Repairing a common problem of Ducati fuel level sender units with an unexpected root cause. For the special tool needed see "Self made fuel level gauge tool for Ducati Multistrada 1260S."
Part of preventative maintenance here is to add a solution to your fuel for any long periods of time where the bike will be sat. I use Motorex ethanol treatment due to modern fuel having high ethanol content which can degrade parts in the fuel tank. I've had 3 multistradas and used this solution in all 3 and never had an issue after my first fuel sender failure.
after more than 10 years of being a KTM guy, I thought i'm ready for a bigger challenge. So now we have a 1260enduro in the family. Funny, how similar problems they have to KTM 1290. But ducati manages heat a little better. Still hot, but not like "burn your pants" kind of hot. :)
Welcome to Ducatisti club. :-) Frankly speaking I have not met other failures so far than this fuel level gauge issue and the front fork oil seal leakage (subject of another video about front fork maintenance). Both are typical failures and they happen to me after warranty period. 🙂 And there are some design errors that I've found and fixed.
Same gauge supplier I suppose. It is a strange design to me and I'm pretty much sure that during the development there was no real validation to meet these issues during an aging test or similar load. But in exchange it is cheap...or cheaper than a fully validated one. 😝
Screw all that. Chop the wires, put a resistor between the 2 wires and abandon the piece of shit sensor in the tank. Your bike will always read the same, but at least you wont have to change the sensor every 2k miles. Its a bike, NOT a car. Wanna know how much fuels in it? Open the tank cap thats literally under your nose and look, or wobble the bike back and forth and listen. I road dirtbikes for decades, guess what no dirtbike has EVER had? A fuel guage display. Never ran out of gas one single time.
In a case I would not need a fuel level indication I might do this. But this video is for another solution and let the others choose what they want to screw. ;-)
As per the video, i have taken out the PCB, however i am thinking of filling the epoxy onto the PCB entirely. so that PCB will always be intact. Has anybody tried this method?
Might be a solution but considering that my cable broke at the connector inside the epoxy it isn't sure that it's a good solution. When you create a new piece of material by filling up the PCB side of the aluminium tube with epoxy then you re-tune it in a way so some parasitic vibrations might appear and cause some damage. For the heat expansion based soldering crack you need a simple re-soldering. If you fill up the tube with epoxy then you cannot repeat it next time if the same failure occurs.
@@DesmoHead thank you for your response. I was going to pour epoxy but could realise that the PCB is suspended freely into the aluminium slot. Here the vibration might be a problem as epoxy is only from 1 side and other tiny side is empty. Have you done re soldering again on the same sensor?
If you are 100% certain that the type of epoxy your using has ZERO reaction to gas both in the short and long term its possible in theory. But, if it reacts to the gas it will melt, crack, break off or even mix with the fuel possibly ruining your bike entirely. Just chop the wires, connect a resistor and abandon the sensor. Its a bike not a car, easy to tell if it still has fuel unless your an idiot.
Part of preventative maintenance here is to add a solution to your fuel for any long periods of time where the bike will be sat. I use Motorex ethanol treatment due to modern fuel having high ethanol content which can degrade parts in the fuel tank. I've had 3 multistradas and used this solution in all 3 and never had an issue after my first fuel sender failure.
Thank you for very good and informativ Explanation 👍 I do have a 1260s but no problem so far (29000 km )
Thank you. Fingers crossed: this is typical but not all Ducatis are affected.
@@DesmoHead let's hope mine is among the few 🤪 otherwise I know where to search 😉
after more than 10 years of being a KTM guy, I thought i'm ready for a bigger challenge. So now we have a 1260enduro in the family.
Funny, how similar problems they have to KTM 1290.
But ducati manages heat a little better. Still hot, but not like "burn your pants" kind of hot.
:)
Welcome to Ducatisti club. :-) Frankly speaking I have not met other failures so far than this fuel level gauge issue and the front fork oil seal leakage (subject of another video about front fork maintenance). Both are typical failures and they happen to me after warranty period. 🙂 And there are some design errors that I've found and fixed.
I have this exact issue. 2017 1200s 33000 miles 😢
Same gauge supplier I suppose. It is a strange design to me and I'm pretty much sure that during the development there was no real validation to meet these issues during an aging test or similar load. But in exchange it is cheap...or cheaper than a fully validated one. 😝
2 times changed :( on MTS950, now on speedo 90k km
Screw all that. Chop the wires, put a resistor between the 2 wires and abandon the piece of shit sensor in the tank. Your bike will always read the same, but at least you wont have to change the sensor every 2k miles. Its a bike, NOT a car. Wanna know how much fuels in it? Open the tank cap thats literally under your nose and look, or wobble the bike back and forth and listen. I road dirtbikes for decades, guess what no dirtbike has EVER had? A fuel guage display. Never ran out of gas one single time.
In a case I would not need a fuel level indication I might do this. But this video is for another solution and let the others choose what they want to screw. ;-)
@@DesmoHeaddon’t bother… this is internet and your video is very important for those who need this info. thank you for the vid.
As per the video, i have taken out the PCB, however i am thinking of filling the epoxy onto the PCB entirely. so that PCB will always be intact. Has anybody tried this method?
Might be a solution but considering that my cable broke at the connector inside the epoxy it isn't sure that it's a good solution. When you create a new piece of material by filling up the PCB side of the aluminium tube with epoxy then you re-tune it in a way so some parasitic vibrations might appear and cause some damage. For the heat expansion based soldering crack you need a simple re-soldering. If you fill up the tube with epoxy then you cannot repeat it next time if the same failure occurs.
@@DesmoHead thank you for your response. I was going to pour epoxy but could realise that the PCB is suspended freely into the aluminium slot. Here the vibration might be a problem as epoxy is only from 1 side and other tiny side is empty. Have you done re soldering again on the same sensor?
@@greatpunit No, solderings on the PCB were all intact. Checked under magnifier to find any damage. I had to fix the broken cable only.
i am planning to apply dowsil 1080 oxime sealant instead of epoxy.@@DesmoHead
If you are 100% certain that the type of epoxy your using has ZERO reaction to gas both in the short and long term its possible in theory. But, if it reacts to the gas it will melt, crack, break off or even mix with the fuel possibly ruining your bike entirely. Just chop the wires, connect a resistor and abandon the sensor. Its a bike not a car, easy to tell if it still has fuel unless your an idiot.
*Promo sm* 💖