Oil light staying on GSX1100

[Guest]

Hi all - tried to do a search about this but couldn't get the search option to play the game. The oil light has suddenly decided to stay on. Enough oil - check, motor not making terrible noises or getting hot - check. Pressure switch the first thing to check?
Cheers
Barb

[hampshirehog]

I would check the wiring. Unclip the wire from the pressure switch and see what happens. Ignition on, the light should go out, engine running or not.

[hikermikem]

I would check the wiring. Unclip the wire from the pressure switch and see what happens. Ignition on, the light should go out, engine running or not.

What hampshirehog sez... if the light is out after the wires to the pressure switch are removed, then most likely the switch is the culprit.

Sometimes they get grunged up on the inside & the spring travel gets compromised. Remove the swicth, clean it & then check its function, might save you the expense/hassle of sourcing a replacement.

[tkent02]

What hampshirehog sez... if the light is out after the wires to the pressure switch are removed, then obviously the switch is the culprit.

This would happen if the light was on due to no oil pressure too.

[hikermikem]

Agreed, but in her first post she stated, " Enough oil - check, motor not making terrible noises or getting hot - check..."

If there was no oil pressure, then I would think the engine would be talking back...

[tkent02]

Not for a little while. Running it until noise comes out might be counterproductive.

It's easy enough to check if the switch works.

[hampshirehog]

If the switch fails or gets dirty usually the light fails to come on. I just put a new one in an 1100 because the spring was too loose.

[Barb]

Oil light on

Thanks for all the replies guys - I took the clip off the switch (behind the barrels next to the starter motor right?) and the light stayed on. Hmmmm...will pull a switch off one of the spare motors, tidy it up and see what happens.
Barb

[hikermikem]

Thanks for all the replies guys - I took the clip off the switch (behind the barrels next to the starter motor right?) and the light stayed on. Hmmmm...will pull a switch off one of the spare motors, tidy it up and see what happens.
Barb

Well, it can't be the switch seeing as how you just isolated it out of the equation & the oil light is still on...

Something else in your loom, or in the headlight bucket is crossed or not grounded. I would remove all the instrument bulbs & clean everything up, then re-install with dielectric grease. Be on the look out for broken wires & corroded connectiona and fix as you go. Check/clean all the grounds back to the battery.

Time to break out the multimeter & trace some wiring.

[Barb]

Well, it can't be the switch seeing as how you just isolated it out of the equation & the oil light is still on...

Something else in your loom, or in the headlight bucket is crossed or not grounded. I would remove all the instrument bulbs & clean everything up, then re-install with dielectric grease. Be on the look out for broken wires & corroded connectiona and fix as you go. Check/clean all the grounds back to the battery.

Time to break out the multimeter & trace some wiring.

DO'H! I knew it would come to that, just hoping to avoid playing with wiring or electrics at all. Not my strong suit...

Thanks everyone, lucky I've got a spare bike in the shed...

[woodsrider250]

On the 1100, under the cam tensioner, which one is the pressure gauge, and which one is the temp sender? Not to hijack, but I have a temp gauge to troubleshoot.

[hampshirehog]

On the 1100, under the cam tensioner, which one is the pressure gauge, and which one is the temp sender? Not to hijack, but I have a temp gauge to troubleshoot.

The rear one is the temp sender.

[Barb]

oil light staying fixed!

Unbelievable. I've owned old motorcycles my whole riding life (35 years), and somehow manage to overthink things most times. The oil light staying on was a very simple fix. I replaced the chain and sprockets recently and when replacing the countershaft sidecover managed to pinch a wire that runs to the pressure switch. If you know the layout of the cover, you'll know that that and the starter motor wires run very snugly just under the cover. I don't feel quite so bad though as the pinch was an old injury to the poor old girl, my moving it exposed it just enough to make it troublesome. Easily fixed, and all good again. Thanks to everyone who sent replies.
Barbara