Oil Warning Light

[nsmiller]

We changed the oil about 100 miles ago on my wife's FJ09. Today, I added an SAE battery lead to her battery so that she can plug a heated vest in. After installing the SAE cable I went for a short ride to test it out to verify it was working correctly. The air temp was about 44 or 45, running the heated vest for testing purposes. Got about 5 miles from home and came upon a group of slow moving traffic. I had an opportunity to pass 4 or 5 slow moving vehicles at once so I rolled on the throttle in A mode in top gear. Hit about 110 mph, and made it around the traffic. Started slowing back down to cruising speed and I noticed the oil warning light was on. I immediately started slowing down and by the time I was going about 30 mph I killed the engine just in case.
 
I checked the oil level, which was fine. Looked like it had a little condensation in it that still was trying to burn off so a little bit bubbly/frothy. Restarted the bike, no oil light this time. Rode home normally without problem. Got back home and checked the oil again. This is what th e oil level looked like:
 
 
 

 
So clearly there is no problem with the level. If I had to hazard a guess, the oil had just not warmed up completely yet and the as a result didn't make quite the pressure it was supposed to when I jumped up to 100 mph for a brief time. Nonetheless I added a bit more oil, so now its probably a tad overfull. But not by much. Just thought I would share my experience.
 
 
 
 

[2and3cylinders]

I'm not sure how the oil level sensor works but the oil may have been still so thick that under acceleration it rolled away from the sensor and was slow to level out. During an oil change after draining and before removing the filter I reinstall the drain plug a few threads and crank over the engine a couple of rotations, drain and repeat a few times. Then again crank it again, spin off the oil filter a bit, and repeat. If I then add the specified quantity of Yamalube, after run-in it always reads over-filled. So maybe you were low.

[carey]

On the FJ1200's the oil level sensor could cause a similar issue, but never seemed to be a problem. It measures oil level and not oil pressure. With a slightly low oil level, the pressure was never a problem. My 1200 burned about 1/2 quart between changes. when my oil light came on, it meant I needed an oil change.
 
I doubt there's a problem with your wife's bike, just a momentary glitch with the level sensor.

[Arabrider]

I have experienced this also. It was during colder weather.

[jurstey]

Yep, I've had this happen once under similar circumstances. Mid-40 degree weather with quick burst of acceleration. Oil light came on once I let off the throttle. Pulled over, shut her off, and started her back up again. No light. I chalked it up to a sensor glitch and haven't thought about it since. I've ridden another 10,000 miles since then with no problems whatsoever.

[adjuster]

All my Yamaha's have liked the oil level near the full mark on the sight glass. The photo shows it in the middle range. As you added some more oil, it's up near the top, or slightly over full.
 
I don't personally think being slightly over full is ever a problem, on any engine that is using a wet sump like this.
 
And as noted, oil moves around constantly while you ride the bike. Colder oil is going to move around in the sump slower, so it might give a false reading for level as noted unless it's slightly over full.
 
Are you running synthetic oil? They are affected less by colder temps for pour point, and that can allow them to "slosh" back into place faster even when cold.
 
Let's face it, gravity is going to pull the oil to the bottom of the sump, but if you create forces that move the oil to the rear or front of the oil sump/pan, it could give a false reading to the sensor.
 
As long as you are NOT uncovering the oil pump pick up for extended periods of time, you should be fine. And it is in a baffled location to limit sloshing oil away too easy. (Look at the design of the oil pan and pick up.)
 
On my last Supra, I put an accusump from Canton into the system. It held 3 quarts of oil under pressure with a sensor and valve that monitored the oil pressure all the time. If the oil pressure fell below 30 psi, it would open the valve, and force oil into the engine. A one way valve then allowed the engine oil pump to re-fill the tank when oil pressure was restored.
 
A cool feature of this system is you can switch it off before you shut down the engine. When you go to start back up, you turn on the ignition, and flip on the accusump. It forces oil into the engine BEFORE you even crank it over, and your pressure gauge goes up to 30psi and THEN you start the engine. This reduces wear on the engine in a major way.
 
Canton sells a small 1 quart system you could fit to a bike, and just have a manual ball valve, and the one way valve so you constantly have a quart of oil in reserve to supply pressure to the engine regardless of what is going on in the wet sump system. And you just close the valve before you shut off the engine, then you can pre-lube it before you start up again too. Just turn on the bike, open the valve, give it a few seconds to pressurize the oil galley, and then start it up.
 
Over kill for most street machines.

[keithu]

Your oil level is clearly low. Not a lot, but still you should top it up so the oil reaches the full mark.

[nsmiller]

Your oil level is clearly low. Not a lot, but still you should top it up so the oil reaches the full mark.

I don't think that is supposed to be a 'full' mark. My understanding is that those are 'max' and 'min' marks. So the picture shows the oil level in the middle of the acceptable range. Nonetheless, I did add a bit more oil just to be on the safe side.

[britelitebob]

Your oil level is clearly low. Not a lot, but still you should top it up so the oil reaches the full mark.

I don't think that is supposed to be a 'full' mark. My understanding is that those are 'max' and 'min' marks. So the picture shows the oil level in the middle of the acceptable range. Nonetheless, I did add a bit more oil just to be on the safe side.

Yes it should be between the marks and if you put in too much then you won't be able too see if you've overfilled it.

[keithu]

I looked it up and you're right. The owners manual calls the upper line the "max" mark, not full.

[natnaz13]

My bike has only 30 miles on it now and this afternoon I took her out for a short spin. The oil light came on and I returned home right away. The bike ran fine but there was some black residue on the tip of the muffler. I waited 10 minutes and checked the oil level with bike on the center stand. It wasn't up to the higher mark so I added a little bit more oil to it. Cleaned up the tip of the exhaust and took her for another ride and no oil light came on this time. I Jiust don't know what the black stuff were. Am I supposed to check the oil level with it being on the center stand?

 

[duhs10]

My bike has only 30 miles on it now and this afternoon I took her out for a short spin. The oil light came on and I returned home right away. The bike ran fine but there was some black residue on the tip of the muffler. I waited 10 minutes and checked the oil level with bike on the center stand. It wasn't up to the higher mark so I added a little bit more oil to it. Cleaned up the tip of the exhaust and took her for another ride and no oil light came on this time. I Jiust don't know what the black stuff were. Am I supposed to check the oil level with it being on the center stand?

The black stuff on the muffler tip is very common. Nothing to worry about there..
 
The service manual says to "Place the vehicle on the centerstand" when checking engine oil. (P. 3-23)

[natnaz13]

Good to know. I have ordered the service manual and it is on its way. Thanks 

[windycityj]

I had the same oil light problem right after a service at the dealership. I took the FJ back the next day to get it checked and the head mechanic said the oil (which was half way between the lines) was just a little low. He topped it up and its been fine ever since in all types of weather.

[joeszup]

My bike has only 30 miles on it now and this afternoon I took her out for a short spin. The oil light came on and I returned home right away. The bike ran fine but there was some black residue on the tip of the muffler. I waited 10 minutes and checked the oil level with bike on the center stand. It wasn't up to the higher mark so I added a little bit more oil to it. Cleaned up the tip of the exhaust and took her for another ride and no oil light came on this time. I Jiust don't know what the black stuff were. Am I supposed to check the oil level with it being on the center stand?

To improperly quote someone else on this board (I can't find the original post right now), "Those are specs of awesomeness..."