S4 cutting out

[littlejimmy12]

S4 has been cutting out for no apparent reason, seems to happen if I'm
in first gear, for example yesterday filtering slowly through heavy traffic, 30 mins into riding and it went dead. Everything else works, lights, indi's. Swtiched it on and off and the usual movement from the clocks. It's as if the cut out switch has been flicked!!!!

It has had clip ons put in and lowered the clocks so the only thought is that there's something going on with wires because ifctge mods??

I left it to stand for 20 or so mins and then it fired up fine and I continued on my way. This is happened a few tomes now but thus was the longest amount of time it's been until
it decided to fire up again.

Anyone have any ideas ??

[LVC]

Check out the side-stand cut off switch isn't full of grud and causing it to cut out :mand:

Edit: Also check out the neutral light connection (back of block near rear suspension) as this caused mine some minor issues a while back - bit of WD-40 and a wiggle worked for mine.

[littlejimmy12]

checked all connections and no issues, bike is never full of crud!! ha ha ha

I think its the immobiliser!!!

[retskcid]

it may be a long shot but have you checked that the R/R is ok? Are you getting 14ish volts at the battery with the engine running? I had intermitent running/cutting out issues, which were cured on replacement of R/R - mine was sending too many volts and fried the battery as well.

[littlejimmy12]

apologies for question - what is R/R short for?

[Bunny]

R/R = regulator/rectifier.
My S4 used to suffer from the coil/plug cap breaking down on the front cylinder when hot

[weimeranerman]

apologies for question - what is R/R short for?

Regulator rectifier. It regulates and and converts the charge from the alternator. to the battery. It is under the seat on the S4. Mine went recently. It is a doddle to to replace.

[littlejimmy12]

thank u all

[bonesaw]

Hi,
My s4 is doing what bunny speaks about here. When the bike gets hot and is idling it doesn't fire consistently on one cylinder....It's like one drops off for a second and then gets spark again..I's only when the bike is at idle though and is worse when the lights are switched on.It's driving fine but in traffic when hot it gets troublesome.I got the front coil/plug cap replaced and it seemed ok for a day or so but now it's back to the same thing. Is this an r/r problem.
All help appreciated.

[analogue_rogue]

check the power across the battery with engine running.. normal (with lights off) is around 13.25 - 14.5 anything outside these ranges idnicates a charging problem try revving the engine while metering thi also, the charge rate shouldnt change.

[slipperyweeguy]

I usually use my S4 only on open roads in the dry and avoid towns when possible. I had been aware of the lumpy and uneven slow running on my bike, but it had not really been a problem. However, due to getting the 16 year old an Aprilia 50 and keeping her company while she gets experience, I had really been cursing the S4's manners. Over the space of a couple of days spent at between 5 and 45 mph the Ducati began to misfire consistently at low rpm, and cut out a couple of times when it got hot at traffic lights. The temperature-related symptoms indicated a coil and simply unplugging the white connector onto the front coil identified it as the front coil that was mis-firing. (Smooth stable idle on just the rear cylinder).
Pattern parts not listed anywhere, so trawling the 'net offered some good info. I Ebay-purchased a coil for a 03-08 CBR600rr and it has sorted the S4's problems. Took it into Central Glasgow just as a test, and it was perfect. Similar (approx 5 inch / 128mm long coils are used on lots of bikes.
Turns out the Denso coils are mostly quite similar electrically, and the differences are length, and the seals, which just slide off. They use the same connector plugs. I measured the resistance on the Duc and CBR coils and they were the same. The fix took 60 seconds and cost £24. Hope this is of help, as a lot of folk seem to have similar problems.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/betthome/paintguru/images/dencoil002.jpg
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/betthome/paintguru/images/dencoil002.jpg
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/betthome/paintguru/images/ducnhoncoils001.jpg
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/betthome/paintguru/images/ducnhoncoils001.jpg
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/betthome/paintguru/images/ducnhoncoils002.jpg
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/betthome/paintguru/images/ducnhoncoils002.jpg

[weimeranerman]

Cheers Andrew! Useful; bit of info!:ukm:

[jerry]

The low speed runing can be vastly improved with PC111 and my map

[jerry]

thanks for the info about the CBR 600 coils I just bought 4 off ebay for £25 as spares

[slipperyweeguy]

Happy if it helps.. Not just cbr coils as shown - i spoke to a friend who is a very experienced mechanic last night, and so long as the coils are the right length(128mm), and have a primary resistance (measure between the two terminals at the top*) of about 1.4 ~ 1.5 ohms ish we should be ok. For instance, if you or a friend happens to have a late r6, zx636, zx10, and maybe a hayabusa / other gsxr from certain years then compare - better than silly money at the dealer.
*first touch the meter's probes together to get a resistance reading for the meter itself, then deduct that from the reading you get from the coil. I read that 2006 R6 is the right size and has a range of 1.2 ~ 1.6 ohms. Ideally we want the resistance to be the same as the Ducati. Too little resistance means the coil flows more current, which heats the ECU (bad).
Info is rather sparse, and I think it would be great to build a table of coil types that we can use. I have a list of possibles/probables at the house, and will post it in a day or two. I could not find a Denso application list anywhere.

[Capo]

Too little resistance means the coil flows more current, which heats the ECU (bad).

The lower the resistance the lower the current I=V/R

[slipperyweeguy]

The lower the resistance the lower the current I=V/R

Capo, I'm not an electrician, I'm an artist, but I thought that

if V is constant, (12 volts), then dividing it by a smaller resistance R would make current I greater.
12V/1.5ohms=8amps
12/1.2ohms=10amps

?

[Gerry]

eye ... the wee man's correct ....

[analogue_rogue]

The lower the resistance the lower the current I=V/R

higher resistance.. lower the current...
V=IxR so I = V/R so I = 12/2 2 ohms for arguements sake... I= 6amp

I = 12/4 I=3Amps


sorry only just saw someone else maths upstairs ^^^^

he's right

[wheelybin]

Hi,
My s4 is doing what bunny speaks about here. When the bike gets hot and is idling it doesn't fire consistently on one cylinder....It's like one drops off for a second and then gets spark again..I's only when the bike is at idle though and is worse when the lights are switched on.It's driving fine but in traffic when hot it gets troublesome.I got the front coil/plug cap replaced and it seemed ok for a day or so but now it's back to the same thing. Is this an r/r problem.
All help appreciated.

dodgy stick coil. you simpsons are identical to mine, a new cbr 600 stick coil fixed it totally. Perhaps its the rear stick coil.

did you clean / dry out the plug holes?

[slipperyweeguy]

Firstly I must apologize for the delay in posting this list. I have been busy. Some of you may have some of the bikes listed, and can confirm or deny the information.

The coils that work as replacements must be 5 in, (128mm) long and should have aprox resistance of 1.3-1.5 ohms. The applications, part numbers, and ohms values stated below are all gathered from a variety of sources on the internet. They should not be taken as gospel. The resistances will have been measured by different equipment, some deducting the value of the meter, and some not.

This is not a complete list. It is only intended to help you source a coil cheaply and quickly from ebay or a breaker rather than pay a large amount at the Ducati dealership. My friend's workshop replaces stick coils on all types of bikes. Some just seem to be faulty for no detectable reason, even on newish bikes. The only pattern to failure seems to be weather exposure. For that reason, it seems sensible to try to source alternative (used) coils from the most recent manufacture or lowest mileage source available. I would try to avoid an ebay listing for a single coil from a multi-cylinder bike, as it may be someone getting rid of their faulty one. I would also avoid any that do not look clean and like new in the photo.

Weatherproofing the horizontal cylinder's coil on Ducatis would seem to be work in progress. I intend to try a thin smear of silicone on the area underneath the seal, where metal can be seen on the photo of the cbr600 coil.

some of the possibles are (but please get the seller to confirm the length, as I have not had a chance to check all of these)

Suzuki GSXR; 1000 (01-07), 750 (01-05), 600 (01-03) Denso p/n 129700-4400 resistance 1.5ohms, 129700-4150 resistance 1.3ohms

Kawasaki: ZX10/14 (04-07) oem p/n 21171-0005 resistance 1.5 ohms
ZX9 (99-03) + ZX12 (03-05) oem p/n 21171-1265/1286 Z1000 (03-07) + Z750 (05-06) Z1000 Denso p/n 129700-4580 resistance 1.5 ohms
ZX6 mitsubishi#F6T560 resistance 1.5 ohms
ZX9 Denso p/n 129700-3630 resistance 1.3 ohms
ZX10 mitsubishi p/n F6T549/560

Honda CBR600RR (04-07) Denso p/n 129700-4510 resistance 1.5ohms possibly later years also.

Triumph TT600 1.5 ohms

[iainw]

slipperyweeguy, thanks for your information on the coil pack. I've only had my monster a couple of months and I'm starting to get on top of the easy maintenance jobs, having just done the oil, screen and filter and plugs. When I took the horizontal coil pack and plug out they didn't look too good, it's been running fine and I've checked the resistance of both coils, they're the same at 1.3 Ohm, though I think this one won't be for long. It looks like a fair amount of crap can get down there!

I've got lucky with a search on ebay, I've found an unused cbr600 coil off a new bike.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181429584153

http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x343/iainwa/20141227_165528.jpg (http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/iainwa/media/20141227_165528.jpg.html)

[Nickj]

That's just such a sad looking thing!! Probably a good idea to replace that one