New member with Oil Pressure Problem

Is the oil level okay?
My light goes off after afew seconds hot or cold

Might just be the oil pressure switch.They are not the best in the world,...cost about a tenner from a dealer.

I think you have had the "upgrade" done on your oil filter by the sounds of it.

It is common on all late engine bikes, and happens on those that dealers have fitted the "improved" oil filters to.

A couple of years back Rotax decided that the old "short" filter which included a bypass valve if the pressure got too high, to prevent oil starvation if the filter was clogged, was a bad idea. They were concerned about recirculating oil containing metal etc.

They fitted a longer filter - which offers less resistance to the oil because it's bigger, and so you don't get the over pressure problem and the bypass is gone.
The down side is that the bikes now show the warning light when the are hot on restarts, some show at start up etc.

Which filter is actually better I don't know, my 09 has the long filter, and the ****'s at the dealer changed Liz's (without asking) last year, now she worries because her oil light comes on etc.

It is one of those "yes, they do that" things. The engine wont do itself any harm, it needs the oil pressure when it's working hard, it doesn't really matter at idle.

Awright Ian min..welcome tae the foibles and mularkey o T ownership.......

.....what neck o the wids u from then...?

Good old Bat, can count on him for the answer.

Batfastard said:

I think you have had the "upgrade" done on your oil filter by the sounds of it.

It is common on all late engine bikes, and happens on those that dealers have fitted the "improved" oil filters to.

A couple of years back Rotax decided that the old "short" filter which included a bypass valve if the pressure got too high, to prevent oil starvation if the filter was clogged, was a bad idea. They were concerned about recirculating oil containing metal etc.

They fitted a longer filter - which offers less resistance to the oil because it's bigger, and so you don't get the over pressure problem and the bypass is gone.
The down side is that the bikes now show the warning light when the are hot on restarts, some show at start up etc.

Which filter is actually better I don't know, my 09 has the long filter, and the ****'s at the dealer changed Liz's (without asking) last year, now she worries because her oil light comes on etc.

It is one of those "yes, they do that" things. The engine wont do itself any harm, it needs the oil pressure when it's working hard, it doesn't really matter at idle.

Click to expand...

Like he said....

I prefer the theory behind the short filter. You can change back if it bothers you.

mind u will need tae change the end cap as well if going "short" Ian min

Welcome ian, looks like yer did yer homework afore askin.

Ra book says semi 15 50 fir yer oil but am sure there's a few dudes here run with 10 40.

As the bat made no comment aboot it yer should be ok.

He's the man when it comes to every day t stuff. (and much more).

I always thought the slight delay with the oil light was due to the bikes having a dry sump. Also, just my opinion, you want the light to come on and then go off. Otherwise you won't know it's working will ya. 5-10-15 seconds is pretty irrelevant really, as long as it alerted you to the fact you might want to check your oil.

iantuono said:

Thanks for the advice although I disagree with Bat regarding the pressure not mattering at tickover, the engine quietens down when it goes out as the metal to metal contact is reduced and if there is any metal to metal contact on the mains and big ends they suffer damage and over time this will wreck the engine so I wouldn't ignore it.

Click to expand...

I didn't say oil pressure didn't matter - you need some, but you don't need the full oil pressure at idle, the engine stresses increase with the square of the engine rev's - at idle the oil light being on for 5-10 seconds on start or flickering on when you sit at lights with a VERY hot engine is not going to harm an engine, if it Stays on at revs you have problems. There is still sufficient pressure for the engine to operate safely at low revs even with the oil light on.

The ECU actually has a function that will put the engine in limp mode if the oil pressure light comes on at revs, limiting the engine to 4500 rpm. So if Rotax are happy to run their engine at 4500 with the light on, I am happy to ignore it when it comes on at idle when sat at lights with the engine showing 98°C or similar.

It really is one of those "yes sir, they all do that" things, since the new oil/filter has cured it, I wouldn't give it another thought. I have only seen our bikes do it when we are in Sourthern Spain, and the engines are really hot.

Q. Is your engine still noisier at idle? It's more likely that you can hear gear train/cam chain chatter at idle, when you spin the engine up and accelerate the internal parts these all mesh together and it sounds quieter. Listen to a Ducati at tickover - you would swear there was an empty tin can with a couple of nails in it under the engine covers somewhere.