Oil light came on?

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Last Chance

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Location
Boise, Idaho
Well, commuting home at O dark-thirty this AM I was shocked/surprised to see the red oil idiot light come on and stay on. I had not warmed the bike up like I usually do, so I was taking it easy one the rpm's. However I had 2 bars showing on dial. I had just transitioned onto the freeway and was cooking along at 80 mph plus.

Traffic in this part of the world is in a BIG hurry at this time of day, trying to beat the lock-down which would have occurred within minutes. So in order to "merge" safely it was necessary to "go fast". However I ran it through the gears keeping the rpm's down in each gear and not going WOT in any gear.

Enough description. The light came on, I pulled over to the shoulder and tried to check for leaks, etc. I found none, and as best I could see there was oil in the "sight glass". When I restarted it the light went out after POST check and stayed out. When I got it home I put it on the center stand and checked the oil level. It was halfway between the marks, after a few minutes sitting.

I use Amsoil, 20-50 and changed it only 1800 miles ago, using a Yamaha filter. I'm waiting for a new order of oil to arrive and might add some Yamalube temporarily. Any thoughts as to why this happened and is the warning light a "low-oil" warning light or a "low-pressure" warning light?

Yes, I know do the search..But too many 3 letter words involved for me to get any "answers".

LC

 
Last Chance said:
Yes, I know do the search..But too many 3 letter words involved for me to get any "answers".
LC
Click to expand...
Yep, oil is a dirty three letter word that doesn't work so well on search. But, I found several links when searching and putting "oil level" and "oil light" inside of quotes. One is here

 
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Unlike my '04, I had the same problem with my '06. I could just jump on the '04, let it warm up getting out of the driveway onto the road, and never see an oil light.

However the '06 kept showing a light at the same location down the road, or under the same circumstances as yours. Oil level was ok, and it would go out if I shut it off and fired it back up.

Finally figured out I was not letting it warm up enough. I have to let it warm up a couple of minutes, or at least a minute longer than the '04, if I don't want to see an oil light.

It did it consistently if I did not let it warm up, and never if I gave it the extra minute. I don't think it is a problem, damage wise, as there is a proper oil level. A buddy with several Yamahas said it is not an unusual thing for them to do, and to not sweat it.

B)

 
:yahoo: Thank you all...I got on here tonight to ask the same question. My '06 has had the same problem and was scaring me to death, the darn light was staying on for 1/2 mile to a mile. No motor noise, but damn it sure scares ya when it comes on leaning thru a corner at 60. Of course tomorrow 100% chance of rain/thunderstorms and then the bottom drops out of the tempeture into the 20's for thursday and friday...may get to ride Saturday when temps go back into the 30's/50's. LOL Welcome to Ohio, don't like the weather hang around 5 minutes it'll change. Anyway again thank you, the dealer just checked this out last week and couldn't find anything wrong, if I hadn't seen this tonight he was gonna get an ear full tomorrow.
 
Yamahas use a oil level light, not pressure.

I've had this happen on a FZ-1 and my FJR. I used to fill to the oil line on the sight glass, but now that I realize the level light is a tad sensitive, I add a touch more so it's just above the line. usually about 4.25 quarts with a filter change. No more light coming on. It doesn't take much to keep this problem at bay. hope that helps.

 
Had the exact same problem on my '05 FJR and like everyone else here is scared the bejesus out of me. Every time it happened I'd pull up on the side of the road, turn the bike off, sometimes check out the sight glass and restart. Usually on the restart the light would go out and I'd continue on my journey, with no susequent light episodes.

The very last time I decided to not stop as I was confident that there was oil in the motor and it wasn't making any horrible noises. The light went on, stayed on for say a minute and went out. The light has never come on since.

The reason I believe the light comes on when it does, is that when the oil is cool, it's thicker (also more oil pressure). Being thicker, more oil ends up at the top of the motor than would be the norm and less is left in the sump. The oil level sensor then decides that the sump level is a bit low and as a result, the light comes on.

As to why the light hasn't come on again having 'stared it down' the last time, I'm not sure.

 
Last Chance said:
Well, commuting home at O dark-thirty this AM I was shocked/surprised to see the red oil idiot light come on and stay on. I had not warmed the bike up like I usually do, so I was taking it easy one the rpm's. However I had 2 bars showing on dial. I had just transitioned onto the freeway and was cooking along at 80 mph plus.Traffic in this part of the world is in a BIG hurry at this time of day, trying to beat the lock-down which would have occurred within minutes. So in order to "merge" safely it was necessary to "go fast". However I ran it through the gears keeping the rpm's down in each gear and not going WOT in any gear.

Enough description. The light came on, I pulled over to the shoulder and tried to check for leaks, etc. I found none, and as best I could see there was oil in the "sight glass". When I restarted it the light went out after POST check and stayed out. When I got it home I put it on the center stand and checked the oil level. It was halfway between the marks, after a few minutes sitting.

I use Amsoil, 20-50 and changed it only 1800 miles ago, using a Yamaha filter. I'm waiting for a new order of oil to arrive and might add some Yamalube temporarily. Any thoughts as to why this happened and is the warning light a "low-oil" warning light or a "low-pressure" warning light?

Yes, I know do the search..But too many 3 letter words involved for me to get any "answers".

LC
Click to expand...
I have the same "problem". I've noticed that it tends to happen on the first run of the day, especially when the temperature is below 70. I live in Southern California so this is not a common occurence. It tends to saty on for about a minute and then go off by itself. I will admit though, the first time it happened it was a bit of a freak-out. Since then I've gotten into the habit of parking on the centerstand and checking the oil before every startup, which probably isn't a bad idea anyways.

Mentioned it to the Yamaha dealer so there would be a record of it, and I will probably insist they do something about it just before the warranty expires. As with all the comments I've read here, there is lots of oil so it really isn't a low oil issue as best I can tell. The oil I am using is the YamaLube 20-50 they put in at the shop.

 
CDR said:
The oil I am using is the YamaLube 20-50 they put in at the shop.
Click to expand...
Well, no.... YamaLube doesn't come in a 20-50W variant. (Though they do make a 10-50W Racing Semi-Synthetic).

Most likely, you have the standard YamaLube 20-40W, same as what comes in the bike from the factory.

 
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CDR said:
Mentioned it to the Yamaha dealer so there would be a record of it, and I will probably insist they do something about it just before the warranty expires.
Click to expand...
Not sure why you feel that way. Especially since it is known how it all works and its just an idiosyncrisy IMHO.

With all the horror stories out there, do you really want the dealer opening up the bottom of your engine to fix something that really ain't broke?

 
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Genghis said:
The reason I believe the light comes on when it does, is that when the oil is cool, it's thicker (also more oil pressure). Being thicker, more oil ends up at the top of the motor than would be the norm and less is left in the sump. The oil level sensor then decides that the sump level is a bit low and as a result, the light comes on.
Click to expand...
+1 Your bike's oil level sensor may be just getting into the low level trigger, after it warms, the level sensor gets enough drain back to trigger it off.

 
Uh....why don't you just put a little more oil in it so the light doesn't come on....????.....or would that be too easy??

 
This problem may be exacerbated by the way the oil level sensor works. It is a float mechanism and the cold thick oil may be causing it to respond a little slowly.

In any case, I would not make a habit of riding the bike until it is well warmed up.

 
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Thank you all for you timely replies. I kind of thought that was the problem, not warmed up/thick oil, etc. But it is nice to know your almost new, only slightly scratched M/C isn't really broken.

LC

 
Cold oil doesn't flow back down to the pan as quickly as hot oil does.

That could cause the level to drop just enough to flip the light on.

I don't think the light goes back off until the bike is turned off and back on again. I usually get the oil light on immediately upon the first start up after an oil change. The amount of oil it takes to fill up a new filter, plus room temp Rotella 15W-40 pumped up into the head trips the low level light every time. Once the level is set correct with about another 1/3 of a qrt, the light never comes back.

 
There are two points here you are all missing:

1. Never take off on a cold engine.

Hold that throttle wide open in neutral until you see at leat two bars.

2. The light is indeed a low oil qty. indication.

Fill that thing up till it comes out the filler hole, you will never have the light come on again. Does cause it to smoke some but the mufflers should never rust out.

There, problems solved. :D

 
S76 said:
There are two points here you are all missing:
1. Never take off on a cold engine.

Hold that throttle wide open in neutral until you see at leat two bars.

2. The light is indeed a low oil qty. indication.

Fill that thing up till it comes out the filler hole, you will never have the light come on again. Does cause it to smoke some but the mufflers should never rust out.

There, problems solved. :D
Click to expand...
I think this post needs more smilies......

 

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