Had the bike drop into limp mode twice on my ride yesterday after less than 1500 miles in a new MAP sensor, which was replaced after I'd get a limp mode event daily on a road trip a month prior. Also had one of the sensors replaced back in 2019 for the same issue / symptoms at which time the bike was stock so I don't think the sprinter filter or custom airbox lid are to blame. Luckily I have an extended warranty so this one should be covered just like the last round. Been doing some internetting and it sounds like the sensor is only really needed for throttle operation at 20% open or less and that when one sensor goes the engine just uses data from the other sensor. Just annoying that it causes the bike to lose power and drop into limp mode whenever it occurs (passing a car at 90mph on the freeway is not a great time to have the engine cut out). Has anyone else come across this and figured out a way to address it, I'm assuming something I or the bike is doing is causing the sensors to fail. Gonna ask the dealer to save the old one this time so I can bench test it and confirm it's dead as I suppose the other possibility is an air leak in one of the cylinders?
Consistently Consuming MAP sensors
- Thread starter N4teTheGreat
- Start date
I'd prefer to delete it if I can't find the root cause of these continuing to fail as it's a little sketchy the way the bike just cuts power immediately, but it could just be dirt as I did wipe down the airbox and ran a rag around the intake while I had the filter out which may have allowed some loose dust in. That or maybe some of the rim grease I used to seal up the filer and lid mating surfaces lid made it's way in and nuked the sensor. I'll let the dealer fuss with it for now since I still have the extended warranty but if this continues to be a problem I'll have to figure something out.
Joined Sep 2017
595 Posts | 121+
Lansing Mi
I watched a few videos and people do have success cleaning them with mass air flow sensor cleaner so when the warranty is up I would definitely do that before replacing them. These sensors seem like a vacuum sensor with no outlet. So the suction pressure is metered and injectors adjust accordingly. I thought the had a through hole which would make sense that the grease could get into it but since it's upside down on the bottom of the air box with no actual hole into the air box I don't see how grease could make it's way that far upstream. Mabye depending on the grease used it could have melted and turned liquid but if I remember correctly you used the airfiler grease used on foam filters so that shouldn't melt and become liquid. I'm curious what he finds and the values you see on the old sensor.
Good info, thanks Tim! Bike is going to the dealer on Friday so I'll post up what they find. That said they tend to just check codes and replace parts so I'm not sure how much troubleshooting will happen. And yeah, the stuff I used is a thick grease sold my no toil designed to seal the lip of the foam filter against the airbox so it seemed like the right stuff for the job. Good to know these can be cleaned, but ideally I'd like to just not have them fail so often. The last sensor was replaced less than 2k ago.
So I went a looked at the diagram, I wonder if a dirty throttle body could be causing a partial blockage of the port the sensor tube connects too and causing out of bounds readings? Guessing that is not gonna be a warranty condition and probably means I should just get in there and clean things up.
I change the MAP sensor to 939 SP version. Had the limp mode 4 times. If happened when i accelerate hard then i see the rpm doesnt drop if i release the thottle and rev match to lower gear. Then it comes the "limp mode" thottle like 4000-5000rpm and the speed 62 64 mph maximum. Put the bike in Neutral and turn off the key off then on in my case help it back to normal .
I hook the bike in the ducati software it said:"
Sent from my HD1910 using Tapatalk
Interesting, my bike is an 939 SP, I'll be interested to see what errors show up when it goes to the dealer Friday. It does go back to normal after shutting it off, and usually that is the last of the problems for a day. This weekend however it did this twice in the same day which makes it a little more of a problem.
Got mine back from the dealer. They saw the code for the MAP sensor but it was transient and the sensor tested fine. They put some miles on it and nothing came up. As I work has been getting me down since my new role and my skills don't line up very well, I decided the obvious solution was to take the bike for spin, like, 100 miles or so. Ran like a champ the whole time and made me forget about work so I think it's fine. Hopefully it was just a bit of debri that got knocked loose when I wiped down the airbox while I had the filter out for cleaning...
Well, after a relative period of calm the bike is at it again. I need to get the code scanned bu the behavior was the same as before so I'm relatively sure it's the MAP sensor. I'm starting to wonder if the sprinter filter isn't adequate for touring where the bike sees more dust / dirt / bugs. That said, I've had the issue prior the new air-box, it's just been a bit more frequent since. Other than the limp mode that requires shutting the bike off and back on, there is never any impact to how the bike runs, so, are these stupid sensors of any use? Might just have to pull a Homer Simpson and put electical tape over the CEL light.
Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
I've come to love my CEL. We've been dating steady for 3 yrs. We have an understanding: As long as she runs right, I'll look the other way when you light up.
I'd ignore it entirely if it weren't for the annoyance of the bike dropping into limp mode at least once per ride, whenever it feels like it. I've gotten to the point I just kill switch it to clear the limp condition from the ECU, fire it up and ride off. The only time it was more than an annoyance was when it entered limp mode as I was passing a car. I think the poor driver thought I was coming for them when my pass turned into me slowing down and rolling next to them and then back in behind them before I could pull off.
Joined Sep 2019
63 Posts | 7+
Mumbai
I have been seeing this issue for last 1 week. The bike got into a limp mode with engine revving at a constant speed with no power developed if i opened the throttle. Turned the bike off and the restarted and it fired normally. The engine just does not build power above 4000-5000 rpm. And even if it does, its damn sluggish. I have started to dislike the whole experience of owning this bike
Sounds slightly different than my experience, once I restart the bike it runs as normal all the way to redline. The MAP sensor error usually pops once per ride, generally at highway speeds when I'm just droning along. Still under extended warranty so I'll just let the dealer replace sensors for now. Once the warranty is up I'll find a shop that can do a little more investigating to see if we can figure out what keeps killing those sensors.
Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
I had the random limp mode issue when my 2013 was very new. Think it went to the shop twice for it and eventually was told a TPS update fixed it. Had them stumped for a bit and wondering if there was magnetic anomaly from something interfering with the TPS pickup.
Same as you both state, would usually kill switch and restart to clear. Also was very prone to happening on first ride of the day as soon as I accelerated beyond neighborhood speed in 1st.
Same as you both state, would usually kill switch and restart to clear. Also was very prone to happening on first ride of the day as soon as I accelerated beyond neighborhood speed in 1st.
Joined Sep 2019
63 Posts | 7+
Mumbai
I did find the bike rev smooth and nice for 1st 10-12km after starting in morning. But then it suddenly went to limp mode with engine running at constant rpms even when opening it. I let it coast to stop. Turned of the bike fully, then restarted it. It fired up well, but didn’t develop power above 4000 rpm. This did feel similar to a ride few months ago. But in that ride, the Christmas tree lit up with odo on dash showing “- - - - - -“. Thats when i got a new TPS. This time when it hit limp mode, the dash had normal display. So i am suspecting issue in MAP sensor. May be it needs cleaning or a replacement
Joined Mar 2013
3K Posts | 161+
Naples, IT
I've got "---------" dash currently. Came from power surge/spike from my starter. The post for the power lead on my starter is broken or nearly broken internally and it's a royal pain the ass. I was seriously close to hulking out and Sparta kicking the bitch on her side. My "I'll never sell her" is beginning to shift.
Similar threads
