My oil light. Nightmare.

[caesius]

OK, riding back to HB from Rotorua earlier today and I had the most scary ride in the world.

About 30k's out of Taupo MY OIL LIGHT CAME ON. Holy hell I thought

Before I could react it turned off again. You know that feeling when you know somethings wrong with your bike but you're in the middle of nowhere? Yep that one.

I kept riding and it came on again! I pulled over and it turned off. I didn't know what to do next, there's no service stations until Bay View. I worked out that I must have an oil LEVEL indicator because it was only when I went uphill that it came on.

I decided to keep riding. Got back to Bayview BP, toped up the oil and everything was sweet again.

Am I stupid for not stopping the instant that bloody light came on? Just lucky?

FZR600 btw. [EDIT] Oops. I've spelt nightmare wrong. Can't change it now

[Headbanger]

Well, Your taking a hell of a risk when you ignore an idiot light, But its your wallet that's going to get hurt, So, its call your call whether to take a punt

Personally I would have stopped and checked the oil level, If it were low I'd knock on someone's door, any oil is better then no oil.

[caesius]

Well, Your taking a hell of a risk when you ignore an idiot light, But its your wallet that's going to get hurt, So, its your take a punt

Personally I would have stopped and checked the oil level, If it were low I'd knock on someone's door, any oil is better then no oil.

I did check it. It was clear I needed more. Since it only briefly turned on up steep hills I assumed everything would be getting lubricated often enough. Pretty big call, yeah maybe it wasn't smart.

[McDuck]

Normally it is a case of when the light flashes the kill switch gets pushed.

[Ixion]

It depends on whether it is an oil PRESSURE light (like a car) or an oil LEVEL light (like many two strokes).

If the former, STOP. FAST. It's very improbable you will save the engine , but you may reduce the damage

And oil level light, though, is another matter, It's just like a fuel level light, it means "things are getting low, top up at the next servo"

[caesius]

Normally it is a case of when the light flashes the kill switch gets pushed.

I did at first.

I've just read on another post, the FZR's oil light doesn't mean big business unless you ignore it for a while.

[Headbanger]

I did check it. It was clear I needed more. Since it only briefly turned on up steep hills I assumed everything would be getting lubricated often enough. Pretty big call, yeah maybe it wasn't smart.

If you checked and decided you had enough oil to make it home then I think you made the right call.

My oil light was staying on for a minute or so when I started my bike, and flashing every so often when hit idle, I checked her, was happy she had enough in her to be lubricated, and made the ride home.

[caesius]

It depends on whether it is an oil PRESSURE light (like a car) or an oil LEVEL light (like many two strokes).

If the former, STOP. FAST. It's very improbable you will save the engine , but you may reduce the damage

And oil level light, though, is another matter, It's just like a fuel level light, it means "things are getting low, top up at the next servo"

Awesome, thanks. Yes I've found out its a level light. Bloody good idea.

Shit that was an unnerving ride though.

[Max Preload]

I can't understand why oil pressure (or in your case, oil level) and coolant temperature warnings are only visual. Wouldn't the OEM addition of a bloody loud buzzer make sense?

[slopster]

I'd say it'd be an oil pressure light and your oil level was real low. When you went up a hill the oil pickup came out of the oil and went dry for a few seconds. When back on level ground and pumping the oil through. Thats pretty bad for it but I'm sure a couple of seconds won't have a major effect. Also note that its pretty bad to run the oil that low because the oil does a lot of the engines cooling and less oil = less cooling

[Max Preload]

I'd say it'd be an oil pressure light...

No - they're a level light - lots of Yamaha's have that instead of a pressure light. R6's, FZ1's etc. and dating back quite a way. On this particular bike, it's item #6 on the attached image.

[Soul.Trader]

I'm inexperienced with bikes, but if they're anything like cars the oil light, whether pressure or level, is nothing to panic about. There's massive safety margins built into the pressure light, so it rarely means catastrophic failure. The fact is there are VERY few things that can happen which can cause sudden loss of oil pressure - and if it did happen, your engine would be poked before you could react anyway.

Oil pressure lights tend to start to intermittently turn on and off when your oil level is a little low - again, nothing to panic about, just ensure you get it topped up at the next stop.

[Renegade]

you made the right call, not a biggy unless it stays on solid, it was just letting you know she was getting low and obviosly on the flat it was getting all the oil it needed.

probly time for a full service though, treat her for getting you home safe, bummer though cos that last 30 minutes is the best part of the napier-taupo, nothing like coming over that hill and seeing the bay and knowing your home.

[PrincessBandit]

I'm inexperienced with bikes, but if they're anything like cars the oil light, whether pressure or level, is nothing to panic about. There's massive safety margins built into the pressure light, so it rarely means catastrophic failure. The fact is there are VERY few things that can happen which can cause sudden loss of oil pressure - and if it did happen, your engine would be poked before you could react anyway.

Oil pressure lights tend to start to intermittently turn on and off when your oil level is a little low - again, nothing to panic about, just ensure you get it topped up at the next stop.

I'd check that out because when it happened to me in my car (light came on and stayed on, me stuck in middle of nowhere at the time and panicking) I did continue on to the next township. Thankfully it turned out to be faulty electrics - I've since been told that in a car when the oil light comes on like that it's too late - you're already screwed. (Well the engine is...)

[Soul.Trader]

Thankfully it turned out to be faulty electrics - I've since been told that in a car when the oil light comes on like that it's too late - you're already screwed. (Well the engine is...)

That's almost true. If you lose oil pressure suddenly, you have about 3 nanoseconds to fix it. Unless you're the six million dollar man, consider your engine dead. But as I said, these engines have big safety margins built in. When the oil light comes on, it's time to be concerned, and make sure you remedy whatever the issue is. But the oil light turning on very rarely means a sudden loss of oil pressure. Like I mentioned about, there's not that many things that can go wrong to cause sudden oil pressure loss. Oil delivery systems are pretty bullet proof.

[dipshit]

I think you have too much faith in these safety margins mate. Most bikes use a pressure switch, not a level indicator.



Many Yamahas do use a oil *level* sensor though, not a pressure sensor. Even some French cars I have owned also use a oil *level* sensor.

The manuals usually point this out and explain that the oil light flickering occasionally or soon after start-up is nothing to worry about and just means it is time to top up the oil.

It is just like letting you know that the oil level is getting close to the bottom mark on the dipstick.

[The Pastor]

oil level or oil pressure, if the light comes on the bike goes off.

Always check your oil level.

[FROSTY]

Its an oil LEVEL light and comes on once ya oil level drops by about 3/4 of a liter from full.
-This is bike specific

[davereid]

I'd check that out because when it happened to me in my car (light came on and stayed on, me stuck in middle of nowhere at the time and panicking) I did continue on to the next township. Thankfully it turned out to be faulty electrics - I've since been told that in a car when the oil light comes on like that it's too late - you're already screwed. (Well the engine is...)

Yep, spot on.

If Oil Pressure is too low, serious engine damage is already on its way. Items like cam shafts bearings, turbochargers, and big end bearings need lots of clean oil, at good pressure, or they just start to eat metal.

Low oil level on the other hand is nasty. But as long as oil pressure and engine temperature are normal, is not an indication the bike is ready for a trip to "trade me".

Oil pressure CAN get low even if you have plenty of oil. It is a sign of a generally worn out engine.

So...

If oil light comes on and its a LEVEL light, check the dipstick. If its at the bottom end of the range, ride carefully to next gas station, and add some oil, and use a pair of pliers to pull out all your pubic hair, to remind you, that your are only 4 years old. Adults check oil levels see.

If its an oil Pressure light...
If the oil level is low, stop riding, beg or borrow some oil. If the oil level is OK, then you have a very worn engine, a faulty oil pump or a faulty oil pressure sender.

Most likely its the sender. Your guess !

[HRT]

As Imdying said, don't rely at all on these "safety margins". Cars are the same, pressure switches are as low as 4 or 5psi on some which is as good as 0 in most cases anyway if you're at anything over idle.

The low oil level (as previously mentioned) can be detrimental to the engine because it does a reasonable amount of cooling as well as the obvious lubrication. The other issue is that with a small volume of oil it will be taking a lot of the heat, and excessive heat is horribly destructive to the properties of the oil. You'll find it will lose a lot of its lubricating properties from the heat and tend to break down

[dipshit]

oil level or oil pressure, if the light comes on the bike goes off.

Always check your oil level.


Always read your user manual.

[The Pastor]

oil level or oil pressure, if the light comes on the bike goes off.

Always check your oil level.
I can't believe it! I just went to check my oil and it was dry!! I havnt ridden the bike much since i last checked it (chirstmas).

Just re affirms the fact that you really should check it twice weekly. (if you think its not using any, daily if its a burner)

[offrd]

Years ago i noticed my oil light come on in my car, i shut it down straight away and got towed home. Being a mechanic,out came the motor and off came the sump. The big end bearings had obvious signs of running dry and starting to pick up as did the overhead cam, i decided on a full engine rebuild, port, hot cam... as you do....:laugh:
Cause of light, worn out oil pump drive, had i continued on, that oil light would never have gone out.... Engine damage was already done...

Not so long ago i was called to a scania transporter on the Napier-Taupo road that had intermittant oil light flashing on, Pressure guage showed good oil pressure when the light was off, but i could not make the light go on!
I had a gut feeling something was not right and could not pull the sump off with the tooling i had with me so the driver decided to continue to Auckland.
He called me when he got to Taupo saying the light kept going on on corners and did i think it was electrical.. I told him my gut feeling was it was a real oil problem not electrical and stressed they needed to look further....
Turns out they dropped the sump in taupo and the oil pickup was loose and was sucking air on the corners as it wobbled around! That truck is still running engine untouched now!

Run with the theory if light goes on, something wrong!

Unless you are sure of the problem or have a deeeeep pocket...:doh:

[Max Preload]

...the oil light, whether pressure or level, is nothing to panic about. There's massive safety margins built into the pressure light, so it rarely means catastrophic failure...

Oil pressure lights tend to start to intermittently turn on and off when your oil level is a little low - again, nothing to panic about, just ensure you get it topped up at the next stop.

Quite the opposite - the pressure is your engines lifeblood regardless of the level. A low oil level that maintains the correct pressure will only affect the splash of the oil about the crankcase - there is some cooling to be had from that but it's nowhere near as important as the pressure in the bearing journals preventing high speed direct metal-metal contact.


But as I said, these engines have big safety margins built in. When the oil light comes on, it's time to be concerned, and make sure you remedy whatever the issue is. But the oil light turning on very rarely means a sudden loss of oil pressure. Like I mentioned about, there's not that many things that can go wrong to cause sudden oil pressure loss. Oil delivery systems are pretty bullet proof.

There is no 'safety margin' on a pressure switch - it is designed to operate only at idle oil pressure and if such a low pressure is encountered under load and at elevated rpm you're in for some pretty hefty repairs or at the very least a greatly reduced engine life. Furthermore, shearing the oil pump drive is a certain sudden oil pressure loss and is a lot more common that you realise.

Oil lights, regardless of whether the be level or worse, pressure, should never be ignored on the off-chance that it's just a faulty switch. To do so is foolhardy.

[homer]

motors still run fine even if there no oil in the window or on the stick
im not saying dont check it ,always should
but lets say the sump hold 3.5 litres
i gurantee the motor wil operate correctly with 2 litres in it

how many people do you know that seized a motor with some oil in it

id be more worried about the cooling either water or air

[Ixion]

Well, yes, if you run short of air for cooling, something is VERY wrong.

[Max Preload]

but lets say the sump hold 3.5 litres
i gurantee the motor wil operate correctly with 2 litres in it

Oh well then - put your money where your mouth is and just put 2L in at your next oil change. You'll save a fortune on oil too. Be sure to post a picture of the piston skirts when you have to do the premature rebuild.

[Max Preload]

Well, yes, if you run short of air for cooling, something is VERY wrong.

Yeah - you've either gone into the water or out into space.

[dipshit]

I can't believe it! I just went to check my oil and it was dry!! I havnt ridden the bike much since i last checked it (chirstmas).


This is where a oil level sensor would have came in handy.

Just think you would have been riding with the oil light flickering a lot.


"oil level or oil pressure, if the light comes on the bike goes off."

Ignorance is bliss, ay.

[The Pastor]

This is where a oil level sensor would have came in handy.

Just think you would have been riding with the oil light flickering a lot.



Ignorance is bliss, ay.
the real question is, where the hell did my oil go?

[Wannabiker]

the real question is, where the hell did my oil go?

....well if it's not in a puddle on the garage floor under the bike, it most likely went out the exhaust pipe........

[The Pastor]

....well if it's not in a puddle on the garage floor under the bike, it most likely went out the exhaust pipe........
my bike dosent smoke tho