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Oil Pressure Light Problem


styran

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One thing I did not notice when buying my 2007 VFR800 was that the oil light does not come on when the key is turned.

According to the manual, it should always come on before the engine starts.

The bike runs fines and I have noticed no problems whatsoever with performance.

Some may say this is a non issue but if the oil pressure system doesn't work and I have an oil leak, for example, the oil drain bolt falling out while riding and I am not notified of this via the dash my engine will be seriously damaged since it is running with little to no oil.

There's two things I can think of, either the bulb is fried or the oil pressure sensor is not working.

 

Could anyone share some advice on tackling this problem?

I can post a video of me starting the bike if needed.

 

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some tests you can do:

 

1. measure resistance between oil-pressure sender terminal and chassis ground.

 

2. remove bulb and measure resistance across terminals. Connect bulb to battery and verify it lights up.

 

3. Key ON, measure for voltage at light-bulb socket

 

 

 

 

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You are absolutely correct. With Ignition On and engine not running the Low Oil Pressure LED should be ON. Important to have this working correctly.

 

The LED is Ground seeking and the oil pressure switch provides this until correct oil pressure is present.

 

There is a single wire terminal on the switch which is held via a screw to it. Check if the terminal screw is loose. Also try a clip lead to the terminal Blue/Red wire and Ground the other end of the clip lead, with Ignition On the Low Oil Pressure LED should be ON. If this works then that fairly well proves your oil pressure switch is faulty. .

If grounding the terminal doesn't work you will need to follow the Blue/Red wire up to the Instrument Panel confirming its continuity.

And as Danno suggested in step 1.. You should have continuity between the oil pressure switch terminal and ground with engine NOT running.

 

Sadly the Oil Pressure Switch is located in the engine Vee so you will need to move the lower air filter housing out of the way.

 

Good luck lets know what you find.

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  • 1 month later...
On 1/19/2021 at 10:59 PM, Grum said:

You are absolutely correct. With Ignition On and engine not running the Low Oil Pressure LED should be ON. Important to have this working correctly.

 

The LED is Ground seeking and the oil pressure switch provides this until correct oil pressure is present.

 

There is a single wire terminal on the switch which is held via a screw to it. Check if the terminal screw is loose. Also try a clip lead to the terminal Blue/Red wire and Ground the other end of the clip lead, with Ignition On the Low Oil Pressure LED should be ON. If this works then that fairly well proves your oil pressure switch is faulty. .

If grounding the terminal doesn't work you will need to follow the Blue/Red wire up to the Instrument Panel confirming its continuity.

And as Danno suggested in step 1.. You should have continuity between the oil pressure switch terminal and ground with engine NOT running.

 

Sadly the Oil Pressure Switch is located in the engine Vee so you will need to move the lower air filter housing out of the way.

 

Good luck lets know what you find.

Alright, so I finally managed to find the oil pressure switch. It turns out it was hidden behind the thermostat which wasn't mentioned in the service manual. So, I had to remove that too which was a massive pain in the ass. The wire going to the switch was cut. I'm guessing it was an accident by the previous owner's mechanic. I'm not sure why he didn't just buy a new wire harness as they are not that expensive anyways. So, now I'm ordering a new wire harness and I guess I'm going to replace the old oil switch anyways since I already have a new one.

 

 

Also attached to the wire harness is a wire that goes down on the right side of the crankcase and inside it.

Does anyone know what it goes to and how hard it is to remove it? 

Thanks

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That is to the ignition pulse generator.  You'll need to pull the clutch cover off to detach it.  You can do that on the side stand with minimal oil loss, but figure the bike will not move until it's reinstalled.  Otherwise the sump needs to be drained. 

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15 minutes ago, Cogswell said:

That is to the ignition pulse generator.  You'll need to pull the clutch cover off to detach it.  You can do that on the side stand with minimal oil loss, but figure the bike will not move until it's reinstalled.  Otherwise the sump needs to be drained. 

Would I be better off just soldering a copper wire to the oil pressure switch instead of replacing the whole harness?

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39 minutes ago, styran said:

Would I be better off just soldering a copper wire to the oil pressure switch instead of replacing the whole harness?

Absolutely, its just a single wire, no need to replace the whole harness.

Solder and sleeve a wire or use an inline joiner.

You just need to repair the Blue/Red wire.

 

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Agreed.  It would be easier and also cheaper.   On the pulse generator,  it  plugs in to the harness under the tank.  No need to remove it from the clutch cover if replacing the harness. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alright, the job is done. I ended replacing the wire terminal and soldering a copper wire to the switch and it works like a charm now.

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice!

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