Electrical issue(s) after rain

[pmazdan9]

My beloved duck is playing up again. Jesus Christ.

It's been pissing here in UK for at least a week now. Every day. My bike, 05 s2r800 with 35k milles, sits outside uncovered and is ridden every day.

Recently I rode to the shop in rain. When i turned off the bike,  rpm needle froze at 3k, it didn't go all the way down. I turned it on and off few times and eventually it went back to its zero position. Immobiliser started playing up but that's usual on wet days, i unplugged antenna, wiped connector and it fired up.

As i was riding i noticed the dashboard was flickering a little. I wasn't paying attention to it prior to frozen needle. I got home, decided to take the instrument panel off as there was some water in it, so i took it apart and dried it.

I've put it back on next morning. When key turned on, I'm getting neutral light straightaway, fuel pump primes, but gauges do not do they cycle thing for the first 5 seconds. Key on, nothing happens for 5 seconds, then needles go around and back like they should. Then the immobiliser light blinks twice and stays lit but is flickering more than before. Total mileage is no longer displayed, instead there are dashes. Trip meter was reset to 0. Im not sure when that happened, i just noticed it at this point.

I removed the battery, unplugged all connectors on the front end + regulator + stator, wiped and let them dry. Some were wet. I took the instrument panel off again as there was still some water in it. Took apart, dried at home. I let the bike sit for few hours.

None of it made any difference. It's still the same PLUS the immobiliser light no longer flashes at all, whether key is turned or not.

Battery shows 12.7, horn is loud, indicators work, pretty sure battery is fine. All fuses are fine as well.

Any advise?

[Howie]

The dash is probably toast.  You can tryremoving it, opening it and putting it in a box with raw rice.  I would also reccommend killing the immobilizer so the bike can start and run without the dash.

[pmazdan9]

Do you think?

Any way to test it? Daamn I'll loose my total mileage just before mot, great...

Aby decent tutorial on how to remove immo?

[Howie]

ECU would need to be flashed.  Not a do it yourself.

[pmazdan9]

I know there's a way to diy with OBD cables and tuneecu app IIRC, just can't find any decent step-by-step tutorial. If I was to change clocks I would probably buy some aftermarket ones as OEM are expensive or/and it's hard to find them, need to look into it too... bracket, wiring etc erghh what a pita.

When I get back home I'll try out the immobilizer override procedure. This will save me until I can sort it out. Bus tickets are more expensive than fuel, and it takes an hour to get to work rather than 6 minutes...

[pmazdan9]

Right, I can fire it up and it's totally rideable. Takes about 2 minutes to start it, pita as my pin is mostly 8 and 9

Speedo, rpm and idiot lights work. Nothing is flickering. Total mileage gone (it just displays dashes), immobiliser light gone, still takes about 5 seconds to say hi when key turned on, sometimes it won't move the needles. Not sure if tripmeter works, I only rode it for few miles and it's hard to see it in daylight. I think it does but I need to confirm that. /e: nope, it doesn't.

Unless one/some of the wires is loose/corroded or something, it's make the beast with two backsed. Is it make the beast with two backsed beyond repair though?

Any decent guide on how to remove immo? I've heard there is a way with tuneecu app. I will google it but I'd apprecieate if one can share his experience.

[Speeddog]

If your skillset is fixing small electronics, then try to repair it, and let us know how it goes.
If programming small electronics is your thing, then I'm sure there's a way to DIY.
There are several threads on tuning the ECU.

Otherwise, procure a replacement and get the ECU reflashed to eliminate the immobilizer.

[pmazdan9]

Unfortunately I'm no good at it, I can barely use multimeter I might take it to the shop one day and let someone have a look at it, but not sure if it's worth it. I'd rather buy new clocks I think, mine could be make the beast with two backsed beyond repair. A friend of mine fixes small electronics for a hobby, but I'm not sure if this is something he could fix - I'll ask him.

Programming on the other hand is what I do for living, so reflashing ecu should be something I can do. I'll look into it.

This is gonna have to wait as I'm pretty skint right now. Weather's shite so I only ride to/from work, I'm gonna have to live with it for now.

I will update this thread with a progress.

[pmazdan9]

Oh my... I fixed it!!

This Saturday I though "make the beast with two backs it, since it's broken I'll take it apart and see what's inside". And that's exactly what I did. I was a bit worried when removing needles cos it feeled like I'm breaking it but I did it. There are no marks there so bear that in mind.

Anyway, circuit board was very dirty by the connection points. There was some black and blue gooey stuff and a little bit of rust. I cleaned as much as I could with toothbrush and contact cleaner, let it dry for 36 hours in bowl of rice and electric dehumidifier on.

This morning I've put it all back together and plugged in before work. And it works! My total mileage is back, tripmeter doesn't reset when ignition turned off. The only one thing that doesn't work is immobiliser light, it just doesn't flash, but key is recognized so not to worry. I know it stops flashing after 24h so since the time was not saved until this morning, maybe it will come back. Otherwise I might replace the led on circuit board as it's cheap and easy.

Happy days!!

[pmazdan9]

Well, I wasn't happy for very long. I checked the bike on me 10 mins break. First time I turned ignition on it worked fine. Second, third, forth... it didn't. Total mileage dissapeared and needles sweeped later than they should. Erghhhh... I rode in a rain for 5 minutes today, maybe circuit board needs more cleaning again... damn ducati!!

[Howie]

Like a drowned cell phone, once corrosion and mold move in ...

Inconvenient and not cheap, but maybe these folk can help

http://sosdiagnostics.com/Ducati.html

[pmazdan9]

Thank you howie, I am UK based though! I know one place that repairs dashboards (I actually emailed them and they quoted £150 + parts) but there's no guarantee they can do anything and it's 2 weeks waiting. There's another place that can flash ecu for £150 (delete immo and upload dp map).

I think this is my cheapest and best option, other than buying brand new dashboard (£550). Then there's only 1 second hand dashboard on ebay for £275 but I'd still need to flash ecu so I'd rather buy a new one and have a warranty. In both cases I'd lose my mileage unless I sell my kidney and go to ducati dealer.

On the weekend I will attempt to clean the whole circuit board again and once it works for more than an hour, I will seal the unit properly. Fingers crossed.

[pmazdan9]

Right, here's an update.

I cleaned the circuit board thoroughly with 99% IPA, let it dry for 36 hours in a bowl of rice and electric dehumidifier next to it. When I plugged it in, it worked correctly the first time. However, all other attempts have been unsuccesfull and the same thing kept happening. I cleaned it again, and again it worked when I turned key first time but then it kept failing again. What I noticed is when it displayed my total mileage, it was the mileage from the day it broke.

When I turn the key on (other than when it works first time after cleaning), it counts from "1-30" to "0" then displays "OFF", then needles sweep. I googled it for hours, apparently this is what virgin dash does to initiate key coding procedure. It's stuck on this sequence. That makes me think there's a problem with memory in the dash. When key turned off, it forgets the code generated for immo for the next time key is turned on (in my understanding it's unique every time), and consequently it thinks the dash is virgin (?). Also explains why total mileage hasn't changed, however I'm not sure why it doesn't display it later (safety measure?). Time on the dashboard is displayed correctly. Immo light never flashes. Weird all that.

I have tried the key coding procedure (I have red and 2x black keys) but it didn't work. It kept displaying OFF, I guess it's because it does not remember that it was initialized after key is turned OFF. Obviously I might be wrong about all that, it's just my observations.

Anyway, clearly I can't fix it myself. Here are my options:
1. Send my dashboard to bloke who said he might be able fix it for £150
2. If above is unsuccessful (in which case it's £25), he said he can clone mileage and immo data to new dashboard for £95

Another option is TuneEcu. People on the forum replied to my post. It is POSSIBLE to remove immo through an app, and install new fuel map as well. I could do that, but then I'll have unknown mileage on the bike and I'm not quite happy about it.

If anyone is interested, here's my post on TuneEcu forum - click. You must register to acces the forum.

I'm not sure what I'm gonna do. MOT is due in 3 weeks and I'm skint. I think I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and buy second hand clocks, then post everything to this bloke. If he can fix my current dashboard, I'll return the second hand for a refund, otherwise he'll have it ready to clone (to save time). This will cost me either £150 (repair) + postage, or £275 (dash) + £95 (cloning) + postage. On top of that is the waiting time, bus tickets and all that. Whatever I do, I'm gonna have to use my credit card (again)

I'll let you know how it goes.

[koko64]

Bugger. Good luck and let us know how you go.

[620adam]

If you are buying another set of clocks for it to be able to be cloned then both dashboard circuit boards need to be white.
They do one and green boards my new clocks are green so couldn't get my clocks done. This was from a company I found while trying to find my own solution.