oil light flashing intermitently today in traffic and day very hot

drummingbeemerman

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just wondering has anybody experienced the oil light flashing intermittently on an 06 r1200rt? stuck in heavy traffic today and it was hot and it happened , i pulled in and left the bike cool off for a while and then continued to my destination on another more freely route , no problem and oil level was good thru the glass window . was the day too hot ? is this a common prob ? temp gauge read slightly above quarter . many thanks in advance
 
Your oil light is oil pressure rather than oil level, isn't it ?

It could simply be a duff oil pressure switch starting to rear its ugly head.

Or it could be simply due to whatever oil you're using being at its temperature/pressure threshold.
At the risk of it becoming yet another oil thread, if you look at any oil recommendation chart, you'll see that ambient temperature is the deciding factor for a recommended viscosity.
A given bike may be specced for 10W40 at 20 Degrees ambient, yet 20W50 in the Sahara and something like a zero weight in a Siberian winter.

Or your oil pump is on the way out. :D
 
I had this on my first GS, a 2004 bike from new. Dealers originally used 10W40 grade oil, then soon changed to 20W50 on BMW's recommendation due to this issue.

The bikes run better (and quieter) on the 20W50 stuff, especially when hot.
 
I had this on my first GS, a 2004 bike from new. Dealers originally used 10W40 grade oil, then soon changed to 20W50 on BMW's recommendation due to this issue.

The bikes run better (and quieter) on the 20W50 stuff, especially when hot.

Yup, same here on my old '05. The other thing these engines will do when VERY hot is reduce pressure to the cam chain tensioner which results in a horrendous clatter until they cool back down.

Andres
 
There are many factors that can cause this, but start with some basics first - You didnt say what mileage you bike is, this (if high) can have a fairly significant effect on this symptom. When was the oil last changed? what type is was/is used? How long were you idling etc etc etc

Probably no more that poor cooling in traffic causing heat soak, but if it was me I would probably stick some fresh 20/50 oil in - this tends to happen more when the oil is older.
 
Use fully-synth oil - it holds together better at high temperatures.
 
Use fully-synth oil - it holds together better at high temperatures.

That's interesting; I went from fully synth 10/40 (as recommended by WMB at the time) to mineral 20/50 which cured the issue in all but the very hottest of stop/start city traffic.

Andres
 
That's interesting; I went from fully synth 10/40 (as recommended by WMB at the time) to mineral 20/50 which cured the issue in all but the very hottest of stop/start city traffic.

Andres

Maybe you should try fully-synth 20/50.

What's more important than the oil-pressure is the quality of the lubrication. The long-chain molecules break down far quicker in mineral oil than in fully-synth. When the engine does not have temperature stabilisation from a water-cooling system, the quality of the lube is even more important when the engine temperatures get really high.
 
Maybe you should try fully-synth 20/50.

What's more important than the oil-pressure is the quality of the lubrication. The long-chain molecules break down far quicker in mineral oil than in fully-synth. When the engine does not have temperature stabilisation from a water-cooling system, the quality of the lube is even more important when the engine temperatures get really high.

Yeah, agree with all that but in the real world good old mineral 20/50 cured the issue and I sold the bike at 60k with the engine still as smooth and tight as the day I bought it :) Also, from memory, fully synth 20/50 wasn't exactly common place back in the day, maybe it's easier to source now?

Anyway..............I'm scared now 'cos I've got myself involved in a dreaded 'oil thread' :eek:

Andres
 
Yeah, agree with all that but in the real world good old mineral 20/50 cured the issue and I sold the bike at 60k with the engine still as smooth and tight as the day I bought it :) Also, from memory, fully synth 20/50 wasn't exactly common place back in the day, maybe it's easier to source now?

Anyway..............I'm scared now 'cos I've got myself involved in a dreaded 'oil thread' :eek:

Andres

oh yeah.......:green gri
 
Oil won't shear if changed within service schedule recommendations.

As for synthetic, whether semi or fully, it leads to poorer bedding in on the twins and is likely to piss past the rings more than mineral would, causing higher than acceptable oil consumption.
This has long been known on the 1100 and 1150s, with bikes being transformed by a switch to mineral 20W50.
 
'nuther new boy here, I collected my new (to me) R1150RT yesterday and got stuck in traffic on the M25 crawling along, stop and start for a hour around 3pm near Heathrow and my oil pressure light came on whilst at tick over. The temp gauge was right at the top, if it had a whistle fitted that would of been sounding!
Light went out as soon as I revved past 1500 and disappeared altogether when the gauge came down to about 2/3rd's of the gauge. Didn't want to filter as I had only just picked it up and was still a bit wobbly at very low speeds.

I think the weather was just so bloody hot!

Off to the Pilgrim rally on Friday so will change oil & filters plus set up the throttles and a few other bits next week.

Looking forward to using this bike.............
 


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