A buddy of mine decided it was finally time to replace the bad low fuel sensor on his 2002 Ducati Monster. He told me he tried to find some info on the good ole web but from what he told me all he found was bad advise. So we did it here at the shop and we’re putting it out there so you can try it.

This is the steel tank.

You will need to remove the tank from the bike and drain the fuel. This view show the fuel cap removed from the fuel cap housing.

Next you need to remove the fuel cap housing cover, there are 8 grub screws you need to remove first. Use a 2mm allen.

Don’t drop any inside.
You will need to pull to get this off.
Use something to protect the finish and set the housing aside, you do not need to remove the two hoses.

Now comes the fun part! You need to remove the sensor wire connector from the pump. It is not easy to do with the pump in place so save the trouble and just pull out the pump. The pump is held in place by a metal clip that is welded in the tank, the pump is housed in a rubber cup that the clip goes around. You need to reach in, grab the pump and push it up out of the clip and pull your arm back to free it. Be gentle once it’s free, you don’t want to damage the fuel filter. You can use the fuel line for a little leverage. Carefully guide the pump out through the top hole, you may have to twist or turn it some. Notice the filler splash shield laying in there.

And here it is. Now remove the sensor wire connector from the pump and set it aside being careful again with the finish. You don’t need to remove the hose.

Now to remove the sensor.


Loosen the large nut retaining the sensor, you can use pliers, it should not be very tight. Then just pull the sensor out along with the wire.

Here’s the new sensor.
They do not come with a sealing o-ring so if you did not get a new one pull the old one off. It’s green. Use a little grease (i like to use Hylomar) to help with sealing.


You must feed the wire in first, followed by the sensor and then hand tighten the nut. Before you tighten the nut align the wires so they face to the left, there is a metal tab the the connector fastens to. Again you can use the pliers, it needs to be snug but that’s all.


Reach in the tank and pull out the new sensor connector and plug it into the pump. Feed the pump back in with the connector side up and push back into the clip. You can use a little grease or plexus to help it slide in. You will notice that the rubber sleeve that the pump is in has a groove most the way around for the clip to fit into, make sure it is in this groove. Again be careful with the filter.

Here is the splash shield, you can put this back on the fuel tank housing now.

Here is the splash shield back in place.

You should inspect the overflow hoses for any cracks and replace those if bad. If there OK grease up the the green o-ring with just a very small amount of grease to help it glide into place. You will need to roll the black rubber trim around the housing (see arrow) back into place and then push the housing down in the tank. Be sure to line up the housing so the cap will sit straight.
Install the 8 grub screws and tighten a little at a time while working around in a cross pattern. These only need to be snug to tight, the o-ring is doing the work here. Don’t drop them inside, tape up the hole if you have to!
So there you are. All that’s left is installing the cap and putting it back on the bike. Be sure to check for leaks around the sensor and listen for you fuel pump working.
Have fun,
Tim