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79SF oil light came on and won't go off.

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  • #1

    79SF oil light came on and won't go off.

    Hi all,
    Went for a short ride today and noticed that my oil-indicator light was on. Checked my oil and it was low.....Ok. Added about 3/4 qt. and started it up again. oil light went off after a few min but came right back on again and stays on now. When I tap the brakes the brake-tail light comes on and the oil-indicator light goes off or dims a lot. The low oil sensor works as it did tell me I was low on oil. Any ideas where I should start.




    1979 XS1100sf
    kerker 4-1
    TC fuse box
    Tkat fork brace
    Tags: None
  • #2
    I think the oil light doubles as a "tail light burnt out" indicator.
    Nathan
    KD9ARL

    μολὼν λαβέ

    1978 XS1100E
    K&N Filter
    #45 pilot Jet, #137.5 Main Jet
    OEM Exhaust
    ATK Fork Brace
    LED Dash lights
    Ammeter, Oil Pressure, Oil Temp, and Volt Meters
    Green Monster Coils
    SS Brake Lines
    Vision 550 Auto Tensioner

    In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

    Theodore Roosevelt

    Comment

    • #3
      Tail light works and so does brake light as does the trun signals.

      Comment

      • #4
        What about if the oil preasure switch IS bad. Any test for that?








        1979 XS1100sf
        kerker 4-1
        TC fuse box
        Accel coils
        Tkat fork brace

        Comment

        • #5
          Unscrew the switch out of the case and see if it may have gotten plugged by some crud. make sure the oil galley it screws into is clear also.
          Greg

          Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

          ― Albert Einstein

          80 SG Ol' Okie;79 engine & carbs w/pods, 45 pilots, 140 mains, Custom Mac 4 into 2 exhaust, ACCT,XS850 final drive,110/90/19 front tire,TKat fork brace, XS750 140 MPH speedometer, Vetter IV fairing, aftermarket hard bags and trunk, LG high back seat, XJ rear shocks.

          The list changes.

          Comment

          • #6
            Disconnect the wire from your oil sensor. Ground it. Did the light go out? Unground it. Does the light come back on?

            Your oil switch works by completing the circuit. If the light works properly when you ground it without the switch, the switch is bad.

            Or perhaps the wire is loose.

            Patrick
            The glorious rays of the rising sun exist only to create shadows in which doom may hide.

            XS11F (Incubus, daily rider)
            1969 Yamaha DT1B
            Five other bikes whose names do not begin with "Y"

            Comment

            • #7
              Thanks guys. I'll play with the switch tomorrow and let you know how I make out.

              Comment

              • #8
                Well, I started up the bike and the oil light came on and stayed on again. I then just touched the oil sensor and it went off. I disconnected the wire and unscrewed the sensor. Looked clean so I screwed it in again, connected the wire and all is well. Started it up a few more times and it works like it is supposed to. Hmmmmm I'll keep an eye on it.
                Thanks to all for your directions.

                Comment

                • #9
                  Sounds like just a bad connection.
                  Greg

                  Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

                  ― Albert Einstein

                  80 SG Ol' Okie;79 engine & carbs w/pods, 45 pilots, 140 mains, Custom Mac 4 into 2 exhaust, ACCT,XS850 final drive,110/90/19 front tire,TKat fork brace, XS750 140 MPH speedometer, Vetter IV fairing, aftermarket hard bags and trunk, LG high back seat, XJ rear shocks.

                  The list changes.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    I love free repairs.

                    Patrick
                    The glorious rays of the rising sun exist only to create shadows in which doom may hide.

                    XS11F (Incubus, daily rider)
                    1969 Yamaha DT1B
                    Five other bikes whose names do not begin with "Y"

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Well I went for another ride, a short one and the oil light comes on again. I pulled off the sensor wire and grounded it and oil light shines bright. When I unground it it glows very dim. Checked continunity of the wire and it tests good. Pulled sensor again and it looks nice and clean with oil on it.
                      Any ideas guys?

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        If the oil light reacted when you grounded and ungrounded the wire I would be inclined to diagnose the problem as being the switch.
                        The glorious rays of the rising sun exist only to create shadows in which doom may hide.

                        XS11F (Incubus, daily rider)
                        1969 Yamaha DT1B
                        Five other bikes whose names do not begin with "Y"

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          As Nate mentioned, the oil light doubles as a bad tail/brake light indicator. There's a 'black box' in the wiring that connects to the oil, tail, and brake lights; try unplugging that to see if the oil light problem clears (note that this will cause the taillight not to work, but the oil/brake lights will still work normally). This box will have blue/yellow, black, black/red, yellow, blue, and brown wires going into it. If you have a poor connection here, this could be the cause of the problem. Or the box could be defective, requiring replacement. This is a one-year/model-only part ('79 Special) so may be hard to find if bad. You can bypass/defeat it by jumpering the blue/yellow and blue wires together to make the taillight work, leaving the rest unconnected.

                          This 'light checker unit' only shows up on the wiring diagram; there's no mention of it in the FSM...

                          If the above doesn't clear the problem and the light still glows dimly with the wire disconnected from the sender, then you likely have a bare spot on the wire from the oil sender that is going to ground; you'll have to trace the wire out to find this.
                          Fast, Cheap, Reliable... Pick any two

                          '78E original owner - resto project
                          '78E ???? owner - Modder project FJ forks, 4-piston calipers F/R, 160/80-16 rear tire
                          '82 XJ rebuild project
                          '80SG restified, red SOLD
                          '79F parts...
                          '81H more parts...

                          Other current bikes:
                          '93 XL1200 Anniversary Sportster 85RWHP
                          '86 XL883/1200 Chopper
                          '82 XL1000 w/1450cc Buell, Baker 6-speed, in-progress project
                          Cage: '13 Mustang GT/CS with a few 'custom' touches
                          Yep, can't leave nuthin' alone...

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            Steve, post a picture of this component you speak of. If it is only on SFes, I could possibly help out. I have an SF wire harness and components that doesn't work on my Standards. I tossed some really bad stuff, but maybe I still have that.

                            Patrick
                            The glorious rays of the rising sun exist only to create shadows in which doom may hide.

                            XS11F (Incubus, daily rider)
                            1969 Yamaha DT1B
                            Five other bikes whose names do not begin with "Y"

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              I don't have one, so let's see if this works....
                              http://www.benefiscal.co.uk/showpic....8-01-00 -1.jpg
                              Fast, Cheap, Reliable... Pick any two

                              '78E original owner - resto project
                              '78E ???? owner - Modder project FJ forks, 4-piston calipers F/R, 160/80-16 rear tire
                              '82 XJ rebuild project
                              '80SG restified, red SOLD
                              '79F parts...
                              '81H more parts...

                              Other current bikes:
                              '93 XL1200 Anniversary Sportster 85RWHP
                              '86 XL883/1200 Chopper
                              '82 XL1000 w/1450cc Buell, Baker 6-speed, in-progress project
                              Cage: '13 Mustang GT/CS with a few 'custom' touches
                              Yep, can't leave nuthin' alone...

                              Comment

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