'13 Strada still won't start

st2cmack · May 10, 2019

It started out as what I thought was bad fuel so I drained the tank completely and added 3 liters of fresh non-ethanol premium. Also new spark plugs, checked the air filter, checked all fuses, cleaned up the ground, battery fully charged...still won't start. The motor turns over well but doesn't want to fire. There is a spark on the horizontal cylinder and plug looks and smells like fresh gas. Checked all connectors leading to plugs. Bike ran fine last year with the Eldor coils I had installed over the previous winter. Hmmmm...WTF

I was wondering if there was a clogged fuel filter but the whole fuel pump is replaced as a unit with no separate filter and seeing as list price is $1123US, don't think I'll be replacing that on a guess.

Any suggestions?

Colin

gatdammit · May 11, 2019

Maybe not engaging or broken sprag clutch? It's a weak point in Duc's. If the starter turns and it's making spark, it must not be physically turning the crank. Easy to mess up if you replaced the starter yourself or cracked the left side of the engine case. Read my entries on the starter DIY.

There's some YT vids on diagnosing bad sprag clutch.

st2cmack · May 11, 2019

gatdammit said:
Maybe not engaging or broken sprag clutch? It's a weak point in Duc's. If the starter turns and it's making spark, it must not be physically turning the crank. Easy to mess up if you replaced the starter yourself or cracked the left side of the engine case. Read my entries on the starter DIY.

There's some YT vids on diagnosing bad sprag clutch.

I'm pretty sure the crank is turning cause I can feel puffs coming out the pipe.

Know what you mean about the starter, I replaced 2 on previous Ducs and used a little tool from Desmo Times to remove the case side.

Colin

netaron · May 27, 2019

Did you resolve the issue? If not, do you still have your original coils you could swap for testing? But I guess if you're getting a spark they may be fine, but just to at least eliminate that possibility. Do you have a power commander or the like installed? Are you getting enough fuel in the cylinders from your injectors?

st2cmack · May 27, 2019

Still won't start and behaves as before. Turns over but does not fire.

I do still have the original coils but unfortunately I used the connectors on the Eldors I bought(ran successfully and well last season).

Had not looked at the old girl in a couple of weeks and when contemplating it yesterday noticed that I had overfilled with oil when I put her to bed last fall. I know this was grabbing at straws but I did drain off about .6L of oil to get the level between the marks on the sight glass. Had also wondered if I'd pinched the fuel line when reinstalling tank so I drained again and once again put clean new gas in before reinstalling with care. Still no joy...

Sigh....

Colin

Tyjamo · May 27, 2019

Call your service center and run the VIN to see if there are any recalls. My 13' has had an updated TPS for a long time but Ducati just added the can bus filter per recall.

gatdammit · May 28, 2019

Maybe try and push start it? Got a long steep driveway? Would be a definitive ruling on the starter being the culprit.

st2cmack · May 28, 2019

It's had all the recalls and/or service bulletins done. Bump starting will have to wait a while, I've just had hernia surgery!

Colin

Fotoguzzi · Jun 5, 2019

When that happens on a Guzzi first thing I think of is the the cam or crank sensor, how does the hyper get timing signal to fire?

st2cmack · Jun 11, 2019

A friend and I played with it again last weekend. Once again determined that there is a strong spark and that the fuel pump is moving lots of fuel. It cranks well and makes pffting sounds but will not fire. I wonder if the injectors are plugged or as Fotoguzzi said is there some timing sensor that's gone bad...

So frustrating cause it was running fine when put to bed last fall!

netaron · Jun 11, 2019

Yes, at this point they need to be checked thoroughly, I haven't done this on a duc, but on certain bikes you could remove the plugs and the injectors to see how much fuel was being delivered. Who knows, you may have had a tank of bad fuel that possibly gunked up your injectors.

I doubt it's a compression issue as you stated the bike worked fine before winter. Just make a checklist of all the suggestions, check the ones that you have completed and do the rest, and please do report back.

gatdammit · Jun 12, 2019

If you're that confident in spark and fuel delivery, sounds like a sensor or bugging safety system. Did you swap out all the vital fuses?

'13 Strada still won't start

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