there's an ignition relay box under the seat.

also check that the battery connections are really tight. might be a good enough connection for the lights but not the starter

 

When I push the START button, nothing happens. Nada.

Meaning no lights, nothing whatsoever?
Then +1 on ign relay, yelleow under saddle.

 

No the lights work, the indicator cluster lights up, just no starting. How does one tell if that relay is bad, ohm meter?

 

Kill switch?

 

Kill switch?

LOL, thanks but I checked that first.

 

Do you know where your relay is? its under the battery. You will see a wire from the batt connect to it. Bypass the relay by touching the two wires that originate from the relay together, That should start your bike if your relay is faulty. If your bike doesnt move, bring yoru battery to autozone or watever to get it checked out. If bad, replace. if not, id suspect the starter. You may have cooked it. What year is this bike?

I burnt my starter, 44k miles 1995 M944. I replaced it.

 

or...
check the battery connection on the starter, take it off and clean it up. Mine gets water traped in the rubber boot and I reckon thats whats causes the bad contact. I cut a little hole in the bottom of the rubber boot so the water drains out.

 

Does the solenoid click? Check the small plug going into the solenoid between the terminals.

 

There is a 7.5 amp fuse in the panel. Check that.

If it's bad it's possible you have frayed wires near the steering head. They feed the kill switch.

 

Does the solenoid click? Check the small plug going into the solenoid between the terminals.

OK, here's the progress...and I'm starting to think the starter solenoid is stuck.

Wires look good along their length. Battery connections are nice and tight, there is plenty of fluid in the cells, and my tender shows that it's charged and in sleep mode. The ignition relay under the seat appears fine and when I take the cover off I can see the leaf closing when I turn the key to RUN. No click from solenoid when I hit the start button. The solenoid plug is tight. Previous owner replaced the starter 4000 miles ago.

Is this a standard 12v solenoid that I can pick up at my local Honda dealership, or has Ducati got their own bolt pattern?

 

Check the actual connections on the solenoid and starter, and the starter's connection to ground.

I've had both of those issues come up on different bikes.

You can also just jump straight from the battery to the starter to see if it spins (make sure you bike is in neutral first). With the ignition and kill switch on and the battery connected normally, you should be able to start your bike that way if the solenoid is dead.

Isn't the solenoid on a `98 just mounted in a rubber sleeve (no bolt pattern)?

--Fillmore

 

I made a post for another guy with a similar problem that had the steps for diagnosing the problem. See if you can dig it up, it wasn't too long ago.

 

I'll second ducpainters thought about the fuse. Ocasionally my 2000 900 will have the same issue. It is fuel injected so when i hit the kill switch to the on posistion and do not hear the fuel pump prime i know the starter will not engage. I have found that by lightly moving the fuse around it will fire up. I 've been to lazy to fix it waiting for bad weather

 

It was the solenoid. I ordered one over the phone from a local dealer, and had it in the mail this morning. It took all of about 20 minutes to swap it out and she's rumbling along just fine now. Thanks to the forum members for the trouble shooting tips.