tomsp Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 Ok, I got back from our CA mother lode ride 3 days ago. Oil was ok. Been riding the le mans every day. Tonight I checked the oil level and it looked a little low. Thought I'd top off later. Went into town a couple of miles then headed home. ON the way home the red engine oil light goes on. I ride it home (like 3 miles) and add a qt of oil and started the bike. Red light still on. Oil level looks ok now too. Now I did add the only oil I had left - which was not exactly identical to the 100% synthetic I had in it. I was going to change the oil (it's almost due). Suggestions anyone?
slug Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 Ok, I got back from our CA mother lode ride 3 days ago. Oil was ok. Been riding the le mans every day. Tonight I checked the oil level and it looked a little low. Thought I'd top off later. Went into town a couple of miles then headed home. ON the way home the red engine oil light goes on. I ride it home (like 3 miles) and add a qt of oil and started the bike. Red light still on. Oil level looks ok now too. Now I did add the only oil I had left - which was not exactly identical to the 100% synthetic I had in it. I was going to change the oil (it's almost due). Suggestions anyone? 35351[/snapback] Were you riding in heavy rain at all? Its pretty common for water to seep in to the oil pressure sensor and cause a kind of short circut. This usually happens after riding in heavy rain or washing your bike (in my case, 10pm in BFE Montana). If this is the case, just let it dry out for a day or two... Hope that helps. - Slug
tomsp Posted October 14, 2004 Author Posted October 14, 2004 Slug-- no rain at all. I do wash the goose like 2x weekly but have not had this problem before. Tonight, no wash! I checked the fuses-ok.
slug Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 Well, that shoots my idea down Blocked oil pickup? Oil filter rattle loose? Squirrel in the sump? I'm still a Guzzi Newbie so there's a darn good chance I have no idea what I'm talking about... Cheers -Slug
biesel Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 A friend of mine had a similar problem with his Rosso Corsa. The light went on because the sealing of the oil filter was porous which caused low oil pressure.
antonio carroccio Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 Hi, Check the oil pressure valve/sensor!!! Do it soon! No time to waste. Check also if the filter is fixed at the right way. You can fix it with max. 1 Newton. Or change it. IT will cost no more than 15,- Euro. ciao
pete roper Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 If you rode it home three miles and it didn't lock up solid than it is highly unlikely to be a major problem. Plain bearings need a constant supply of oil under comparatively high pressure, if it ain't there they will kark it in seconds, not in many seconds. If you are tooling along at speed major damage will of been done even before the oil pressure light has time to come on as the mechanical switch takes time to operate. Having said all that I would drain the oil, drop the sump, (not just the oil filter plate.) and check that the filter/thermostat housing is still bolted to the front of the case tightly. This isn't much of a chore and the likelyhood is that the dealer you bought it off hasn't done the sump drop at the first service anyway, even though it's specified in the service schedule. (They may well of done but a lot of dealers don't because they aren't really interested in Guzzi.) Once the sump is off you can check the mounting bolts and see if anything is loose thatmight cause a pressure drop but my guess is it will be the crappy sender switch. A quick test to see if you have *any* oil pressure at all is to take a rocker cover off and start the bike. If oil comes out of the area at the top of the rockers where the retaining springs are then chances are everything is fine, the delivery system is basically impregnable, (I've never seen a Guzzi oil pump fail. Wear out? Yes. Fail? No!) the pressure relief valve is so simple that unless a chunk of shite has jammed the plunger, (And all oil the the relief valve is filtered.) it can't really fail. Try replacing the sender, check the above listed things and see what happens. you can't do any more harm than you have already if there really *is* a problem. Pete
tomsp Posted October 14, 2004 Author Posted October 14, 2004 I'm going to change my oil sooner than expected. Like maybe tonight. Where is the sensor anyway??? is it by the left cylinder head front?? How can I test that out??
dbdicker Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 All I can say is it's good to have guys like Pete on this forum. The guy knows freakin' everythin'! Dan
tomsp Posted October 14, 2004 Author Posted October 14, 2004 right. I'm changing the darn oil now as a matter of fact. When I dropped the pan, the oil filter up in there was just barely threaded on -- I mean REALLY loose/wobbly! What the heck! So what? Next time put it on tighter? Seems strange. Also by the left cylinder hear front I find two sensor looking things! One has a blue lead going into a narrow connector that I can reach and take off/on -- kind of looks like a small spark plug thingy (descriptive, eh). The other sensor looking thing is black and lays flat and is screwed down. How can you tell if the sensor is bad -- course this might be moot as all might work once put back together
twhitaker Posted October 14, 2004 Posted October 14, 2004 The 'spark plug thingie' is the oil pressure sensor. The 'screwed down' one beside it is your ignition timing pick up. It's good that you've found your problem. Hope no permanent damage has been done. Make sure you lubricate the gasket on the filter and screw it on tight. In my opinion too tight is better than too loose. A couple times I've had to resort to a screwdriver and a hammer to get the filter off but that's better than finding the filter sitting in the pan. Yes, moot point.
tomsp Posted October 15, 2004 Author Posted October 15, 2004 You're the guy I read your thread I believe a long time ago about the screwdriver puncture thing! Well, I changed all my fluids- with the usual spill with the rear drive gunk! Hole's too small. And when I started it up, NO RED LIGHT. I rode it around- keeping it under 4k and seems to be alright-- time will tell! Thanks all.
pete roper Posted October 15, 2004 Posted October 15, 2004 You're the guy I read your thread I believe a long time ago about the screwdriver puncture thing! Well, I changed all my fluids- with the usual spill with the rear drive gunk! Hole's too small. And when I started it up, NO RED LIGHT. I rode it around- keeping it under 4k and seems to be alright-- time will tell! Thanks all. 35423[/snapback] Hurrgh! Well, you might just be lucky and have done no serious harm. It is a after all which means you can't kill it with a shitty stick! . The usual cause for filters coming off is that people don't luricate the gasket/ seal before they screw them on. I know "Why would lubricating something stop it coming undone????" well, it's for the simple reason that as you tighten it the gasket will slide until it is compressed enough to hold the filter in place. If it isn't lubricated it will tend to deform and then with heat cycling it regains it's original form by unwinding the filter. In most cases this will only be a small amount and won't matter but on odd occasions it will either cause the filter to loosen or the gasket will tear. In either case you lose pressure and in some cases, like yours, it can have disastrous or near disastrous results. All the more reason to do your own oil and filter changes! Pete
pete roper Posted October 15, 2004 Posted October 15, 2004 All I can say is it's good to have guys like Pete on this forum. The guy knows freakin' everythin'! Dan 35405[/snapback] No Dan, I'm just a mechanic who just happens to like Moto Guzzis and have been working on them for 25 years. I'm not a shit-hot race engine builder or anything special in any way at all but I do consider myself competent in my trade and in my selected field of work. It's my opinion that all too many people in the metal trades nowadays are more concerned with calling themselves 'Technicians' or some other damn fool name than they are about actually putting into practice what they were taught in college and should of learnt during their apprenticeships. Especially with which most of the young bloods see as ancient, obsolete, sh!tboxes this leads to a cavalier attitude and poor service which in turn leads to a poor reputation for the company. Lets face it when you have a reputation as bad as Guzzi it can't *all* be the product's fault ! On the other hand, would you do a job where you had to train for at least 4 years, spent most of your work time surrounded by and covered in carcinogens for not a lot of money and had everyone think you're a lying c@nt? Nah. Probably not I have never claimed I was sane either Pete
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now