2013 Hyper 821 dash/electrical problem

dyii · Mar 15, 2014

Ok, here is the problem. I tried to install a louder horn on my '13 Hyper 821 and stupidly did not disconnect the battery before pulling the wires on the stock horn and plugging them into the new horn. When I turned the key on, the dash lit up but as soon as I hit the horn button to see if it worked, the dash turned off and everything looked like it shut down with no power. I thought I could just disconnect the battery and wait a while, hook it back up, turn it back on and everything would be fine but that did not work. I turned the key and it sounded like the fuel pump came on along with all the regular noises but nothing on the dash lit up. The lights did not come on, the horn did not work and when I tried to start it"¦.nothing. The anti-theft light does not blink when I turn the ignition off but when I turn the key to park, the head light DRL or parking light comes on as it should but nothing else seems to work.

I went through all the fuses in the tail and all of them checked fine, both the large 30amp and the box of smaller size fuses in the main box. Again, when I turn the key the fuel pump and electrical noises all sound like they are coming on but the dash does not light up and it won't turn over. Did I trip some anti-theft system or blow a fuse somewhere other than the tail? What am I missing here?

Any help would be appreciated as we are having an unusually warm day today and I thought I would go for a ride but noooooo"¦..

Thanks in advance.

mentalist · Mar 15, 2014

did you get the polarity wrong on the new horn?? sounds like you blew something, check the owners manual to see if there is another fuse box

Momfer · Mar 15, 2014

I have an aftermarket horn on it and when I was at the dealers for the recall, the mechanic checked the ecu.
He mentioned there was a horn error in it.
The horn sound normally when the engine is running. With the engine off the horn doesn't sound right, doesn't " come on".
So maybe the installation isn't strong enough to support an aftermarket, louder horn without a relais in it.

Stradasphere · Mar 15, 2014

There is a fuse block under the left tank side panel. If you look in from the rear you can see the end of it. Its in the lower section of the side panel.

Stradasphere · Mar 15, 2014

The manual shows a fuse in the front block for the instrument panel. To remove the side panel there is a screw on the black panel at the steering neck, one on the lower side panel and one under the seat. I think there are only 3. There are two or three tabs that engage the black plastic tank top. To unhook you slide the side panel either forward or rearward, I can't remember which way for sure.

GuyW · Mar 15, 2014

From my reading of the circuit diagram it appears that the instrument cluster has an electronic driver for the horn. I.e. It is not as simple as the horn button routing power to the horn.

As such it is possible that you have overloaded the instrument cluster. It is powered from fuse 2 on the front fuse box. Hopefully that is blown and not the driver circuit.

It does indicate that a relay is a good idea for aftermarket horns. They also generate a lot of electrical interference which is not good for electronics either.

gatdammit · Mar 15, 2014

My bad driving lamp wiring job blew my dash circuit breaker once. It's a 10A in the front fuse box, 2nd slot I believe. Oh, you can wiggle the box out without taking the fairing off. You have to slide the box straight up to lift off a retaining screw, then pull aft to release clip from frame rail. It's a little tricky if you haven't seen how it's held it. Just remember Up, then Back.

dyii · Mar 15, 2014

Well, after walking away from it for a little while, I thought I might try looking through the owners manual to see if it said anything about the blank instruments. It didn't but then I noticed there was a 3rd fuse block besides the one in the tail. It is mounted in the left hand body work above the evaporative canister so I figured I had nothing to lose. Pulled all that off and there were 6 more fuses in there. Went through all of them and low and behold...the very last one left....was blown. Replaced it and everything was back up and running!!!!! WooHoo!!!!

Still don't know why it blew. I can't believe it was the horn itself as it is only a little bigger than the one that was on there and it had the exact same 2 plug connection and which fit the stock wires perfectly. Any thoughts? The stock horn is pathetic and begs for a replacement but I don't think throwing in a bigger fuse is a great idea but it was only 10 amps.

Mike has a point though. How am I supposed to add an uprated horn or anything without worrying about blowing a fuse? Ducati sells some heated grips that are designed to plug directly into the harness and are actually controlled through the dash and toggles for the instruments. It came with a plug for a battery tender already attached directly to the battery which works fine and from what I read it makes plenty of amps to power heated gear so I guess wiring directly to the battery would be the answer there.

Dave

gatdammit · Mar 16, 2014

The dash circuit must be susceptible to surges. My lamps don't draw very much power but when they flickered as I messed with loose connection, dash fuse tripped.

Do you happen to know how much power your horn draws?

dyii · Mar 17, 2014

No idea but obviously more than the wimpy little stock one!

gatdammit · Mar 17, 2014

dyii, did you blow the dash fuse firing the horn just on the battery? My dash fuse never blew with the engine running and I drove messing with the short a couple times. It only blew the fuse when I was messing with it on battery power/engine off.

zippy49 · Mar 17, 2014

Lesson to be learned here: Thou shalt disconnect the battery before touching anything in the electrical system beyond changing a fuse or bulb.

I sure wish Ducati had located that LH fuse box in a bit more accessible spot, but it only matters if you blow one....

2013 Hyper 821 dash/electrical problem

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