oil pressure light came on

[mother]

while riding today, the oil pressure light came on. i pulled over right away and shut the bike off. oil level was fine on the sight glass, so i carried on.

 

the bike runs fine, and the next time i stop and restart the bike the light goes off, all back to normal.

 

any answers would be appreciated.

 

it is time for an oil change, would the filter be plugging and that be the reason the warning light came on?

 

maybe there is a loose connection on the pressure sensor, anyone know where the sensor is located on the engine?

 

cheers, Scott

[gibvel]

First off, it is not an oil PRESSURE light. It is an oil LEVEL indicator.

 

Second, were you in a banking turn of any kind or a hill? High rev situation?

 

If you keep your oil level about half way up the sight glass (which is where it should be if you don't want oil in your breather box ) then it might just be a fluke. My 89 would come on as I got onto the highway coming down a steep, sharp right hand cloverleaf on ramp and got on it to get into traffic flow. It would then go off.

 

I'd say you're probably okay as long as it goes back off and your oil level is where it should be. Change oil and see if that helps the situation.

[Squidley]

Scott,

Is this under hard accelleration? I ask this because if I got on the '08 really hard I would get the oil light to come on. That light is just letting you know the oil is lower and the gauge can't see it, it's not a loss of pressure, just reading a loss of volume in the lower case. I was running synthetic and figured it was pumping the oil too fast into the upper engine.

Don't know how many miles are on this oil change, but it might not hurt to swap it out.

[raceman62race]

I bought my wife a 93 Virago 1100. Occationally, the oil light comes on and it concerns me. Is it a level light on the Virago as well or is it a pressure light? The only way I can keep it from coming on is to keep the oil level about 3/4 way up the site glass

Thanks

[Marcarl]

Ride baby ride,,, what's been said so far is so close to the truth that I would even say that they are right. Don't worry about swapping out the engine just yet though, I don't think Brad knows where you two are, pretty hard to find a new engine in Alaska HUH.

Enjoy your trip, it should run fine.

[gibvel]

I bought my wife a 93 Virago 1100. Occationally, the oil light comes on and it concerns me. Is it a level light on the Virago as well or is it a pressure light? The only way I can keep it from coming on is to keep the oil level about 3/4 way up the site glass

Thanks

 

Check the owners manual. It should tell in there if it is a level or pressure light. But if I had to bet I'd say that it's a level light. I think Mamma Yamma likes to do things the same on their bikes. Besides, you say that you can keep it from happening by filling it to the 3/4 mark so this sounds like it's a level thing.

EDIT: Just looked up the 1998 XV1100 owners manual and it says that the light is an "Oil Level Light". A note in the manual reads. "Even if the oil is filled to the specified level, the indicator may flicker when riding on a slope or during sudden acceleration or deceleration, but this is not abnormal"

 

So I think your Virago is good to go.

Edited June 10, 2009 by gibvel

[buddy]

My 83 did the same thing scared the heck out of my but my oil level was OK so I kept riding, did this a few times then the light stayed on. Found it was the bad soldering in the monitor display system. I went in and redid all the soldiering and everything is excellent now.

 

Buddy

[Venturous Randy]

One of the things I do when I change my oil is when the oil has drained out, I will turn on the ignition and see if the oil level icon shows.

RandyA

[muffinman]

Scott to answer the question it is located on the oil pan left side of the bike forward of the drain plug.You may need to resolder the display or the switch wiring the oil level light is a pain in the hind side but if she is full of oil keep on riding.

I hope you and Sherry are having a great time.

Let us know if you need any more questions answered.

Jeff

[Iowa Guy]

Hummm... Last night my second son was riding Kawasaki Ninja 250 and the oil light came on while at the same time the engine decelerated and finally quit and would not restart. He happened be stranded beside the house of a Yamaha mechanic. That guy said that the bike probably had a bad sensor and that the sensor would have to be reset or swapped out or something. Sound right to you guys?

 

Iowa Guy

[mother]

thanks guys, i knew i can count on the family here to help me out.

i did hit a big bump in the road and that is when the light came on.

the level is 3/4 full in the sight glass.

usually change oil every 3,000 miles, i am at 5,000 and will do an oil change today or tomorrow.

thanks again

cheers, Scott

[Venturous Randy]

thanks guys, i knew i can count on the family here to help me out.

i did hit a big bump in the road and that is when the light came on.

the level is 3/4 full in the sight glass.

cheers, Scott

 

Scott, with this discription, it sounds more like a connection problem than showing you level is low.

And you thought you were getting too old to learn anything more!

RandyA

[gibvel]

Scott, with this discription, it sounds more like a connection problem than showing you level is low.

And you thought you were getting too old to learn anything more!

RandyA

 

[Gearhead]

Old oil should not cause the light to come on more. Actually, should be less as old oil is thinner and will drain back into the pan quicker.

 

I have a Virago and a Venture. Both are level lights. My Virago light comes on with a cold engine, acceleration or leaning on the kickstand. This is normal, as the sensor on that engine is in the front RH corner, and cold oil drains back to the case slower than hot oil. I'm somewhat "calibrated" now to that bike, and if the light is coming on excessively I know I need to check the oil level. A reliable Yammy service manager told me that the light is only meaningful at idle, bike upright.

 

My Venture does not have this issue, must be the different design of the pan and location of the sensor. I agree that it sounds like you might have a bad connection. Bottom line is, trust your sight glass!

 

Jeremy

[Kandaje]

Greetings...

 

Happens all the time 'cept when I put too much in after a change...

 

So far as I can tell, the only things that keeps it from happening is Not going to warp speed from a dead stop, or scraping the pegs in a turn. That's, of course, when you only fill the site glass to half...

 

Solution: keep a quart handy and add a tad when the light comes on, until it stops coming on. That way you don't OVERfill and start blowing oil into your air filter - But of course, if you use an oily air filter (KM) anyway - then that's not such a really bad thing anyway, just means you'll have to change the plugs more often...

 

All in all - It's Normal behavior, probably no worries...

[Pappa Bear]

My 89 VR does it also when getting on a ramp pretty hard, I believe it is just the oil being pushed away from the sensor. I saw my light come on the first time and did the same as you, now that I know what it is - like the other post said, Ride babey Ride!!!!The longer I ride this bike the more I think these motors are really hard to hurt.

[jasonm.]

I don't look at my instruments (other than the tach)when riding hard. Traffic and road hazards are more important. Vmax owners state the same thing. Hard acceleration on oil not fully up to temperature causes the oil to slosh back away enough the sensor may say, "not enough". But the oil pump is in the back where the oil is sloshed to. So there is nothing to worry about. Also you can check the wire from the sensor. It makes one connection by your left thigh as you stand. I think it's black w/red stripe.

[camos]

I bought my wife a 93 Virago 1100. Occationally, the oil light comes on and it concerns me. Is it a level light on the Virago as well or is it a pressure light? The only way I can keep it from coming on is to keep the oil level about 3/4 way up the site glass

Thanks

About 3/4 of the way up the site glass is where the oil level should be on a Virago. In fact if you can still see the level line in the upper part of the window that still OK and is probably the best place to keep it. The light will rarely come on at that level. If you start the engine while on the centre stand and look in the window you won't see any oil at all. That's normal too. When checking the oil level always wait at least 5 min, even 10 minutes for the oil to drain sown from the engine or you might just over fill it.