Summary: How to set up throttle bodies
and idle mixture on the 996R and 998.
And 748R too, which are somewhat the same.
Photos with thanks from Phillip at Two Wheelers in
Griffith.
The 996R and 998
use a unique set of throttle bodies (although the 748R is similar) with shower
injectors. The photos below show the features
of these throttle bodies.
In the photos
you’ll notice I’ve numbered all the parts we need to know about in series
across all the photos. That way, if I
give a number, you know which part I mean.
Items viewed
from the LH side on the horizontal throttle body. Ducati call it the master.
1/ TPS
2/ TPS
adjustment screws (only one visible), usually T20 torx.
The TPS (1)
is the small PF3C Non Linear part used on the 2V models from ST2 onwards in
addition to the 748R, 996R and 998.
Items viewed
from the RH side on the horizontal throttle body.
4/ Throttle
cable wheel
5/ Throttle
cable mount
6/ Throttle
linkage rod
7/ Horizontal
cylinder air bleed (obscured by wiring)
8/ Horizontal
cylinder idle stop screw
Items viewed
from the RH side on the vertical throttle body.
Ducati call it the slave.
6/ Throttle
linkage rod
9/ Vertical
cylinder idle stop screw
10/ Vertical
cylinder air bleed (behind throttle arm)
11/ Throttle
linkage adjustment screw (accessed from below)
12/ Fast idle
arm
13/ Fast idle
adjustment lever screws
14/ Fast idle
cable mount and adjuster
Although it
is hard to see in the above photos, the throttle body balance adjustment set up
is a hex head screw (7mm) with a flat blade slot accessed from underneath. You can see the end of the screw numbered.
748R: The 748R doesn’t have # 11 to
14. The throttle linkage adjustment is
done by loosening the little nuts and rotating the rod, which has a left hand thread
at one end and a right hand thread at the other. It’s as frustrating as it sounds. Fast idle is done with the little button at
the twist grip, like all the other 748 – 996 models.
Fast idle adjustment for 996R and 998
The fast idle
actuating lever is obscured in these photos, but if you look directly from the
side you can see the ends of the slot in the fast idle lever and the boss that
stops it. This means the ends of fast
idle lever (12) travel are constrained, and this needs to be remembered when
you adjust the cable (14). There’s no
point adjusting the cable so the lever doesn’t move, as the adjustment for when
the fast idle arm starts opening the throttle bodies themselves is controlled
by the fast idle lever (13) adjustment, which is done by undoing the two screws
(13) and sliding the assembly forward or back, depending on whether you want
more or less. As such, adjusting the
fast idle lever (13) can be a little tricky, and realistically there’s not much
point, as below.
On the 996R
they went to a fast idle cable, but this cable acts on the vertical throttle
body. The throttle cable acts on the
horizontal, so when you open the throttle cable you open the front throttle, then
take up the free play in the throttle rod, then open the vertical throttle. So when you set the running balance (sync for
the Americans) by holding the throttle open, all the free play is allowed for.
But when you pull
the fast idle lever on, the above action is reversed and so the free play is introduced
as an imbalance. The means the vertical
throttle is open more than the horizontal.
As the TPS is on the horizontal throttle body, the vertical is open more
than the ecu expects and so will run leaner than the horizontal. All of which is not conducive to reliable
cold starting. It’s a completely stupid
design, and it’s why most 996R and 998 will start from cold better without any fast
idle and with the throttle closed or opened a little at the grip.
To set the “Non Linear” TPS
Preparation: you
need to get to the top of the throttle bodies to wind out the stop screws and disconnect
the linkage rod ends, so you really can’t do this unless the air box is removed. Removing the air box on these involves
removing the trumpets with the injectors and fuel hoses built into them. Be very careful not to crimp the plastic fuel
lines when twisting the trumpets. Remove
the wiring to the injectors first, and don’t pull to hard on the connectors, as
you can pull the plastic centre out of the steel body. When you lift the air box out you need to
feed the wiring and it’s grommet down through the hole in the base. You can leave the fuel lines in the air box base,
but one of them usually gets hooked under the vertical throttle body tabs. So when you’re pulling upwards on the air box
and it just won’t come out, remember this.
And the drain hose at the front LH of the base.
TPS
base line setting procedure (as I do it)
Every step is as important as any other, and the predominant
aim of this procedure (apart from being “correct”) is repeatability and consistency. I normally do it with the engine and throttle
body cold. This is simply the
convention, I do it hot if I have to.
Disconnect the throttle cable at the throttle cable wheel (4). Easiest to just take the cable out of the
wheel rather than play with the adjuster.
Disconnect the throttle linkage rod (6). You can pop off the plastic connector at
either end. I use a pair of side cutter
pliers with the taper side against the throttle cable wheel side – it pushes
the plastic connector off nicely. Disconnecting
the throttle linkage rod (6) removes the dumb arse fast idle system from having
any impact.
Connect to the TPS by whichever method you are using to
measure the TPS output voltage – back probing wires, Mathesis, DDS, etc. I think you need to go into the outer two
wires if back probing. You'll either get 5V, nearly 5V or 350 - 450mV. Given the
connectors fitted to the 5.9M ecu, back probing at the ecu can only lead to
much agro.
On the 748R you can back probe the 1.6M ecu quite easily. See the MV TPS for the procedure.
On the 748R you can back probe the 1.6M ecu quite easily. See the MV TPS for the procedure.
With the throttle closed before you start you should be seeing
voltage in the range of 350 – 450 mV, depending on who’s been there before you. I usually record this voltage, just in case I
need to go back to it. Remember, you
need to have the ignition on when doing this, and you don’t want to short out
any wires. Disconnecting the headlight
or removing the headlight fuse can also be a good idea if you don’t have a
"lights on/off” switch.
Back off the horizontal
cylinder idle stop screw (8) to allow the throttle butterfly to
close fully and jam if snapped or pushed.
These screws are 8mm hex.
Open and close the horizontal throttle butterfly gently
until the voltage stabilises at a minimum.
Do not snap the throttle butterfly shut, as this will jam the butterfly
and may give a false lower voltage reading.
Usually the voltage at this point will be in the range of 90 to 170mV,
most likely around 100. Again, I usually
record this voltage out of suspicion.
Once you’ve ensured the horizontal throttle butterfly is
closing properly, reset the TPS to give an output voltage of 150 mV by
loosening the two screws (2) and rotating the TPS as required. These screws are usually T20 torx head. Tighten the two screws (2) and ensure the setting
remains consistent.
Wind in the horizontal throttle body stop screw (8) until the
TPS output voltage is around 390mV. The specified
idle setting for the 748R is 2.2 degrees and for the 996R and 998 is 2.3
degrees, which theoretically equates to 380mV and 390mV respectively. I always use the throttle angle the ECU is
reading to set the “base idle” setting, as what the ECU is reading is more
relevant than the actual voltage, as there is always variation in the
relationship between them. However, you
need some sort of diagnostic tool or software to read the throttle angle, so
for many the voltage is as close as you can get. It’s still quite valid.
Open and close the throttle a few times to check the idle
setting is stable and adjust if required.
The TPS is now set and the horizontal throttle body stop screw (8)
should not be touched again.
Reconnect the throttle linkage rod (6). Remove the vertical cylinder idle stop screw (9)
and turf it. This way, the throttle
linkage rod (6) is loaded by the vertical throttle butterfly all the time and
free play is not an issue.
Reconnect the throttle cable to the cable wheel (4) and set
the free play in the cable. You can do
this at the throttle body (5) or the twist grip, up to you. On the 748R the free play sets the fast idle
speed with the button pressed. Turn the
bars fully left and right while doing this just in case the cables move when
doing that.
Refit the air box and fuel tank. You can get to all the adjusters you need to
from the RH side, though they can be a bit fiddly. Start the engine and get some heat into it.
Wind the air bleeds (7, 10) fully in. Again, I record how far out they were, just
in case I need to go back to where I started.
You will need the fast idle on to get the engine to idle, but remember
it will be unbalanced. Set the running balance
(synchronisation) via the throttle
linkage adjustment screw (11) using mercury sticks, etc at
various RPM. But remember to raise the
rpm by holding the twist grip open, not using the fast idle lever. This is often a case of best compromise, and
remember that cruise at 4,000 RPM has more throttle than free rev at 4,000
RPM. I usually go up to 6,000 or so RPM
free revving to check for variation.
It’s not uncommon to see one cylinder lead then the other lead at
differing RPM. Remember the word
“compromise”.
Next set the idle speed using the air bleeds (7, 10) as
required. Set the idle speed at approx
1100 – 1150 RPM once the engine is hot. There
is no general rule for how far out the air bleeds should be, although I find
the 748R will be nearly closed. At this
point most will set the air bleeds so the cylinders are balanced at idle. I don’t worry about vacuum balance at idle
though – we balance the mixture using the air bleeds and idle trimmer, as set
out below.
That’s the end of the throttle body fiddling. Next is the setting of the idle mixture. I often say to people that if they can’t
carry out this final step then all the previous steps may have just been in
vain. You might get lucky and be
close. Or not lucky and still have a
poorly idling or running bike. The idle
mixture can have a very large impact on general running at low throttle
openings.
For example, if the bike is too lean and idles low, winding
out the air bleeds (7, 10) to try to raise the idle speed will only lean it out
more, so the idle will most likely not increase. You can sometimes make a bike idle better by
winding the air bleeds (7, 10) in and richening the idle mixture if it was too lean
to start with, even though the idle is low.
As an indication based on experience, a full turn on the air bleeds can
change the mixture from 1% CO to 4% CO, so the air bleeds have a big affect.
To
adjust the idle mixture you need to get into the idle trimmer
I use 4% CO as the idle mixture target for the 748R and 5% for the 996R and 998. This tends to
work well and give good low speed running and fuel economy. It's a bit leaner on the 748R to try to stop the off idle hiccup that they often have with Ducati based eproms, although because the problem isn't really fueling related (it's more ignition advance) it's a bit of a badly applied band aid.
Take a sample from both header pipes using the little 1/8 gas threaded bungs. You can buy from Ducati a tube to go into this bung – it’s a piece of copper pipe with the appropriate fitting on the end – that is surprisingly cheap. You could also get some made up by a local hydraulics supplier. I have a few of varying lengths and bends for all occasions.
Take a sample from both header pipes using the little 1/8 gas threaded bungs. You can buy from Ducati a tube to go into this bung – it’s a piece of copper pipe with the appropriate fitting on the end – that is surprisingly cheap. You could also get some made up by a local hydraulics supplier. I have a few of varying lengths and bends for all occasions.
Given there is only one idle trimmer for both cylinders, I
check the mixture and then adjust the trimmer to get the average between both
cylinders where we want it. Then I
adjust the air bleeds to give the same mixture in both headers. This means that the manifold vacuum balance
or synchronisation at idle will often not be equal. That’s just how it is. Equal mixture CO% is more important in my
experience.
748R
with 1.6M ECU
The idle trimmer is a trim pot inside the 1.6M ECU, which is
under the seat. The 1.6M ECU has a rubber access plug
that is hopefully hidden under a “do not remove” sticker of some sort or some
race tape if someone has been in there before.
Once you’ve finished, cover the plug again – they can leak water into
the ECU if you leave the plug uncovered.
Either remove the whole sticker, tape, etc or just use a sharp
knife/blade to cut around the plug and gently pry it out with a little screwdriver. Once removed you can see the eprom directly
under the access hole.
The idle
trimmer is a little metal square just next to the eprom with a plastic rotating
pot inside. This adjusts the idle
mixture, working the same as the electronic idle trimmers in the 1.5M and 5.9M
ECU. It adds or subtracts a given pulse
width from the map fuel number across the whole map, therefore having a much
greater percentage effect at small pulse widths.
This trimmer
is adjusted by rotating it between the ends of its travel. The total travel is 270 degrees (3/4 of a
full turn) as shown in the next photo so if you manage to make it go all the
way round you’ve wrecked it and it’s time for a new ECU. Be very gentle! As with a mixture screw, clockwise is lean,
anti clockwise is rich. The mid point,
where the trimmer slot points directly at the eprom socket, is nominally
zero. Best to use a non metallic
screwdriver when adjusting this especially when you have the engine running and
the ECU circuit board is live. You don’t
want to be shorting anything out.
In the photo
you can see the trimmer is set at about 60 degrees lean (which looks identical
to 120 degrees rich, unless you look really hard and can see the little dots that
act as arrow head edges).
If you don’t
have a gas analyser, as a bit of a rough guide, I’ve found that the best way to
set the idle mixture is to move the trim pot slowly clockwise (leaner) until
the revs begin to drop. Then go richer
until the revs begin to drop. Now you
have these two end points, set the trimmer 1/3 of the way from the lean stumble
point towards the rich stumble point.
This usually gives 4% CO when I’ve tried this method and then checked
with the gas analyser.
There is no default
or ideal setting for the trim pot (except for the ones I specify as guides for
my eproms), just wherever it ends up.
You can manipulate it somewhat with air bleed position if you need to,
and it can have quite an impact on low speed running and fuel economy. And it does act over the whole fuel map, so
can affect WOT running too.
996R
and 998 with 5.9M ECU
The idle trimmer on these models is adjusted electronically
via diagnostic tools or software. There
is no way to get around it. Mathesis, DDS,
Technoresearch Centurion, Navigator, etc.
There is no default
or ideal setting for the idle trimmer, just wherever it ends up. You can manipulate it somewhat with air bleed
position if you need to, and it can have quite an impact on low speed running
and fuel economy. And it does act over
the whole fuel map, so can affect WOT running too.
.
Nice write up, the people on the forum make up stuff I think and act like they really know the bikes and are probably not qualified to give advice
ReplyDeletethank you
dave