Fuel Issues and a Red Light

[devildogGS850]

OK, here's the history...

Took my 1980 GS850 out on the highway yesterday. BRand new oil change, brand new battery. I live in Phoenix and the temp yesterday was about 105 degrees.

After about 20 minutes at 70 mph, a red light right underneath the bright headlight indicator came on. (The letters are worn away so I don't know exactly what this light is...(Oil Pressure)).

At that time I suspected that the engine might be overheating, so I pulled over, gave it about an hour and got right back on...no problem.

On my way back, the red light came on again and the engine just lost power and died...after much guesswork, I figured out that the engine was out of gas (stuck guage). After putting some gas in and turning the fuel lever from prime to reserve a couple of times, the engine started right up strong. In all of my excitement to just try and get off the highway and home, I drove the last 15 minutes with the fuel lever in the "Reserve" position (just realized this morning) and got the red light again. I figured if I could at least get her home, I'll start troubleshooting today. Bottom line, my poor bike is very upset with her idiot owner and there is now a very ugly puddle of something on the ground under the bike...(looks like oil, smells like gas.)

Questions:

1. What is that red light and why does it only appear when I open up on the highway for about 20 minutes at 70 mph...never in town (I commute almost daily.)

2. What to do know...what kind of damage might this little excursion caused and how do I go about remdying it?

Thanks and please be gentle in your response, believe me I already feel likke enough of a tool.

[DanTheMan]

The red light is your oil pressure idiot light. When it comes on, it means you have insufficient oil pressure to lubricate your engine. If you ran it for very long (as you said you did), you've probably done major damage to your engine (bearings, journals, etc.). From your description of the smell of the puddle under the bike, I would say there was a carbueretor problem causing excessive fuel dilution, which would have displaced the engine lubrication with gasoline which has no lubricating qualities.
Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that's how it sounds to me.

[tkent02]

put in new oil and see what happens...

if you got lucky no damage, unlucky, it's ruined. These are low pressure engines, if you just cruised it easy, maybe you got away with one. At least it wasn't run dry, some liquid even with very low viscosity may have prevented much damage.
It can't hurt to try.
Worst case, it needs an engine. Ebay has them all the time for cheap.
I bought an 850 engine a few years ago for $2.
And good luck, post your results here.

[devildogGS850]

Now when I turn the ignition on, I still see the red light and get absolutely nothing when I try to start. The red light indicates no oil pressure, correct? In that case what am I looking at...gaskets? Some sort of loss of seal somewhere? Never had ANY kind of engine issue before this, the bike runs super strong. I am assuming there is some sort of disconnect such that if the red light is on (no iol pressure) than the ignition won't fire. Any ideas where to start troubleshooting so that I can narrow things down before I arrive at the sad conclusion that I need a new engine?

[82GS1100E]

Not sure on how these engines work...yet. Could this have been precipitated by a faulty oil filter ("brand new oil change")? I would assume (again, bad habit) that there would be some sort of internal bypass that would (or should) save the engine in case of oil filter passage blockage. Again, I don't know about this on these particular engines, but if it was the cause you might have recourse with those who performed the oil change. Or, at least, sadly, be able to warn the rest of us against the filter brand/model, etc. Sorry to hear about your potential bummerage.

[devildogGS850]

Not the filter since I didn't change it...just drained the oil and checked the level. I guess the filter could be clogged but I'm not sure that explained why the engine light is still on after letting it sit overnight. And again I had no issues running around town, just when I opened it up hard on the highway.

[DanTheMan]

Now when I turn the ignition on, I still see the red light and get absolutely nothing when I try to start. The red light indicates no oil pressure, correct? In that case what am I looking at...gaskets? Some sort of loss of seal somewhere? Never had ANY kind of engine issue before this, the bike runs super strong. I am assuming there is some sort of disconnect such that if the red light is on (no iol pressure) than the ignition won't fire. Any ideas where to start troubleshooting so that I can narrow things down before I arrive at the sad conclusion that I need a new engine?

The red light will always come on with the ignition when the bike is NOT running, it shouldn't be on when the bike is running. If the the engine won't turn when you press the start button, it may be seized up. One easy way to check that possibility out is to centerstand the bike, pull the spark plugs, put it in 3rd or 4th gear and try to rotate the rear tire (which will in turn rotate the engine if it's not seized up). If you can't get the engine to rotate with this method, you've got major problems.

[chef1366]

If you left it on prime you hydro-locked the engine. Try changing the gasoline tainted oil and try again.

[Dave8338]

If you left it on prime you hydro-locked the engine. Try changing the gasoline tainted oil and try again.

Great minds think alike...was wondering about the PRIME issue myself, though he did say he rode it on reserve....? Maybe, maybe not. I'd drop the oil, pull the plugs as was mentioned and try to roll it over. :?

[txironhead]

When you take the plugs out to try to rotate the engine, watch the plug holes when you spin it. If gas spews out of one or more plug hole, you filled the cylinder with gas and hydrolocked the engine. Change the oil, clean the plugs and reassemble. Then put your petcock in the normal running position (not pri or res) and take the fuel hose off. If gas runs out, you need a new petcock, which could have been the original culprit. Fuel fills the cylinder, runs past the pistons and dilutes the oil, making it nearly useless.

And worst case scenario is more than just gaskets. Complete engine overhaul or new engine. Fried rings, bearings, etc. Best case the engine's simply hydrolocked. Do the above and see if it will turn over then. If it does, you need to do a compression test to see what if any damage was done to the mechanicals.

[devildogGS850]

Well the puddle underneath is odd ... looks like oil, smells like gas. I guess I'll start with a simple oil change and go from there. There is still the issue of the oil pressure at higher speeds, but I figure I'll start simple and go from there. I only drove it about 15 miles to get it home after the engine light issue and there was no sound like an engine seizing or blowing (heard it once on a car) so hopefully I didn't completely ruin it. Hey, dreamin's free, right?

[txironhead]

Gas dilutes oil, making it much thinner. Oil gets thinner at higher temperatures. Diluted oil + high temps = low oil pressure.

[chef1366]

Gas dilutes oil, making it much thinner. Oil gets thinner at higher temperatures. Diluted oil + high temps = low oil pressure.

Ditto that!

[bakalorz]

Well the puddle underneath is odd ... looks like oil, smells like gas. I guess I'll start with a simple oil change and go from there. There is still the issue of the oil pressure at higher speeds, but I figure I'll start simple and go from there. I only drove it about 15 miles to get it home after the engine light issue and there was no sound like an engine seizing or blowing (heard it once on a car) so hopefully I didn't completely ruin it. Hey, dreamin's free, right?

Mine does that if I leave it on prime when its not running, the gas runs into the crankcase and dilutes the oil.

don't run it till you change the oil.

[Nessism]

Mine does that if I leave it on prime when its not running, the gas runs into the crankcase and dilutes the oil.

don't run it till you change the oil.

Sounds like you need to change your float needles and seats. Even if left in the Prime position gas should not leak enough to do that.