking here?
More importantly, this is not normal. Your engine should start fine-hae you spoken to the dealer? This is something they should sort out for you.
I haven't spoken to them yet. I keep my bike garaged 100% of the time when it's not ridden. The temp last night was in the low 50's at most high 40's. Garage temp was probably mid-to-high 50's. As you can see, we're not talking extreme cold temps here. It was cold (Houston standards) but not winter cold.
Quote from: 1313 on November 16, 2008, 12:27:00 PM
I've read as much as I could on here about cold starting issues on the 696.
- I DO NOT have the coil wiring problem. According to a thread I read on here w/ the help of pictures, I do not have the coil wires crossed.
- I am approx. 450 miles away from the first scheduled maintenance. My oil level is where it should be according the hash marks on the oil window.
With that said, why does it take me 5-10 minutes to start up the bike when cold? I've read the manual and have done what it stated. I've cranked the fast idle switch open to Position B and hit the starter button. No dice. I'll do it several times and nothing happens. It just turns and turns. It doesn't even want to attempt to catch and start up with the idle switch. I'll even do intermediate positions. Nothing happens. It feels like it wants to start up better with the fast idle "off". Normally once it finally fires up I switch the fast idle to Position B for a bit and then set the proper warm-up idle (~1500 rpms). This process is time consuming and embarrassing. I hope I don't wear out the starter.
What could be the problem?? Once it's warm though it fires right up with no problem.
I'll try to get a vid tonight when it gets cooler again.
For now, here's a pic of the coil harness. The brown-striped wire is on top (according to the posts here this is correct).
"On top" is meaningless, since it's a connector on a cable... one man's top can easily be reversed. What you want to be looking for is which color is closer to the clip.
On my bike, I had the coil issue, and it did look exactly like yours prior to the fix. It's my understanding that the wires were miswired at the factory on the ECU end, so if Ducati ever fixed the issue on the assembly line, or through the particular supplier of the harness, you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at that connector. It just happens that it's easier to reverse the wires on that connector than on the ECU end.
Having said all of that, it does sound exactly like the issue that I was experiencing prior to the fix. Usually took about 3-4 tries to get the bike to start... other than that some low RPM surging. Others experienced overheating, but that was never an issue on my bike. Since the fix, the bike starts on the first shot almost every time.
Oh, keep in mind that dealers don't always know what they're talking about either... I specifically brought up the issue with my dealer at the 600 mile maintenance, and they told me that there was no problem with the bike. I ended up doing the work myself.
Let me know if you have any questions... I don't have a lot of biking or wrenching experience, but I'll answer as I can.
*sigh* :-\
So Takster, how did you end up fixing the problem? I'd rather wrench on it myself instead of letting the dealer handle this. My dealer and parts dept looked at me funny when I asked about the bolts that connected to the windscreen delete panel. I can just only imagine what their facial expression would be like when I bring this issue up.
Guidance would greatly be appreciated.
Hmm. Well I found the PDF highlighting the wires. My wires are in the correct orientation. I disconnected the harness to take a closer look.
My blue/striped wire is in slot 1 which is next to the clip and the brown/striped wire is in slot 2.
Okay, here's the PDF for everyone's reference. http://up.sur-la-toile.com/ihpS
Here's my harness. It's correct afterall.
(http://i33.tinypic.com/11uch1c.jpg)
Quote from: 1313 on November 16, 2008, 04:40:44 PM
Okay, here's the PDF for everyone's reference. http://up.sur-la-toile.com/ihpS
Here's my harness. It's correct afterall.
That's exactly the reference I used to do mine. It was well explained, and I can't do better. Glad to hear that everything is how it should be. Have you had a chance to look at your 'V' coil?
I'll take a look at the other harness.
So something strange happened last night and this morning. I turned on every switch and let it sit for a seconds....hit the starter button.. VRRROOOOMMM. [clap]
I duplicated the same thing this morning (air temp 55F). It started up like a champ. The only thing different I did last night and this morning compared to the other times was the fact that I let everything sit for a few seconds. Maybe by doing that it allowed the electronics to dump more fuel into the mixture before start up. Who knows. I'm 2 for 2 and that's all that matters.
I consider this case closed for now unless the electrical gremlins were just taking a break.
Congrats. I hope it keeps up.
~T
Just a question..
How much abuse can the starter take before it craps out? I've never held it for more than 3-4 secs at a time during my starting issues.
Quote from: 1313 on November 18, 2008, 01:14:41 PM
Just a question..
How much abuse can the starter take before it craps out? I've never held it for more than 3-4 secs at a time during my starting issues.
Quite a bit. Also you'll find you can hold the button all you want-it doesn't actually control the starter. Hitting it once is the same as holding it. You only think you have control ;)
Sounds good. Then what is the electronic noise when I did hold down the button? Just trying to put my mind at ease.
Quote from: somebastid on November 18, 2008, 01:25:26 PM
Quite a bit. Also you'll find you can hold the button all you want-it doesn't actually control the starter. Hitting it once is the same as holding it. You only think you have control ;)
That's what my manual told me to expect, but I don't think that's really the case... the starter stops turning the moment I let go of the button whether it's 1 second or 10.
IIRC, the starter on the 696 is not like those on other bikes. When you hold it the starter turns. When you let go the starter stops.