2018 V4S DQS failure fixed

Well, I finally had a DQS problem. The DQS failed in the last session of the day at AMP going into turn one which is a second gear tight left hand turn. There was a little pucker factor when this happened. Called it a day after that. I had the DQS ERR on the dash and the flashing "race" mode at the time. Went home and searched all over the forums for any info. I took the fairings off and checked the wiring which is routing from the factory is such a ...... way to promote failures. Many kinks and the DQS connector had some obvious heat damage. Inspected and cleaned all the wiring. Put it back together after the "so called hard reset" (disconnect the battery) then conducted a tire calibration. The DQS worked for about three and half minutes.
Replaced the Ducati QS with a Cordona QS after rerouting all the wiring that's AFU due to the charcoal canister (removed) all is well. Going to VIR (Full Course) next week.
The DQS is great for the track, it's stupid for the street.

I don't think its stupid for the street. Granted it isn't very smooth unless you are above 7k.

I'm interested to read your thoughts on the Cordona. Are you running GP or standard shift?

Ok a bit of a squid way of doing things but shifting a motorcycle back in the day smoothly was an acquired skill of synchronicity. Today even with the QS, depending on the circumstances, it’s no different. First for me the wet clutch compared to the dry clutch is no comparison. For me the dry clutch makes it much easier for me to get extremely precise and feel wise, seamless shifting with the QS everywhere.

I use the clutch almost everywhere to assist the QS up and down on the street and back up the gearboxes on the track. Yes you don’t need to but when you get it right, the mechanical feel of the lever through the gearbox is literally unnoticeable. Granted, the dry clutch takes a beating but I could care less, plate changes are cheap and 10min worth of work.

For those who don’t think components make much of a difference, you may want to reserve the comments until you have actually used what you’re referencing. Experimenting, I have changed every component in the transmission system and with each successive change, there has been a noticeable improvement from the stock configuration to the point, when all the components came together, the results made the stock gearbox system feel like a rather poorly cobbled together effort.

bp_SFV4 said:

I don't think its stupid for the street. Granted it isn't very smooth unless you are above 7k.

I'm interested to read your thoughts on the Cordona. Are you running GP or standard shift?

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Running standard shift there is a noticeable difference in the shift feel when I tested the Cordona shifter on the street. Action is much smoother then stock. Looking forward to the track day.

I wasn't a fan on the Cordona when using standard shift, which was likely a problem I was creating. The ECU looks for a certain voltage to trigger an up or down shift. With the stock QS as long as you activate the switch you get the proper voltage. With the Cordona, the voltage output can change with how much force you use. I think I was either blowing fast or insufficiently triggering it when upshifting in standard. In GP shift, it soooo much better. Super crisp and quick.

carlpretzel said:

Well, I finally had a DQS problem. The DQS failed in the last session of the day at AMP going into turn one which is a second gear tight left hand turn. There was a little pucker factor when this happened. Called it a day after that. I had the DQS ERR on the dash and the flashing "race" mode at the time. Went home and searched all over the forums for any info. I took the fairings off and checked the wiring which is routing from the factory is such a ...... way to promote failures. Many kinks and the DQS connector had some obvious heat damage. Inspected and cleaned all the wiring. Put it back together after the "so called hard reset" (disconnect the battery) then conducted a tire calibration. The DQS worked for about three and half minutes.
Replaced the Ducati QS with a Cordona QS after rerouting all the wiring that's AFU due to the charcoal canister (removed) all is well. Going to VIR (Full Course) next week.
The DQS is great for the track, it's stupid for the street.

Click to expand...

Hi Carlpretzel.
I'm currently having the same problem with an error message next to the QS icon and the sport mode flashing on the main dash.
I saw with interest that you disconnected the battery and did a tyre calibration, did this work, I have my bike booked in for a replacement OEM QS as I just use it on the road.
I've had this problem in the past but it just went away but its not the case this time so I'm trying to see if there is an easy fix in order to save me having to buy and fit a new QS. Regards

Bootneck said:

Hi Carlpretzel.
I'm currently having the same problem with an error message next to the QS icon and the sport mode flashing on the main dash.
I saw with interest that you disconnected the battery and did a tyre calibration, did this work, I have my bike booked in for a replacement OEM QS as I just use it on the road.
I've had this problem in the past but it just went away but its not the case this time so I'm trying to see if there is an easy fix in order to save me having to buy and fit a new QS. Regards

Click to expand...

Neither one of these options fixed the problem

bp_SFV4 said:

I wasn't a fan on the Cordona when using standard shift, which was likely a problem I was creating. The ECU looks for a certain voltage to trigger an up or down shift. With the stock QS as long as you activate the switch you get the proper voltage. With the Cordona, the voltage output can change with how much force you use. I think I was either blowing fast or insufficiently triggering it when upshifting in standard. In GP shift, it soooo much better. Super crisp and quick.

Click to expand...

Awesome something else to worry about. I've never been comfortable running GP shift pattern. Sadly, I'm well aware of the benefits on the track. I'm an old club racer. I've ridden standard shift for 45+ years. I ran GP shift pattern in one race back in the late 90s which almost ended badly. I was coming out of a second gear corner and shifted into 1st instead of 3rd. Very pretty High side! Thankfully I managed to stay on the bike and even stay on the track!

The Cordona seems to prefer a light quick touch. I think I mostly mashed the .... out of it on upshifts which is where I’d have a problem.

bp_SFV4 said:

I wasn't a fan on the Cordona when using standard shift, which was likely a problem I was creating. The ECU looks for a certain voltage to trigger an up or down shift. With the stock QS as long as you activate the switch you get the proper voltage. With the Cordona, the voltage output can change with how much force you use. I think I was either blowing fast or insufficiently triggering it when upshifting in standard. In GP shift, it soooo much better. Super crisp and quick.

Click to expand...

Trackday complete, your assessment is spot on. I had issues upshifting from 5th to 6th gear, multiple missed shifts because the shift pressure isn't as smooth as what I tested on the street. Running standard shift. I learned how to deal with it but it did require me to really think about the up shifts. Down shifts were positive no issues. 1st thru 4th gear I had no issues as well. Not much in the Cordona install manual to help me.
The focus with the install was to prevent melting the unit. I was successful there.
Guess I need to learn how to use GP shift again. I'm well aware of the advantages, I just need to do it. The transition can sometimes be difficult.

For my last trackday...my only trackday so far, I had the Ducati QS installed in GP shift. I didn't want to have to sort out QS issues on track and trust the Ducati one more.

I've since reinstalled the Cordona in GP shift and will get some rides in to build up trust on it. When it work it has very quick and smooth shifts. My early thoughts remain the same, it works better for me anyway in GP shift.