We normally refrain from commenting on “competitor” devices, but there are so many things wrong about this product that I will make an exception.
Ducati moved from one air temperature sensor to two sensors because it was necessary to meet the newest emission regulations (EURO5 and EURO5+). It is as simple as that. (If my memory serves me right they swapped to two sensors already during the late EURO4 bikes to be prepared for the stricter EURO5))
During the EURO3 and EURO4 days, it was sufficient to have a single air temperature sensor placed near the head lamp, and this sensor would provide signal to both the ECU and the dashboard readout.
When EURO5 arrived, it was necessary to have more accurate air temperature sensor readings, so they had to move the air temperature señor inside the air filter box (like on most other motorcycle brands). The temperature inside the air filter box is the value you want for the ECU to be able to adjust the air/fuel mixture correctly, but this setup does not provide a good signal for the ambient air temperature displayed in the dashboard.
Imagine when you stop the bike with a hot engine - the still standing air inside the airbox will be heated up by the warm engine, and then you would see an air temperature sensor reading that was easily 20C higher than the actual temperature. When you start the engine again and flow a lot of cool air through the air filter box, the temperature inside the air filter box will very quickly be the same as on the outside and the displayed air temperature would be correct again.
So if Ducati stayed with the single air temperature sensor setup and moved the sensor inside the air filter box - then they would be swamped in customer complaints about the displayed air temperature being wrong/faulty.
Bottom line is the they decided to implement two separate air temperature sensors like everyone else - because they had to.
And if you or anyone else is thinking: Hey, I’m in the USA (or somewhere else outside Europe), so the EURO standards does not apply to my bike, then you will be disappointed. It is extremely difficult/expensive/time consuming to develop new bikes and make them meet the emission regulations, so all manufactorers are now making “world models”. The EURO standard is the strictest ones, but whatever they are called in our countries, they are very close to the EURO regulations, so the EURO emission standards affect all of us with newer bikes - no matter where we are located.
This was all background information - now back to your questions:
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On a Ducati with two air temperature sensors, it will have absolutely no impact on the ECU’s calculations if you tweak the signal from the sensor that is showing the ambient temperature in the dashboard.
You already tested this yourself, because when there are no error code or check engine warning in the dashboard when you disconnect the connector from the air temperature sensor near the headlight, it will definitely not provide any kind of temperature signal to the ECU.
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Another issue with the “competitor” fuel dongle is that it is not possible to come up with a proper setup by substituting the original sensor by a single NTC sensor.
To keep the very important temperature compensation programming correct, you want to come up with a design that will provide the same temperature offset in all ambient temperatures, and to do so you need to use the combined output of the original sensor and the additional NTC sensor. (This is where most of the BoosterPlug copies fail badly)
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Next problem is that it is no longer possible to change the air/fuel ratio by tweaking the air temperature sensor signal (even if you would connect your device to the correct air temperature sensor). EURO5 and especially EURO5+ is blocking very effective in blocking our attempts to improve the bikes. Here is the detailed explanation:
The EURO5 standard includes a demand that the sensors are monitored to make sure the ECU inputs are not tampered with, and the manufactorers are obliged to build monitoring systems into the ECU’s and make sure they flash a warning in the dashboard if any of the sensors are showing signs of being tweaked.
In regards to the BoosterPlug, we have already seen this monitoring being done in two different ways:
- On bikes with a separate air temperature sensor for the dashboard display, it is quite simple for the ECU to compare the temperature for the ECU’s air temperature sensor and the dashboard air temperature sensor - and if there is a constant major difference (with the BoosterPlug installed), the ECU will sense a fault/tweak, and flash a warning in the instruments.
- On bikes with only one air temperature sensor, the ECU will compare the air temperature sensor signal with the oil or water temperature sensor signal when the engine have been stopped for more than 5 hours. (When the engine is completely cooled down, the oil temperature and air temperature must be more or less the same.
It is important to understand that this monitoring is a firm demand in the newest emission standards, and even if the BoosterPlug could probably work ok when you install it on a EURO5 bike, it can all easily change with the first software update on the ECU (We saw this happen on the Triumph Tiger 900 and the Honda CRF1100L).
So if we launched the BoosterPlug for any of the EURO5 bikes, we could/would end up in a situation where the BoosterPlug would cause the ECU to report an error after the bike have been to service (because of the ECU software update), and the customer would obviously blame the BoosterPlug - and we would end up with a bunch of unhappy customers….
There is no demand that the monitoring thing is introduced on older bikes (and the older ECU’s are mostly not prepared for it anyway), and the factories are well aware that everyone and their dogs have modified bikes in the past. So even if it was technical possible to add the monitoring software to the existing ECU’s, we can be quite sure that they will not do so, as they surely know that this is like asking for trouble.
This monitoring thing does not only affect the BoosterPlug. The ECU’s are locked for remapping (ECU flash), and Power Commanders and the horrible O2 eliminators are also history with the arrival of the EURO5 standard. There is no reasonable way around this, so we had to make the tough decision to stop developing new BoosterPlug’s and make it clear that we do not support bikes newer than 2020.
The newest EURO5+ standard have even tougher monitoring requirements, as well as a new demand that the engine goes into “Limp” mode with reduced power if the check engine light is turned on. So the old trick to put a piece of black tape over the warning light is also a thing of the past.
Sorry for the long explanation, but I wanted to provide a proper answer to your questions.
Bottom line is that this device will not and can not change the air/fuel ratio on the 698, and it is not even a properly researched or well build BoosterPlug copy ;-)
