Spurious Oil Warning Light

[philshaq]

Hi everyone!


Its been a while since I've been on here. new born and the missus not being well has meant I've been using the car to get to work and the 600 has been under cover. I've periodically started it and done some maintenance (sticking pistons on the front brakes gear lever sticking) that has been caused by the weather and lack of use (can't wait to get it in a garage!)


One thing I'm not able to sort though is the oil warning light being on, it was a bit low (bottom of the viewing glass) but I've topped up and its still staying on... Its a bit un-nerving even though I know there is enough oil in the engine now.


I'm going to be riding it too and from work all week and don't really want to do any damage, could it be a dodgy connection??


All comments appreciated as always guys.


Phil

[darrsi]

http://fazerowners.yuku.com/topic/20005#.UQVFVb8z3Sg

[philshaq]

cheers as always darssi.


Do you think if its just gunk on the sensor it will be ok for a week? I'm planning on giving it a service next weekend on Saturday, but am running out of time today (no garage yet).


I took it out for a spin and it got up to temp fine and showed no signs of over heating at all.

[darrsi]

It's an oil level light, so as long as you can see the correct amount in the window (and have no leaks) then it's no problem at all.

[philshaq]

Thanks for the advise Darrsi, that was my understanding as well, but its always nice to get a second opinion!


I rode it to work today after triple checking the oil level before setting off and then half way to work and I got there and back with completely no issues. The light kept going out and coming back on again periodically but on the way to work it seemed to go off and stay off once i'd got just over half way. On the way back it seemed to go off then come back on...


I think it sounds like a dodgy / clogged sensor. Has anyone had similar symptoms and found the same thing when changing the oil / taking the sump out?


I'm thinking of dropping the sump when I do the oil change on the weekend, is this wise? Am I embarking on a big job for little reward?!


I'm guessing that I'll need to take the exhaust off?


Thanks as always


Phil

[darrsi]

Earlier posts have said a simple oil change can sometimes sort the problem out.
Is it due for a change?

[philshaq]

Yeah its due a change but I thought that rather than changing the oil to find that the sensor is still stuck on wouldn't be as good an idea as potentially taking the sump off and cleaning the sensor out (provided it can be cleaned??).

[darrsi]

I've never personally needed to do that myself, maybe someone else on here could answer that one?

[gordon]

hi lads, can i but in to ask i,v done 10,000 miles in 9 months ( thats how much i love it ) how often should the oil be changed ? as i,m not sure if it was done before i brought it also can i use engine flush to get all the old oil out


cheers  all

[darrsi]

Most people agree on every 4000 miles.

[richfzs]

Service interval was 4000 on the first 600s,this increased to 6000 (in 2000 model year IIRC). No mechanical difference, so no worries about going to 6k - I'd be changing it sharpish if you've done 10k though >

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

[darrsi]

Service interval was 4000 on the first 600s,this increased to 6000 (in 2000 model year IIRC). No mechanical difference, so no worries about going to 6k - I'd be changing it sharpish if you've done 10k though >

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Tapatalk 2

Sorry to tread on your toes @richfzs, the manual says 6000km not miles. 
 

[richfzs]

My toes are just fine, Darrsi. It changed in 2001 model year, so doesn't feature in the supplementary manual either.

See here

[darrsi]

My toes are just fine, Darrsi. It changed in 2001 model year, so doesn't feature in the supplementary manual either.

See here

 
I must confess i was looking at a specific manual for the 2000 model that i found online, so that would be why then. 

[philshaq]

Is engine flush worth the money?


Never convinced on that type of thing...


I might just go for the oil and filter change as I'm planning on changing the brake lines on the front on the same day. Don't want to start, not finish and they be off on holiday the next morning!


Still interested to see if anyone has ever had the sensor out and cleaned before though...

[red98]

ive used engine flush on some realy gunked up engines before with good results    10,000 miles without a change is a long time so might be a good idea.....know what you have got then 

[philshaq]

ahh, the 10k wasn't I!! I think I've done about 6k on it but with the sensor potentially being gunked up I thought it might be worth a shot. Would you run it with the flush oil on the old filter or change the filter first?

[philshaq]

hi guys, just a quick update... I changed the oil, to my relief the oil light wasn't on when i started her up again or for the whole journey back from where I was storing it while on holiday. However on my first run to work it came on...


strange...


I checked the optical level and it was fine, maybe a bit too much oil in. Which brings me to a question, does the oil level light come on if its too full?


I've suspected that the engine is using a bit of oil for a while, not a massive amount but a little bit, anyway, I've been riding it for a week and a half now, and on friday last week the light went out, still looks like the same level of oil is in it from the optic but if the light does come on for too much oil and the engine has burned just a little bit of oil it might have burned enough to bring it back under the 'max' level (if there is such a thing)


Cheers for your help as always.

[AdieR]

As far as I know, the switch won't tell if it's too full (ie the light wouldn't come on) (if anyone knows better, I stand corrected); I would assume it's a standard sensor (ie,either there's oil, or there's no oil, rather than a gauging device).

My advice is first of all to check the oil level circuit for damaged wiring. If the wiring is OK, try a new sensor, and see if that helps.