Help saving ST4.

[dryskull]

My first Ducati,and first bike since I used to race RZs a hundred years ago...Found a neglected 1999 ST4,not running for 2 years,scratched,dirty,and sad..Changed oil,new gas,battery..fired up today,was idleing,died with oil light on,,started up again same thing,light comes on and dies,oil level is fine...I have heard that the pressure senders are a bit iffy,and mine is leaking a bit,so a new one as the first step?...I dont want to run it untill I get a bit of advice..I just had a splash of gas,could I be running out? But the light comes on before it dies...Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Stephen W.]

Have you ever started a Fuel Injected bike before?
If not here is the procedure as taught to me in Italy by a factory support mechanic.
Turn the key to the on position and wait a couple of seconds for the idle sensor to set it's self.
Only after waiting should you attempt to start the bike. If it does not start then use the enricher (similar to a choke lever on carb models)
It should now start. Remember to switch off the enricher as soon as the bike will run and idle without it.

If you twist the enricher before turning the key on an injected bike the idle will be set incorrectly and thus when you back off the throttle it'll stop all fuel.
(Don't ask how I know this.)

If however you've done this before then.... never mind.

[Chris Collins]

While waiting a few weeks for your new pressure sender to come in at the dealer, put some gas in the tank and plug an oil pressure gauge into the sender hole, to see what the pressure is actually doing. If it's dropping off on its own before the engine even heats up, you've probably got some major internal issues to take care of...

Do you know why did the P.O. parked it

[Ken L]

As it starts, watch the oil level in the sightglass, it should drop very quickly. If it does, you know you have some oil flow at least. The sensors do fail a lot. We stock them. (GP Bikes Ajax).

Put some fuel injection cleaner into a fresh bit of gas. You may have a fuel pump that is sludged(?) up, or partially clogged injector(s) causing it to die.

[dryskull]

Ready to check the oil pressure,what should it be on a 916???

[Chris Collins]

Don't know what the pressure specs for the 916 engine are, but you should just be checking for adequate pressure at this point - so you know that the pressure isn't so low that you'd be damaging the engine by running it during sorting.

A basic safe minimum pressure to look for would be 25-30 psi on a cold engine, but a healthy engine would have much more when cold. Wouldn't want less than 20 psi at hot idle, IMO.

Anyone know if the ECU is tied into the oil pressure sender, like will it cut the ignition or fuel if it's not receiving a good pressure signal from the sender ? Might be tough to keep the motor going to do the diagnosing if that's the case ; you'd have to keep the sender connected and pressurized while the service gauge is installed (tee fitting)...

[dryskull]

Thanks for the input,I had the same idea and set up a tee with a pressure guage and the sender...Started up and pegged the pressure guage at 60..no oil pressure problems thank god....warmed up and ran fairly well,a bit of missing and took a while before it would idle...A new set of belts and timeing next I should think...The kicker is I am losing my workspace and I may have to pass it on,,anyone in Vancouver want a project???? Boo Hoo

[The Goochman]

I'm not in Vancouver, but I might be interested. Obviously, my interest is based on dollars and condition. Can you post a couple of photos?

Dave G

[dryskull]

Events have conspired against me and I am going to pass this project along,,Here are some pictures for Goochman and any others that have been following this thread and may have an interest.....I have plastics,hard bags,,,send me a message if you want the whole story.......Thanks for all your help....dryskull@primus.ca

[The Goochman]

Please send me the whole story.

My e-mail is doghaus@rivernet.net

Thanks

Dave G