Oil Light Problems

Now then, hows you lot?

Right, I was riding today and got to a roundabout. Looked down and "oh carp the oil lights on!" (red oil light and oil can on display). Then immediately went off. Then flickered on and off.

I thought thats funny I checked the oil before I rode? So I pulls up in a car park scratches my head thinking, erm what am I gonna do? Check the oil again and no problem still full, if not slightly over full.

So waited about 45 mins while I did what I needed to in town got back on the bike and started it up.....no problem about a 20 min ride home and no problem.

Its a K6 with about 4500 miles on the clock, full service history. Get used in all weathers. Any ideas whats up with the old girl?

Cheers Bunks

Hmm, its an oil pressure light, so thats worrying. Although, baph had a similar problem a while back - PM him/

Originally Posted by Bunks

Any ideas whats up with the old girl?

Was the fuel light (yellow) on at the same time as the red light? I've had that on mine recently - turned out mine was reg/rec & low battery voltage.

The red light is also FI warning. Did you have "FI" on the dash LCD? (See "error c-42" thread in SV Talk & Tuning for troubleshooting steps.

Put the bike in dealer service mode (a search will tell you how) and see if there's any error codes coming back.

EDIT: Tada. Matt, you spoke, I arrived.

Originally Posted by Baph

Was the fuel light (yellow) on at the same time as the red light? I've had that on mine recently - turned out mine was reg/rec & low battery voltage.

The red light is also FI warning. Did you have "FI" on the dash LCD? (See "error c-42" thread in SV Talk & Tuning for troubleshooting steps.

Put the bike in dealer service mode (a search will tell you how) and see if there's any error codes coming back.

EDIT: Tada. Matt, you spoke, I arrived.

God that was quick was just searching for your post! Some sort of black magic me thinks.

No, no fuel light on. No FI on LCD dash. Will try putting in dealer mode tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Bunks

No, no fuel light on. No FI on LCD dash. Will try putting in dealer mode tomorrow.

In that case if the oil level was fine, I'd suspect the wiring from the LCD down to the pressure switch somewhere.

I must admit, the first time I had the red light on I sh&t myself thinking it was oil pressure, and killed the engine with the switch. I didn't notice the big yellow light until a few days later when it was still playing up.

Multimeter & a wiring diagram will be required.

Originally Posted by Baph

In that case if the oil level was fine, I'd suspect the wiring from the LCD down to the pressure switch somewhere.

I must admit, the first time I had the red light on I sh&t myself thinking it was oil pressure, and killed the engine with the switch. I didn't notice the big yellow light until a few days later when it was still playing up.

Multimeter & a wiring diagram will be required.

Ok then, do you think its likely to be a rusted connection or a break in the wiring inbetween the LCD and the pressure switch then? I've got a wiring digram in the Haynes manual but god it looks complicated and I don't have a Multimeter. So looks like I'm on steep learning curve!

Originally Posted by Bunks

Ok then, do you think its likely to be a rusted connection or a break in the wiring inbetween the LCD and the pressure switch then? I've got a wiring digram in the Haynes manual but god it looks complicated and I don't have a Multimeter. So looks like I'm on steep learning curve!

TBH, I've no idea what the wiring is like from the oil pressure switch, through the ECU and then on to the dash unit.

I knock off work at 2300, so I'll take a gander then for you (posting from work. ) and get back to you with where I would start looking on my K6 with those problems.

Multimeter's can be picked up from Maplin for less than a tenner.

EDIT: Oh yea, it kind of goes without saying, but I like to say it anyway. Don't try to start the engine if you're concerned about oil pressure. If you can't trust the pressure switch to work correctly, I personally would be looking at other forms of transport until it's fixed.

Originally Posted by Baph

TBH, I've no idea what the wiring is like from the oil pressure switch, through the ECU and then on to the dash unit.

I knock off work at 2300, so I'll take a gander then for you (posting from work. ) and get back to you with where I would start looking on my K6 with those problems.

Multimeter's can be picked up from Maplin for less than a tenner.

Cheers mate your a star. If we ever meet the drinks are on me.

Right then... diagram in hand.

The oil pressure switch is fed a constant live, and at a guess, when the switch is closed, grounds the connection & the light comes on. So I would assume that oil pressure prevents the switch closing.

The good/bad news is that the switch goes directly to the dash unit, it doesn't pass go, and it doesn't collect $200.

So, my first step would be to triple check the oil level. Once that's done, disconnect the wiring from the oil switch, and check for continuity with earth & the switch. Given the assumption before, there should be a continuous circuit.

The oil pressure switch is located on the front of the engine, next to the oil filter, and has a rubber boot covering it. Ignition on, but not engine, take the wire off the switch. Is the light on or off? It should be off, and if it's on, you have a bad earth somewhere.

Once that's done, put the wiring back, and fire up the engine. Let it get nice & warm, and with the engine still running (make sure the light is off - hence plugging it back in), disconnect the wiring & check continuity again. Now you shouldn't have anything.

Next, voltage check from the green/white wire you took off the switch when bridged to earth. This should read 12v or thereabouts, and it will probably trigger the red light on the dash.

If that checks out & looks reasonable, then you're going to have fun. Seats off & tank up, top & bottom of the airbox off (don't drop anything down the air intakes). There's some connectors just behind the headstock. I can't remember which, but one will have a green/white and a yellow wire coming to it. That's the connector you're interested in.

Give it a wiggle, take it apart & clean (switch cleaner or WD40 are always good).

If all that checks out OK, but you're still having the problems, I'd assume the pressure switch is faulty. If you have to replace it, you'll need to drain the oil. But the switch itself will come out & go back in pretty easy once the oil is out. Be careful putting the new one in so you don't strip threads.

Happy hunting.

Originally Posted by Baph

Right then... diagram in hand.

The oil pressure switch is fed a constant live, and at a guess, when the switch is closed, grounds the connection & the light comes on. So I would assume that oil pressure prevents the switch closing.

The good/bad news is that the switch goes directly to the dash unit, it doesn't pass go, and it doesn't collect $200.

So, my first step would be to triple check the oil level. Once that's done, disconnect the wiring from the oil switch, and check for continuity with earth & the switch. Given the assumption before, there should be a continuous circuit.

The oil pressure switch is located on the front of the engine, next to the oil filter, and has a rubber boot covering it. Ignition on, but not engine, take the wire off the switch. Is the light on or off? It should be off, and if it's on, you have a bad earth somewhere.

Once that's done, put the wiring back, and fire up the engine. Let it get nice & warm, and with the engine still running (make sure the light is off - hence plugging it back in), disconnect the wiring & check continuity again. Now you shouldn't have anything.

Next, voltage check from the green/white wire you took off the switch when bridged to earth. This should read 12v or thereabouts, and it will probably trigger the red light on the dash.

If that checks out & looks reasonable, then you're going to have fun. Seats off & tank up, top & bottom of the airbox off (don't drop anything down the air intakes). There's some connectors just behind the headstock. I can't remember which, but one will have a green/white and a yellow wire coming to it. That's the connector you're interested in.

Give it a wiggle, take it apart & clean (switch cleaner or WD40 are always good).

If all that checks out OK, but you're still having the problems, I'd assume the pressure switch is faulty. If you have to replace it, you'll need to drain the oil. But the switch itself will come out & go back in pretty easy once the oil is out. Be careful putting the new one in so you don't strip threads.

Happy hunting.

Right,

Been out and got a multi meter (£5 bargin). Oil level is fine. Sorry but how do I check the continuity with earth & the switch?

Skipped to the next part, took the rubber jonny thing off and the screw was really badly rusted, cleaned that up and with lots of WD40 took the screw off. Turn on the ignition red light comes on for about 3-5 seconds then goes off (just like if you started it). Attached the cable to an earth and the light is back on.


Could it be the rust on the conection that caused a faulty contact thereby breaking the circuit causing the light to come on?

Thanks for replies in advance.