Torrential downpour engine cut out

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SuperDomestique

SuperDomestique

Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
3,041
Location
USA
This morning I rode in to work on the PV4S (22 MY). I knew it was raining but that’s no reason to not ride in. As I wheeled the bike out, it wasn’t too bad. I was already geared up and committed. What’s a little rain??? Well about a block in and I realized I was in it and that little rain turned into a lot of rain.

As I was parking, the engine cut out a couple times after idling low (around 1k rpm). The bike started back up with no problems and runs fine now that it’s dried off.

My thinking is that there was just too much moisture in the air at standstill and low speeds and was affecting fueling. The bike was steaming everywhere when this was happening. I’m sure the air filter was soaked. Has anyone else ran into this?

Maybe @DeussenEngines could shed some light on this peculiarity?
 
Rick, end of season? Now what to do? Lattes? Come to so cal for free lattes and track days with us!!! They have rentals at the track...
 
Jolly Roger V4 said:
Rick, end of season? Now what to do? Lattes? Come to so cal for free lattes and track days with us!!! They have rentals at the track...
Click to expand...
Atm, I just stare at the walls in my flat!

I will give California careful consideration! How many tracks are there there?
 
I had a think about this… I believe this cutting out phenomenon in cold or rainy weather is a result of the O2 sensors. O2 sensors need some heat in them to operate nominally. And the O2 sensors on these bikes is used at low rpm for fuel trim for emissions.

I’ve been riding into work these past few days when it’s been a frigid 39ºF out and 1 bar on the temp gauge and the bike runs a little rough as it returns to idle or just off idle. The fueling is just a little off maybe running a little rich. It’s especially noticeable on the first throttle tip-in of the morning. When I ride home, temps have been in mid-50s and the bike runs much smoother with no stumbling.

@RickD996 since you’re running Woolich w O2 sensor deletes it wouldn’t affect you in the rain. My bike is running in closed loop relying on the O2 sensors to adjust fueling especially at idle while yours runs in open loop at all times.
 
SuperDomestique said:
I had a think about this… I believe this cutting out phenomenon in cold or rainy weather is a result of the O2 sensors. O2 sensors need some heat in them to operate nominally. And the O2 sensors on these bikes is used at low rpm for fuel trim for emissions.

I’ve been riding into work these past few days when it’s been a frigid 39ºF out and 1 bar on the temp gauge and the bike runs a little rough as it returns to idle or just off idle. The fueling is just a little off maybe running a little rich. It’s especially noticeable on the first throttle tip-in of the morning. When I ride home, temps have been in mid-50s and the bike runs much smoother with no stumbling.

@RickD996 since you’re running Woolich w O2 sensor deletes it wouldn’t affect you in the rain. My bike is running in closed loop relying on the O2 sensors to adjust fueling especially at idle while yours runs in open loop at all times.
Click to expand...

My V4R (my wet bike) is using the O2 sensors, with the SLR flash.
 
SuperDomestique said:
This morning I rode in to work on the PV4S (22 MY). I knew it was raining but that’s no reason to not ride in. As I wheeled the bike out, it wasn’t too bad. I was already geared up and committed. What’s a little rain??? Well about a block in and I realized I was in it and that little rain turned into a lot of rain.

As I was parking, the engine cut out a couple times after idling low (around 1k rpm). The bike started back up with no problems and runs fine now that it’s dried off.

My thinking is that there was just too much moisture in the air at standstill and low speeds and was affecting fueling. The bike was steaming everywhere when this was happening. I’m sure the air filter was soaked. Has anyone else ran into this?

Maybe @DeussenEngines could shed some light on this peculiarity?
Click to expand...

Yep, I've experienced it recently on my V4 SP2 - exactly the same thing.

I was running mine in very heavy traffic in a ridiculous downpour. Steam everywhere and I could barely read the dash, which I attributed to the fans turning on & off with the engine heat.

Managed to get going up to about 50 kph due to the traffic and then, as I slowed again in first gear, the engine revs just kept on dropping until it died. It took a few goes to start again and I pressed on, until I found a place to pull into and where it did it again.

I left it parked in the rain for 15 minutes, then turned around and rode it home and some pretty high revs to stop it from dying again.

My bike shop had it for three weeks and couldn't find anything wrong with it. They said that they checked for any fault codes and came up with nothing.

I've since reported it to Ducati Australia and they rang me about it, but haven't heard anything since. My local dealer said "Maybe it's just an Italian thing". Pretty unimpressed !!
 
Paul G said:
ridden for hours in pouring rain, no issues
Click to expand...

Stop and go traffic and in the rain?

My bike has only stalled that one time when I got caught out in a downpour while waiting in the queue for the parking garage.

I have also noticed that the bike isn’t as happy when air temps are less than 50°F (10°C) when riding on the street. Engine stumbles a little at times. Clutch engagement isn’t as positive. Might run a thinner weight oil through the winter months and see if that improves things.

No issues when at the track even in the cold. (Morning sessions typically start when it’s about 45°F)
 
Might be because of excessively lean fueling. Air is more oxygen dense at cold temperatures and I recall stock tunes to be lean at lower revs.

If your bike still has the stock tune then I highly recommend fixing that first.
 
I've experienced the same thing several times in the rain and once after washing the bike also. It's happened a couple of times when hot too. all this when the bike was under 1000km old. Dealer couldn't find anything. I'm over 5000km in now and hasn't done it for ages. I too put down to just Italian things lol.
 
Be careful with the water, I made a post on here about the rear hub and bearing rusting out from too much water on the bike. Dealer/warranty wouldn't cover it. Not a cheap repair lol.
 
I had the same happening. They told me there is a new update we need from Ducati, it has something to do with cylinder balancing. It just randomly stalls on idle. Not often but anyway annoying. Still full winter here in Sweden so not done it yet.
 
RickD996 said:
Atm, I just stare at the walls in my flat!

I will give California careful consideration! How many tracks are there there?
Click to expand...

5 within a 4 hour drive of where I live in SoCal, 2 of those pretty good tracks. Within a 6 to 8 drive there are probably 8 or 9 tracks of which at least 4 or 5 are really good.

Thunderhill
Chuckwalla
Laguna Seca
Buttonwillow
Podium

All good tracks, then you have Willow Springs with two tracks, the bigger of the two is an American rough rider version of Phillip Island
 
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