Kiwi_Roy

Here you go, sorry it's not in colour http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s526/Kiwi_Roy/MagicSmokeMachine_zps96bc0fa6.jpg Roy

Hubert, a few posts back to your question czakki responded "yea cleaned up and is good to go was pretty corroded, seems to have had no affect on the way it runs" He also in the opening post complained about weak starting with a freshly recharged battery. Much further along I concluded that the main ground was disconnected and the starter current was diverted back through the smaller ground causing it to fry. The Voltage drop would also explain weak starting. http://www.v11lemans.com/forums/uploads/post-9232-0-94435600-1380931018.jpg

First off, do not use Dielectric grease on any contacts, the only place for that is in the garbage IMHO Do you have a multimeter with the Diode test function (---->|----), if so unplug the regulator and measure from each yellow wire to the red ones, each should read 0.4 to 0.5 Volts Ground the regulator and check the 30 Amp fuse for signs of overheating as Docc says, it's a well documented fault with these bikes. Do you have after market headlight relays? It messes up the Voltage reference if the headlight current doesn't pass through the bikes headlight relay.

A loose main ground was the cause of all the smoke, relocate the connection point from behind the seat release key to somewhere like the gearbox. I would not replace the black wire that burnt up, just run a short ground from the regulator to an engine bolt. A new main loom would be the best but in lieu of that remove all the covering and carefully check all the wires from under the seat as far as the front of tank taping up any points where the insulation is melted

Not from the battery, from an engine bolt, timing cower screw is a handy spot.

Doesn't anyone have the tools to measure the current out of the A/R when all systems are on? Have you measured the resulting voltage when you had your 'P/A/S' plugged in and working, Docc? Hubert I posted how to make a meter shunt a while back http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s526/Kiwi_Roy/SimpleMeterShunt_zps558bfdb2.jpg If you want to get a feel for the net battery drain / charge put the shunt between battery and the wires that normally connect. The short #12 shunt will easily measure the starter current, ~ 160 Amps for 5 seconds or more.

The gap between the sensor and the toothed wheel is quite critical, adding an additional gasket moves the sensor too far away. We just had a guy on the other forum who had added a gasket to fix the oil leak on a Quota and his bike was running like crap not very nice. Now that you mention it of course, the main ground is under the seat release, this is a silly place for it. The main battery ground should connect to an engine / gearbox bolt smeared with a little grease to prevent corrosion. The black wire going into the regulator is not a ground it's +12 Volts, the regulator ground is the little bitty wire under the mounting bolt, possibly the one that did all the damage. Remove the ground through the loom and ground the regulator to the engine In light of all that's happened no ground wire that's grounded to chassis at the other end should run back to the battery negative, it should connect to the engine or chassis Headlight, regulator idiot lights, gauges to name a few. There should only be one path, from negative to the chassis, through the main ground wire. Things like GPS, heated gear and other accessories are ok as they don't provide an alternate path for the starter current. Don't fix too many things at the same time

But the starter engagement stayed weak, oh well, I think to myself maybe it's one of those weak connections I've read about on the forum. Docc, you just solved the mystery. Looking back at the original post czakky made "But the starter engagement stayed weak, oh well, I think to myself maybe it's one of those weak connections I've read about on the forum" Heres what happened. The main large ground is disconnected so all the starting current has to make it's way from the battery to the front of the bike through the small black wire in the loom, of course it can't handle the current so the starter is weak and eventually it let out the magic smoke and shorted to many others. Czakky, trace the large ground from the battery, it should connect somewhere at the rear of the gearbox, it's probably corroded, broken under the insulation or loose. As for replacing the black wire that did all the damage, instead of running it back to the battery connect it to the motor somewhere, that way if ever you get a loose main ground it will not re-occur. Back through the motor and the now re-connected main ground is a better path also. I think this should be a warning to us all, check the main ground connection, especially if starting is weak, this bike could have easily destroyed itself.

Looks like a 6 beer job right there The bike is trying to bond with you.

The factory 3 prong harness is probably the ECU test light connector (3 pins side by side), I have never tried to use it. Let us know which fuses blew, there might be a clue there With the exception of the start relay fuse the only thing will cause them to blow is a short to chassis. The start fuse will blow with a loose connection in the main positive wire or bad solenoid contact.

So what was that ground wire, are you sure it wasn't a hot put there to power some accessory the PO removed? Weak starter - we need more information like battery Voltage? The Ducati Energia regulators tend to get weaker with age but before you give up on it add a proper ground, the little black ground the factory provided is too small resulting in low battery Voltage. A short wire from the case to a timing cover screw will fix that. Another thing that happens to the regulators, one of the internal diodes let go and you loose half the available charge, try adding the ground first. Smoke, no lights, what did you find / fix? So now you have several blown fuses, there must be several wires shorted to ground but where? The last time I saw similar symptoms the owner was disconnecting the battery, while undoing the positive terminal his wrench made contact with the ECU which caused the little ground wire attached to get red hot and melt through the insulation of several other wires in the loom shorting them together. Fortunately the ground wire didn't go very far in the loom so it was an easy repair. This is why we keep saying "Disconnect the Negative first, reconnect the Negative last", it's not possible to short the battery that way Three wires on each post sounds about right, does that include the main fat ones? If you have an intermittent short the fuses will pop in the blink of an eye without you noticing, here's an old sparky trick. Replace the fuse with a heavy wattage lamp (old headlight bulb is perfect) the lamp may glow a bit but it will not be full brightness until the short occurs so you can poke and prod the wires looking for the short. I wouldn't recommend this on either of the ECU fuses but the wiring there is pretty robust anyway. I sent you a PM Roy

The magic smoke has escaped, I've seen these symptoms before. More to follow

And they don't have to be an exact match, the 6204 is the dimension, the -2RSH and the -2RSL describes the seals. The same bearing is good for both sides, they are also very common in other bikes. http://www.skf.com/binary/12-36038/6270%20EN_tcm_12-36038.pdf The seal options are confusing (page 3 & 4) it also mentions RS1 as per your post, I thought it might have been a mistake on Paul's part, sorry about that.

As Docc says. I have a pressure gauge on my V11, let the oil get into the bottom 3rd of the marks on the stick and even under mild acceleration the pressure will drop right to zero.

I have read to use a propane torch with the flame out but I have no experience. Did you check the throttle balance, if that's shifted it would be a clue.

I don't think the air leak at exhaust would do it, running on for 90 seconds is quite weird. All I can suggest is monitor the TPS Voltage to see if there's something hanging up there. Does it go through the same routine every time or just now and then? Check the temperature sensors when hot. Clutching at straws here. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums/s526/Kiwi_Roy/ECUTestpoints_zps07afda01.jpg

Do you have the vacuum ports plugged off as they should be? For it to idle fast it must be getting air somewhere. Check that the throttles are closing straight away.

Yes, I realized that, I was going to edit but you beat me to it No, the regulator doesn't measure the battery Voltage directly, it measures the Voltage between the red and green wires, the battery can be lower than that point because of the bad connection. Actually without a schematic it's only a guess as to how and when it senses the Voltage. I like the Ducatti Energia, it's the way it's installed in the Guzzi that's the problem. The battery Voltage reference is downstream of the headlight relay at a point normally about 1/2 Volt less than the battery. If there is any additional Voltage drop say bad relay base contacts or larger headlight bulb the Voltage drop is higher so the regulator turns on longer until it cooks (usually melts one of the diode leads). If you add after market headlight relays that bypass the normal headlight relay now the regulator sees the true battery Voltage and cuts off earlier. Also the grounding provided left a lot to be desired. I put a new Ducati on my V11 EV but took great care to make sure the wiring was in tip-top shape. The regulators on the modern Guzzis connect directly to the battery, The Electrosport shows this also but the wires they provided are too short to reach, the logical thing to do is cut the ring connectors off and add bullets. http://www.electrosport.com/technical-resources/library/fitting-instructions/electrosport-esr510-fitting-instructions.pdf I mounted mine under the tank and extended the yellow wires, even so I had to extend the Red & Green a little bit to reach the battery. Update: The ESR510 comes with different connection options.

Sorry, I wasn't questioning your ability to make a good joint, looking again at the photo you posted it's obvious that the heating took place right at the end where the bullet connector makes contact with the socket. The current pulses from a Ducati regulator are well over 30 Amps When I asked Electrosport how their regulator worked they hinted that it's a shunt type, from that I concluded the regulator shorts out the alternator similar to most 3 phase ones. The current spikes may be extremely high. This resistance is probably why your battery Voltage was down, the regulator was seeing a higher Voltage than the battery and cutting back too soon. Perhaps just use crimp links instead of connectors, they will take all the current the alternator can put out. BTW I would alert Electrosport about this problem, I'm sure they will want to fix it

Sorry, that's a classic sign of a high resistance joint, somethings loose there, perhaps the wires aren't crimped properly. You will need to change the connectors or your Ducati will go the same way. The 30 Amp fuses sometimes melt (not blow) for the same reason, a loose clip. Bullet connectors aren't the best method of joining two wires, that's why you don't see them so much anymore, the spade type seem to stand up better.

Loose Connection. You will need to cut the wires back and use new bullet connectors. No wonder you were down on Voltage.

I used the 3-3/8 from Speedhut, although I made a new dash I made the holes the same size as original. The Veglia's must be less than 3-3/8 because they fit into rubber grommet. I wanted to make use of the old speedo drive spot on the gearbox so I just filed a square section on a screw, to the head I glued a magnet. The reed switch container is thin aluminium wrapped around a bolt then fixed to the nut off an old cable. http://s1304.photobucket.com/user/Kiwi_Roy/slideshow/Guzzi%20Dash

My old Uncle who was a plumber taught me how to start a large thread like that. you turn it slowly backwards until you feel it click off the end of the thread, then turn it forward. I think you will find most owners prefer to drop the sump, that way you can give it a good clean out and add a hose clamp to prevent the filter working loose.

I do if you read further, I only close them to get the reference point.

This is how I have adapted the procedure (I have a V11 Sport with TPS on right and a V11 EV with TPS on the left) I disconnect the linkage and back off the throttle stops and fast idle cam Now using a strip of paper as a feeler I wind in both Left and right stops until I feel the screws just griping the paper Set the TPS at 150 mV (Setting the TPS at 150 mV ensures it's not jammed up against its end stop +/- even 50 mV has very little effect on the Air /Fuel ratio) Wind in the RH throttle stop to around 500 mV and the LH screw by the same amount (there's nothing magic about 500 mV, it's just a starting point) Open the air bleeds about 1/2 turn Start the bike and balance the throttles with a manometer using the air bleed screws or if it's too far out a little on either throttle stop also aiming for the idle speed where I want it, I like mine as low as possible ~ 900 So now the bike is idling nicely with the throttles in balance. Stop the bike and reconnect the throttle linkage making sure it doesn't open either throttle. Now with the bike running the balance should still be correct at idle. Rev the bike up and make sure it balances at about 3000, adjusting the knob in the V11 Sport case or the screw on the V11 EV Re-check the idle balance, usually just a tweak on one of the air bleeds is enough. The throttle bodies on my V11 Sport are quite worn with age and I find just using the LH idle screw results in a different idle speed each time I blip the throttle. I use both so the RH body always has a positive stop and the idle is consistent.