Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Oil Light on.....

Anyone have issues with their oil light (Speedmaster).
While riding to work the light came on. I shut down the bike right away. Started it back up a few minutes later and it stayed off. Parked the bike until this AM. After changing the oil and filter and verifing proper oil level I fired up the bike. At idle the light is out. If I rev the engine the light comes on a stays on, until I shut it off and restart.... repeat.
I suspect a bad senor. Any thoughts?

BigSteve

On Harley's and old Triumps, you would look in the oil tank while it was running and look for oil circulation. Try looking through the sight glass while it is running. If you remove the oil filler cap while running you might get oil everywhere, but maybe it is worth a peek. If you are pretty sure you have circulation, try changing the oil pressure sensor.

T1210504 - Switch and Banjo Bolt Oil Pressure

For trouble shooting, and without looking at the manual, replacing the switch might be where to start as who knows what's involved in getting to the oil pump.

Run down the pressure switch wire and make sure there's a solid connection. Always check the cheap and easy stuff first.

After I posted I grabbed my manual and went out to play. It appears that it was a loose electrical connection or a ground of some sort. Didn't find anything specific, just move wires around and tinkered. Didn't find anything loose, but when I fired it up all was well. Went for short ride and ran through the gears. Good to go.

Steve

About 6 months after I bought my TBA I had a similar thing happen - the oil light would come on while the engine was running, dim at first then slowly getting up to full brightness. Took it to the dealer under warranty and he replaced the pressure switch and ordered a new wiring sub-harness. (Covered the old one in silicon while waiting for the new one). The switch seemed to fix it, he just did the harness to be certain.

It's a good reason to get an oil pressure guage, so you can double check.

Matt

It can be a simple as a bad sensor switch or it could also be something serious enough to destroy your motor. Always expect the wosre and do not ride it until you are 100% sure it is corrected.
Pull the oil lines off of the top of the oil cooler and look for obstructions. When I did my big bore I was amazed that I found a rather large piece of what appeared to be gasket material in one of the banjos. I was like hard cardboard and had almost completely clogged the one side. If this had plugged the oil to/from the cooler it could have been catastrophic.
Another excellent reason to have an oil pressure guage instead of the idiot lights.
Remember, red lights mean STOP! NOW!

I had the same trouble after washing my bike with too much water(do it yourself carwash). The rubber cover over the electrical connection is lousy, so water was probably shorting the connection. I put some dielectric grease on and not a problem since. That silicone idea sounds pretty good too.

Crank it up and let it idle. If the light goes out for a minute or two then comes back on, shut it down, wait about 1 beer, (not too long, don't want the engine to cool down) and start it again. If it happens all over again just the same, you probably have a bad oil pressure switch. If the diaphragm in the switch has a leak, it will work fine for a short time, then enough oil leaks to the other side to ballance the pressure and the light comes on. If this is the case, there'll be no harm to the engine, BUT it is a bad idea to ride it like that because there is no way to know if you really do lose pressure.

The sensor. If it's the oil pump, err either or both of the oil pumps, then the LH cover comes off, the clutch basket etc...not too bad really (at least you don't have to split the cases), and that would be a good time for a barnett clutch upgrade. That's right two oil pumps. But it sounds like the sensor is bad. If you order a sensor, also order at least one each of the RH & the LH cover's gaskets. These are really a must to have if you ever have to get behind the covers and hold any hope of riding the same day.