Electrical problem , I think ?

**Montana** · 08 May 08, 10:55 PM

Yesterday I went for a ride, and felt that the bike was straining a little.By this I mean, it seemed to be wanting to go faster than it was but it was being held back, and it seems to be a little intermittent.Now this could have been one of three things, electrics,fuel or air.

Today when I went out with a friend of mine, he said to me(he was following me) "Do I always just signal once when turning right ?".So, I then went to the bike and checked over everything that I could, lights, indicators, brake lights etc. I have found that the front brake indicator , right turn signal(more on this in a min) and the main beam all seem to work intermittently.Now for the right turn indicator, when I just flick it to the right it works once then stops, but if I hold it for a second or two it seems to work properly.Just to add insult to injury, on the way home it seems to miss, again intermittently ! It seems to miss between 3000 to 4500 revs when I change up through the gears AND when I have changed up increasing the revs slowly.When I change up and wind up the revs quickly it doesn't happen.

On the way home I went to my local dealer and described the problems to the service manager, to which he had no explanation, but one of the techs would need to have a look at it, but get this, there booking in people for the 30th May onwards, thats 3 weeks !!! He did then say to me that if I rang on Monday morning first thing (as it's the best day of the week for them), that one of the techs MIGHT be able to have a look, but there no promise of this.

A few things raise their heads as far as this is concerned, am I going to damage the engine and or loom or other electrical components if I keep riding ? Next, am I wrong in thinking that my dealer should take a look at this straight away as the bike is just under 6 months old from new ?, its a 2007 model , and is there anything I should be looking at on the bike ? I have already taken the air box top off and that's all clear, just to make sure.Please bare in mind that I don't have a technicians manual for it, only an owners manual(which is next to useless for things like this).

Any and all thoughts would be very helpfull, as I would love to come to the Box Hill meet on saturday, as I've missed the last two.

Andy

**safetyfish** · 09 May 08, 03:08 AM

Electrical problems are the worst to have. I struggled once with my bike for almost a month just to find one small loose pin that was the cause of it all. Your bike is still under waranty mate, back to the dealers and let them sort it out.

Have a look at things like relays (condition, corrosion, connections)
fuse holders (your fuse is working, but could not be seated properly)
battery voltages (before starting, on idle, at 4000 rpm)
look for loose or chafing wires around the stearing head as you turn the handle bar
check if all your ground wires are still ok and tight
is the alternator wires still plugged in properly
spark plug coils on nice and tight?
Is the bike throwing any error codes? (You need a dealer for that)

Best of luck

SF

**Steve GD** · 09 May 08, 04:57 AM

Hi, Andy. As to the problem, I agree with Safety Fish....finding this could take a goodish time.From the fact that the symptoms are so widespread, I'd probably start by checking the voltage at various points, and the earth connections too. But as your bike is in warranty Id consider this very much a case for the dealer to deal with. And I'm sure they would be able to advise you if riding the bike in this condition is safe or not (and that is a big "not" if the indicators don't work). Of course, under those circumstances, I'm sure they would want to offer you a replacement whilst yours is in dock.

**Oldie** · 09 May 08, 07:52 AM

Oh dear Andy, looks like we won't see you tomorrow.

Hope you do get it fixed quickly.

Rick

**ziggi** · 09 May 08, 08:00 AM

Hope you get it sorted soon. I'd say that 3 weeks to wait is not too bad this time of year. Most bikes shops I know of will be mega busy for the summer months.

**Montana** · 09 May 08, 11:04 AM

Ziggi, I think that a 3 week wait for a warranty issue is disgusting, going on the car industry.

Just to add a little more misery, I have found out that the Ducati assistance is about as much use as a broken hip.I have just rung them(seems to be an AA agreement with Ducati), and they said that a non bike mechanic would have a quick look, and if nothing could be found, which they are not going to, then it would be taken to a dealer.Am I wrong here, unless you have totally broken down somewhere, then this is of no use ? The lady did say that I should check other dealers to see if the wait would be any less, but I'm not holding out much hope as others here have said that that kind of wait (at this time of year) is usual.

Now, what the hell should I do ?

Andy

**Paivi** · 09 May 08, 09:15 PM

Oh, Andy, what a bummer! Especially when it's you, as you were so kind to a fellow rider who thought she was having problems.

I'd say three weeks is taking the mickey for a warranty job.

Hope you get it sorted out soon!

**Montana** · 15 May 08, 05:55 PM

Just as an update, I thought I would tell you that I have it booked in for the 2nd of June, and this was booked on Monday 12th, and even with my maths that's still 3 weeks.

All I can say is that the bike industry need to pull their socks up as far as customer care is concerned.As I have said before, I have never had this in the car industry, so why should I HAVE to put up with it, where my bike is concerned ? I have never even had to put up with this kind of wait when I have bought a second hand car from a dealers, let alone a new car.
In this day and age, with computers and forums like this, surely they know that people are going to discuss things like this, and bike dealers are going to be slated, it's not as though I haven't tried to ring different dealers, to see if it's just my dealer that has a long wait on warranty issues.

As said above I think bike dealers need to pull their socks up, as dealers are going to be on lean times after October of this year, with the 3 part test, and when they see and hear stories like this they'll probably won't bother.

I said when I eventually got my bike that this was a 30 year dream getting my first big bike, and this dream has been very much tainted by this kind of service, or should I say lack of it.

Any suggestions or comments welcome.

Andy