Need oil pressure help

[chromecrusher]

I drove 30 miles , pressure was fine, parked for two hours, then started to head home and noticed the light right away.  I had to drive 15 miles and could smell the engine cooking, and had trouble shifting into first.  No smoking though.  From what I read its the connecting to or sender itself.  Oil level is fine and all electical connections are tight.  Do the oil senders just go bad like that? My bike is a 90 with 30k.  There is also the oil pump but it seems rare for those to brake.  Though I have little experience, and any knowledge would help to save me time and money.  Is there a most probabaly cause.

[sledge]

Has the light been flickering on tickover or did it just come on?

Try an oil change and a new filter, a flush wouldnt be a bad idea either. While its draining check the wiring to the sender. Senders can fail and behave unreliably, they dont cost much and I would replace it for a new one. If this doesnt cure the problem you need to have the oil pressure checked on the main gallery. The procedure is covered in the service manuals but specialist equipment is needed so its best left to a dealer.

At 17 years and 30k the engine is approaching retirement, particularly if its been poorly maintained in the past so be prepared for the worst.

[coll0412]

Also a quick question, are you sure you check the oil when the bike is vertically and not on the kick stand?

[Kerry]

Also a quick question, are you sure you check the oil when the bike is vertically and not on the kick stand?

If he checked using the kickstand the level would appear even lower.  (So if it appeared "fine" it would actually be too full.)

Along the same lines, make sure you're not checking the oil by screwing the filler cap all the way in.  (That would make it appear to be more full than it really is.)  Just rest the cap on the top of the hole for a second and then pull the dipstick back out to check the level.

[ohgood]

I drove 30 miles , pressure was fine, parked for two hours, then started to head home and noticed the light right away.  I had to drive 15 miles and could smell the engine cooking, and had trouble shifting into first.  No smoking though.  From what I read its the connecting to or sender itself.  Oil level is fine and all electical connections are tight.  Do the oil senders just go bad like that? My bike is a 90 with 30k.  There is also the oil pump but it seems rare for those to brake.  Though I have little experience, and any knowledge would help to save me time and money.  Is there a most probabaly cause.

Having trouble to first gear indicates an overfilled engine, provided the clutch is adjusted proper. If you smell the engine 'cooking' as you put it, I wouldn't ride it until I found the real reason. Locking up an engine at speed would be baaaaaad.

[chromecrusher]

Well I figure it has to be the oil punp or pressure switch.  Does the oil pressure switch control the pressure in anyway or is it just a signal?  The oil light just appeared no prior signs at all.  The light is not a full brightness but definatley on and there is a problem.  I did unhook the wiring to paint but that was 100 miles ago.  I also could never get this bike to idle under 1500 without stalling, so the pressure could have been an issue. 

[chromecrusher]

Its not the oil pump, new gasket    on the nicest day I'll see till spring with new tires too. 

[dgyver]

There is very little that can go wrong with the oil pump, except complete failure.  If there is a problem with it, you may find pieces of it in the oil pan. Doubtful though.

There is a small channel that leads to the oil pressure sensor. Possible that it has got blocked.

Idle is normally around 1200-1500. Stalling has nothing to do with low oil pressure. Low idle can cause low pressure.

[chromecrusher]

What about the pressure switch,sender, does it do anything more than activate the red light, read the oil pressure?

[dgyver]

It is just a pressure switch.

[chromecrusher]

My oil pressure must have been too high because once my ripped clutch case gasket started to leak its been idleing and running better than ever.  Once the idle went below 1500 the rpms would slowly drop until it stalled, no more.  Don't know what will happen with new oil and gasket.