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I'm back.. and my oil light is stuck on!

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by Ribo, Apr 15, 2019.

  1. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    Hey Hey XJ! Yep it's Ribo back from the cold dark world (aka England).

    I had to go back to the motherland for quite sometime and left the bike here but now I'm back and got her ready for riding. All is good, although I need to catch up on the basic maintenance of brakes and probably shim the cams but firing up all well and good after a full fluids flush and lube!

    Only issue is my oil light is now constantly on! Oil in the window is a small bubble at the top as always and I actually fix the long term oil leak too so any adivce on what to look for would be appreciated.
     
  2. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    could be gummed up you could run some seafoam in the oil before next oil change.
    you could just leave the sea foam in it will evaporate out of the oil
    edit
    bike sitting I would think the sludge just settled around the oil level switch

    650H diode.PNG the diode resistor pair run the oil light

    the low oil light comes on when oil is low. bulb ground goes to resistor then oil level switch which makes ground when low on oil

    the oil light test comes on from bulb ground through the starter button a diode is used.
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2019
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  3. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    Cheers dude - man I forgot how scary your dog is... :D

    I did a full oil change but yeah I'll seafoam the oil and see if it helps.
     
  4. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    circuit
    oilcolor.jpg R/w wire above oil light runs to ignition fuse for the 12 volts then through the resistor to oil level switch
    same 12 volts runs the bulb through the diode when starter button is pushed
     
    Last edited: Apr 15, 2019
  5. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Thanks, he is a great Dog..
     
  6. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    So should the oil light be on when I turn the bike on or just when start button is presses - it's on all the time as soon as I turn the key. I'm suspecting a diode block issue.
     
  7. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    I have rethought the diode block
    if diode went to a short when oil goes low starter would spin.
    resistor short would burn bulb brighter but not make light go on


    your oil light going on with key is what should happen if switch is stuck.

    oil light going on with starter button is the test for the bulb
     
  8. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    ok so man-hit-switch-with-hammer --- on it!
     
  9. jayrodoh

    jayrodoh YimYam Premium Member

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    Was the motor ever removed from this bike? When I put mine back in, I had the wire routed wrong and the wire bundle that has the pickup coil, neutral switch, and oil level switch was pinched between the frame and motor. My neutral light wire wore through and caused the light to stay on.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  10. Ryengoth

    Ryengoth Active Member

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    I would remove the float switch from the pan and test it outside of the circuit.
     
  11. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    I'm pretty sure it's the switch - I got a new(old) one coming from ebay (sorry @chacal but it was $20 instead of $80 and I need to buy beer and food for my tortoise)
    I'll test it when I get the new one and if I can fix it I guess i have a backup.

    I looked at the wires an nothing seems pinched.
     
  12. Ryengoth

    Ryengoth Active Member

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    I would remove the one in there and soak it in parts cleaner (after removing the o-ring). As XJ550H mentioned it could be gunked up with sludge. Keep the other one as a spare if the cleaning works. You should be able to submerge it in oil and get a break in continuity when it's under/above the oil level.
     
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  13. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    Dumb question time - do I need to drain the oil before removing the oil sensor unit? I assume so from how i understand it works but just checking as i just did an oil change.
     
  14. chacal

    chacal Moderator Moderator Supporting Vendor Premium Member

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    Yes! Or you try laying the bike down on the side (or at least a 45* angle) to move all the oil away from the sensor.
     
  15. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    I'll just drain it - no biggie! Thanks
     
  16. XJ550H

    XJ550H Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    there are 2 style oil level switches.
    the ones from bikes with Atari dash work in reverse of standard clusters.

    you can test the connector for continuity to ground
     
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  17. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    Thanks - yeah I got the right one - seeing how it's wired in last night it looks like going to be a royal PITA to get that bullet connection back in - what's the best way to do that?
     
  18. jayrodoh

    jayrodoh YimYam Premium Member

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    I had to drop my exhaust to make those connections.
     
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  19. Ribo

    Ribo Prefectionist

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    yeah I figured - is it possible to pull it out without removing the wire connection? I'd like to test, clean, bang on it, first before going to all that trouble.

    Also I just realized that I may have had a mix of two different oils in there - 10w-40 and 20w-50.
    Any chance that that could have monkey'd with the sensor?
     
  20. jayrodoh

    jayrodoh YimYam Premium Member

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    I'd have to go look in garage, I can't recall if sensor will come out with the exhaust on or not. Different oils shouldn't mess with it. The seafoam trick might be worth a shot. I had to pull my harness out to fix the ground short as it wouldn't run.
     

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