"Servo Buddy"

1. What does the servo motor do and where is it on the exhaust system?
2. If one has a full system exhaust (e.g. Termi) like I do, is the servo motor still functional?
3. How much weight are we really talking about?
4. If it is worthwhile, how much of a job is it to pull the motor, valve, cables, etc?
5. And, if it is worth it, do you really need a plug in its place?

double0 said:

Just to clarify, the upmap has nothing to do with throwing a code or not. There are no codes being thrown for full system installs on an 1199, with or without an upmap and if you are getting a code on the dash, you did something wrong.

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Styler said:

I was on the Woodcraft site (www.woodcraft-cfm.com - DHServoBuddyPanigale8991199AllStreetfighter848StreetfighterS1213Monster1100EvoAllMultistradaAllDiavelAllHypermotard821All) and came across this kit with the following explanation:

The Servo Buddy is THE solution to the common problem of what to do about the factory exhaust valve and servo motor system. Completely eliminating the motor, valve, cables, etc. not only drops weight and frees up valuable space, but utilizing the Servo Buddy improves reliability by eliminating the common issue of the factory servo motor gears stripping out, or the motor burning up. The Servo Buddy is a must-have when switching to an aftermarket exhaust, and even works great with the factory system.

Can someone please explain to me:

1. What does the servo motor do and where is it on the exhaust system?
2. If one has a full system exhaust (e.g. Termi) like I do, is the servo motor still functional?
3. How much weight are we really talking about?
4. If it is worthwhile, how much of a job is it to pull the motor, valve, cables, etc?
5. And, if it is worth it, do you really need a plug in its place?

Click to expand...

xpercad said:

There are error codes thrown that don't show on the dash. One of them is related to the servo. The position of the exhaust valve is fedback to the ECU. If the servo is given a signal to rotate and the proper feedback from the valve position is not received, an error code is logged. The parameters downloaded from the upmap prevent this from happening.

Click to expand...

cosmok said:

If you have a full Termi, the motor and valve assembly have already been removed and the up-map you loaded won't allow a CEL to show.

Click to expand...

Styler said:

I was on the Woodcraft site (www.woodcraft-cfm.com - DHServoBuddyPanigale8991199AllStreetfighter848StreetfighterS1213Monster1100EvoAllMultistradaAllDiavelAllHypermotard821All) and came across this kit with the following explanation:

The Servo Buddy is THE solution to the common problem of what to do about the factory exhaust valve and servo motor system. Completely eliminating the motor, valve, cables, etc. not only drops weight and frees up valuable space, but utilizing the Servo Buddy improves reliability by eliminating the common issue of the factory servo motor gears stripping out, or the motor burning up. The Servo Buddy is a must-have when switching to an aftermarket exhaust, and even works great with the factory system.

Can someone please explain to me:

1. What does the servo motor do and where is it on the exhaust system?
2. If one has a full system exhaust (e.g. Termi) like I do, is the servo motor still functional?
3. How much weight are we really talking about?
4. If it is worthwhile, how much of a job is it to pull the motor, valve, cables, etc?
5. And, if it is worth it, do you really need a plug in its place?

Click to expand...

bradp51 said:

If you disconnect the cable then the valve always stays open. The ECU only thinks the valve is closed as the servo motor has activated. And no error code. So with the cable disconnected the valve position is not fed back to the ECU. There is no sensor actually monitoring the position of the valve itself.

I put a post on about it with pics showing how easy it was to disconnect the cable. 30 second job.

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xpercad said:

From the electric diagrams (workshop manual), this is the pinout of the connector for the exhaust valve:

L014
Pin Function
1 Sns Supply
2 -
3 Sns Gnd
4 M+
5 Signal
6 M-

From here you can clearly see that there is a sensor, most likely a variable resistor, which monitors the position of the valve. If there is a sensor, then the position of the valve IS fed back to the ECU, otherwise why would they put a sensor in there ???

My guess is that this is mandatory in order to comply with sound/noise regulations, and since the error code is not critical, it is only logged and not shown on the dash. I don't think this error code will have any influence in the engine behaviour and will only show when the ECU is scanned with the Ducati DDS.

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farmind said:

I disconnected my cable, it showed on the dealer diagnostic that there was a fault with the servo. I reconnected mine because it makes no difference in performance or sound as it is wide open when you are normally riding the bike only at low revs is it shut. I also had a problem with the MAP sensor blowing when I fitted Akrapovic slip ons as it would back fire on start up and blow the membrane of the sensor, the exhaust valve being connected stopped that on mine. I don't know what is supplied with a full system, as there is no up map with the Akrapovic 1199 full system, please write and inform me those who have that info.

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bradp51 said:

nothing monitors the position of the valve unless it is connected to the cable

agree with all you say except that any signal is only picking up what the servo motor is doing and in turn the cable

pull your exhaust apart and have a look at the flapper valve, there are no wires or sensors there, I went and double checked mine sitting in a cardboard box in the workshop

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xpercad said:

yes, you are right. Nothing monitors the position of the valve unless it is connected to the cable. Nevertheless, if the electric connector l104 is left open, the ecu will "see" an open circuit in pin 5 (signal) instead of a dc voltage within certain range, and an error code will be thrown and logged. This will certainly happen if you remove the servo assembly.

The "servo buddy" fools the ecu by feeding it a dc voltage in the signal pin when it detects activity in the m+ and m- pins, thus preventing the generation of an error code.

Click to expand...