oil pressure warning light

[Guest quazi-moto]

Hi Y'all,

I took the Guzzi (2002 LeMans) for a holiday weekend blast up to the Catskills. Its about 165 miles one way from my home in Nu Joizy. Upon my return today I got my NYS Thruway Ticket at the tollbooth and headed over to the shoulder so I could put the ticket in the inside pocket of my jacket. I did this and then I pulled back on to the Thruway zipping the tach up to nothing more than maybe 5000 RPM, but upon doing so the oil pressure warning light glowed momentarily then it went back out. I had checked my oil level before leaving and it appeared to be okay, but I must say that the stock plastic dipstick leaves a bit to be desired. Anyway, I stopped at the first service area and bought a quart of Mobil 20W-50 and dumped the whole thing in. I checked the level again and it seemed about the same as it was before I left in the morning. The oil light has not come back on since and it goes out immediately after starting the bike. I can only assume that the oil level had gotten low enough that during a moment of somewhat abrupt acceleration the oil moved to the back of the sump and was not picked up for a brief instant. Hopefully no harm was done to the crankshaft and bearings, but I have to find a proven method to check the oil level in the future. Has anyone had better luck with an aftermarket dipstick? Aside from this I also have the bubbling paint on the cases and I had a timing cover gasket failure as well, right after the dealer did the 500 mile service. Also, a few weeks ago I noticed that the bracket underneath for the fuel pump (right above the exhaust x-over) had a mounting bolt missing so I replaced it with a 5/16-18 bolt and nut. I didn't check the existing bolt, but its probably a metric size. And another thing, I noticed that some of the side panels and also the starter cover have cracks from being overtightened at the factory. And yet another thing, I also have a squeaky fairing not to mention that sometimes the bike won't start unless I turn the bars to the right at full lock. And lastly another thing I just noticed today that I didn't notice before, but maybe its been this way all along is that the fork oil seals seem to have the circular spring exposed which I thought was unusual, but anyhow its not leaking any fork oil thank goodness. All in all, I really like the Guzzi, but I think that the factory and Aprilia should pay a little more attention to details because the V11 has the potential to be a real thoroughbred machine.

[callison]

The oil pressure light thing has happened to me a number of times on my 97 Sport 1100i. Always when the oil level has dropped some, the engine is warm, and I've just come to an abrupt stop or accelerated reasonably quick. 52,000 miles later the engine is fine with no sign of deterioration caused by these transient readings. Certainly, the drop in pressure is not nearly as serious as the lack of pressure on the bearings when first starting the bike up.

[Orson]

A previous thread here made mention of hard to read dip sticks.

 

One writer said he roughed up the tip of his dip stick with some emory cloth or sandpaper and said that it made it easier to read the oil level.

[Guest Scura Owner]

I have experienced the same thing concerning the oil level light. I was first experiencing it after chopping the throttle when going uphill into my apartment complex. Later, pulling away from stoplights. Each time I checked, the oil level was fine. Then it seemed to do a step function such that it was reading just above the minimum level. I filled it back up. The light has not come on since (1 week).

 

The fuel pump is underneath the gas tank. I believe you are talking about the charcoal canisters.

[quazi-moto]

Doh, it probably is the charcoal canister. My Bad!

[al_roethlisberger]

...wow, anything else?

 

Yep, sorry to hear that so far you seem to have had *all* the various issues we've seen, but on one bike. So hey, no "vapor-lock" yet?

 

But regarding the oil-light, I think everyone else's answers are spot-on. I've had mine come on very briefly on one particularly aggressive acceleration/deceleration, but never again or since. I can only assume it's due to the abrupt change in oil-pressure.

 

BTW, AFAIK, the oil sensor is for pressure, not volume in the sump. Someone can correct me on that if incorrect.

 

As long as this isn't a regular problem, I wouldn't let it bother you. Especially during break-in, you should consume some oil, and certainly more oil than later once the rings are bedded.

 

Also, not that it's any better, I bought the temperature-dipstick at MG Cycle:

 

...about halfway down the page.

 

It's not really any better as far as legibility, but I think it's useful and more durable and aesthetically pleasing than the plastic unit. I marked min/max lines on the stainless shaft with permanent marker. Seems to have held up so far

 

al

[jtucker]

Yep... my oil light comes on when the level gets a bit low also... usually noticeable on aggressive take-offs. Time to add a bit more oil.

 

I got one of the aluminum dipsticks from Moto Guzzi. It's a very nice part, but is somewhat difficult to read when the oil is new (fresh and clean). Works super once the oil gets a bit of color to it. This is still a vast improvement over the stock dipstick which was difficult to read all of the time.

 

__Jason

00 M900Dark

00 V11 Sport

[Guest v11eric]

Yep, and it is the cranccase which has to little barriers to keep the oil in place. When the oillevel drops, on accelaration the oil moves back and the oil pump grabs air Moto Guzzi knows this. 3years ago I got a phonecall from the warrentyoffice to be carefull wit the oillevel on my Centauro which has the same cranccase. So for me this is the same problem.

 

Checking the oil frequently is ok. It's the way it has to be done, very "accurate" the mesuring, balancing the bike and reaching for the left. I never screw the stick back in I ad the tread to my mesurement

 

So if anyone has a better methode???? Or a stick that does work??? Let me know

 

 

Eric

01 V11 lemans

[quazi-moto]

Thanks guys for the responses. I do realize that the sensor is for oil pressure, not oil level or oil volume in the sump. It just stands to reason though that if the the oil level drops enough it will move to the back of the sump under hard accelleration. I'll just have to keep a watchfull eye on the oil level in the future. I definitely want to change the dipstick, that stock plastic thing is useless.

[John O'Sullivan]

I'm going to make some enlightened comments on this oil level and pressure warning light thread.

 

First the oil pressure warning light is just that, a pressure switch which has been known to fail more times than oil pumps, the sender is known to fail on many of the older model guzzis. BTW 5 psi oil pressure will happily lubricate most engines when hot.

 

From what I can gather from Guzzi mechanics and owner manuals, the oil should be checked just after engine shutdown with the dipstick fully screwed in. The level marks on the dipstick are ADD (lower mark) and Maximum (upper mark). The upper mark should not be covered in oil as you run the risk of overfilling leaving the engine little room to "breathe" and a tendency for the engine to pusk out oil from the weakest gasket.

 

I am guessing that we are all very careful owners who check our engines regularly....this may not be needed....remember these engines were designed 30-40 years ago and have stood the test of time. There are many old bikes running around with 100,000 plus miles on them.

 

So to end my rant: Get out and ride them.

[Guest JohnInNH]

John,

 

Not only a good point, but may be part of the answer of why a few people have gaskets blowing after the 1000 mile "tune up".

 

The dealer *may* over fill the sump when doing the oil change part. Over filling can be worse than running a 1/2 pint under. IMHO

 

The old thing of "If one is good 2 is better" A little "extra" won't hurt you. Yea right!

 

If you are down 1/2 quart... tossing a quart in is NOT the answer. A lot of people do this, and gas stations are famous for this to sell a quart of oil. In a small car it's one thing, but in a bike it's a big deal.

[jtucker]

John O'Sullivan said:

 

> From what I can gather from Guzzi mechanics and owner manuals, the oil should

> be checked just after engine shutdown with the dipstick fully screwed in.

 

Actually, according to my owner's manual, the dipstick should be "screwed up"

when checking the oil. Fortunately, the stock dipstick is thoroughly screwed

up at all times, so no problem there!

 

__Jason

00 M900Dark

00 V11 Sport