Oil light coming on

T

tick bite

New member
I went for a little 450 mile jaunt yesterday. I left way before daylight and headed north. The air temp was @70-75 degrees. I was traveling at 70mph indicated speed which me I was going @65 actual, which is the speed limit for night travel. No problems. I arrived in Amarillo about daylight and messed around til about noon. I headed back south and was going 75 mph indicted which is @68 actual. After about 50 miles my oil light came on. I pulled over and slowed to stop and the light went off. Everything sounded normal so I took off again. About 25 miles further the same thing happened. After about 4 times of this I slowed to 70 indictated(same speed as the morining run).
After about 25 miles the light came on again. Same deal, and it did this for awhile. I finally slowed to 65 mph indicated and came home without it happening at that speed. It should be noted that the air temp on the way home was @100 degrees. When I got home the C50T has @ 5000 miles on it.
I changed the oil and filter at 3200 miles using Rotella T 15-40 and Fram filter. I put a whole gallon of oil in it which means I have @125 mls too much oil in it and haven't had any problems. The only other mod I have done is debaffle and DJs fibrosleeve thingie.
Any thoughts,suggestions?
Din-K-dau
 
Not sure this will help as I've only seen this happen on cages but, in some cases the oil gets pumped to the top of the engine and can't get back down to the crank case fast enough wich causes the light to come on. This usually means that there is some kind of a restriction in the top end of the engine ie chunk of gasket,oil slag build up,or too small return holes. Thats the only thing I can think of at this moment. Hope this helps ya some. Remember I am not a bike mechanic nor do I play one on TV. :mrgreen:
 
Only times I have seen the symptoms you describe is when the oil is taken to a high operating temp and looses its viscosity till it cools, then its ok till it gets hot again. Over heated oil usually has a honey colour to it. I have had this happen in two cars with different brands of oil. Oils that I used to trust and recommend are now very poor in quality and ability to cope with high operating temps. I am backyard mech and have always serviced my cars and bikes (m50 is the exception paid for the first 24,000km services in advance) but this is a quess and may not be relevant. hope you sort it out quckly and easily goodluck
 
Nowhere in your story did you mention anything about actually checking the level of the oil......with a sight glass or dip stick, etc.

You DID do that, didn't you ??

There may be a leak.

Unless you find something obvious, I suggest a dealer visit is in order.
 
There have been notorious rumors of Fram filters causing drops in oil pressure in both cars and bikes...Advance Auto Parts counter sales told me about this many months ago..I don't know that there is any truth to it but, just in case I switched to NAPA filters, made by Wix. I use them exclusively now. You might try another brand of filter.. Maybe someone else can chime in on this rumor with some evidence to back it up..
 
I have heard the same thing about the Fram oil filters. Here is a quote from another forum.

"(name removed) and I cut open a Fram oil filter and a Suzuki OEM filter here a few weeks back. He pointed out to me the exact differences between the 2 motorcycle filters. I was using a Fram on mine for the last oil change. The difference between the 2 was the Fram had a paper lining inside and the filter inside were much more spaced. He pointed out to me the Fram paper would clog the port holes. The paper would just flake right off with the scratching of a finger nail. The metal housing of the Fram was very thin"

I use a K&N but the suzy is a good filter also.
 
Check the oil! Just because you put slightly too much in it 1800 hard, fast, hot miles ago does not mean that you don't need to add any now. A slightly low oil level will cause the oil light to come on at high RPM, especially when it is hot and the oil is thinner than usual from the heat. Even if you are only a half quart low, that is 15% of your engine oil you are missing.

I do have to ask though- when you say you changed the oil and filter at 3200 miles, do you mean you LAST changed the oil at 3200 miles? I hope you changed it at 600 also, otherwise there is a good chance the assembly lube clogged up the oil pickup tube, restricting oil flow.
 
The dealer changed the oil at 600. I changed it at 3200. I checked the oil level and it was above the full line. I will change again and use a different filter and see if that cures the problem.
Thanks guys for all the suggestions.
 
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