IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

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kiwi47
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IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by kiwi47 »

1982 Darmah.
With a simple relay from the auto store, some nice wire and appropriate connectors.
Mount the relay somewhere and connect the main wire from your relay to the relay to the Battery side of the starter relay with a 10 amp inline fuse. Connect a wire from the coil side of the starter relay (goes to the starter button)to the coil side of your new relay. If your relay needs a coil ground, supply one to it.Pay attention to the starter button polarity. If the starter button grounds the starter relay, make it ground your relay. ( I will double check this and edit a correction later) (your new relay will now close when you press the start button). With an appropriate collection of connectors, you now make up a harness to supply power to the coil side of the Ballast Resistors. You can chop/splice the original loom if you wish. I chose not to.
You are finished.
Next start, the bike will start on the first compression.

The coils get power by a very circuitous route, then the power runs through the Ballast (dropping ) resistors to the coil. With a good 12 volt battery and the engine cranking, the coils are seeing about 6-7 volts or less. When the bike is running and the alternator is charging at 13 volts, the coils are running at about 10-11 volts.
Its all dependent on the accumulated resistance along this power path to the coils that runs through your RH handlebar (kill switch).

By adding the relay, you bypass all this resistance and the Ballast Resistors and put battery power right to the coils. The cranking starter will draw the battery down to around 8-9 volts and the coils will be right there at the same voltage. These 2-3 extra volts on these coils makes an amazing difference !

As soon as it fires, you release the starter button and the system reverts back to normal.

Wish I had done this years ago. Would have saved a lot of starter and starter drive wear and tear..
I was going to make a drawing but cannot figure out how to upload it to this forum....
Cheers
Donald
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Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by Donald »

Hope you can do a drawing as it sounds like a good one

thanks
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BevHevSteve
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Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by BevHevSteve »

uploading a file is EASY. click POST REPLY, scroll down just below the 3 boxes "save draft / preview / submit" look for the 2 tabs on the left OPTIONS and UPLOAD ATTACHMENT

click UPLOAD ATTACHMENT then click BROWSE to find the image you want to upload. Then click ADD THE FILE.

Easy - Cheezy `-*
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Steve Allen (925)798-BEVL[2385] Ride'm, Don't Hide'm
Ducati/Euro Spares -> https://Store.BevelHeaven.com
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gioto3
Diana
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Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by gioto3 »

Hi,
has anyone else tryed this solution?
Seems quite interesting.
Gio
1980 Ducati 900 SS Darmah
1977 Ducati 125 six days
1972 Ducati 450 Scrambler
1953 Ducati 65 Sport
1949 Ducati CCC 60
427man
Mariana
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Location: Ashton, Maryland

Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by 427man »

Hello -

I was told by a highly reputable Ducati Tech that I should remove the ballast resistors on my 81 Darmah. I am not finding anything here on the forum regarding that. Has anybody done/recommend this? My ignition system is entirely stock except for the replacement of the rotten pick up wires. I was also told by the same source to gap the plugs down to .020. Any input/advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks
1981 Ducati 900SD Darmah
2007 Ducati 1100S Multistrada
1973 Honda CL350
1979 Honda CBX
2001 Kawsaki ZRX1200R
1968 Norton Atlas
1973 Norton Commando 750
1974 Norton Commando 850
kiwi47
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
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Joined: Sat May 24, 2014 1:30 pm

Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by kiwi47 »

Hey Zak. Here is the sketch. You can get everything from NAPA.

Check the bikes quick disconnect plugs at the coils and get males and females the same size. Ring terminals and inline fuse is simple. The relay is basically anything. Not much amperage is going through it. It just isolates the coils from the starter when its running. Make the wiring tidy. Do nice crimps and crimp the "strain relief" onto the insulation as well as the conductor.

Build it on the bench. Its plug and play, so you don't touch the factory wiring.
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Scan_20141104_221313.jpg
petnic111
Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
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Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by petnic111 »

sss
Last edited by petnic111 on Sun Jun 05, 2016 11:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
kiwi47
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Re: IGNITION MOD FOR FAST STARTING

Post by kiwi47 »

It doesn't take the load off the ignition switch only. It routes power DIRECTLY to the coil from the battery. This is important as the power goes forward through the fuse's, into the headlight, to the ignition switch, back to the headlight, to the RH handlebar kill switch, back to the headlight, back under the tank, through a dropping resistor and into the coil. What could go wrong here, especially when the starter motor drops the voltage significantly when cranking? Its a pretty sad spark that needs the mixture just about perfect to light off. Over rich, or a tad lean and you will be cranking, further dropping the voltage to the coils.......
Once the starter is off, the voltage is fine. Hence the anomaly of magically starting the moment the starter button is released. The engine has momentum to carry it over TDC, one good spark is now available and it will catch....
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