Oil Light! Am I going mad?

Hi all

Just had my bike serviced by BMW. I notice now that the oil light only flashes on during test when you turn ignition on. It then remains off under any circumstances.

I am sure that previously the the light was on after the bulb test and before the engine was started.....when cold in particular.

Now it only shows on during the initial test and never again!..even when the engine is stopped.

Dealer spent 2.5 hours trying to figure out the problem but couldn't. Report says sensor ok and wiring ok.
Tech says that BMW dont even fit a sensor to the now models!...hohum....
They flashed the latest firmware too.

Basically I am worried the oil light would not show for low oil pressure at the moment.

Can anyone confirm that the light shows on their bike when the engine is stopped?

I do recall that after leaving the bike for a long time, on starting, I could hear the cam chain tensioner (oil pressure tensioned) rattling and the oil light would show for a few secs before the pressure built up!

Should I ignore this and be happy the light is always off?

Cris

This is a stab in the dark....

You don't mention the year of your bike but I imagine that it is an early one with an oil pressure sensor. As you note the more recent bikes no longer have a sensor. I am wondering if your bike got flashed with a new version of the software that behaves differently because it does not expect an oil pressure signal to be present.

Your not going mad - on my '12 plated F8GS the lamp test illuminates the oil pressure light briefly, then it stays off, even when you crank the engine on start up.

The only time I see it come on after the lamp test illumination is when I've done an oil & filter change - it pops on a short while after the engine is started then goes off as the oil is squirted around the oilways and the required pressure is present.

Hope this puts your mind at rest.

SteveT

Thanks for replies.

Quick update.

I did a quick diagnosis. Oil pressure switch on this bike should be closed circuit on no pressure and open circuit on full pressure.
Test was start up engine with plug in place.
Disconnect plug with engine running.....no change light is out i.e. effectively still open circuit.
Short plug to engine to simulate low pressure and ...
Bingo! oil light flashes rapidly to indicate closed circuit and no oil pressure.

So clearly all is well and my observation is simply that BMW must have changed the firmware sequencing/logic.

I wish someone had told me this since there was nothing to worry about.

I am guessing the oil sensor is ignored during startup sequence now whereas before it showed low pressure when the engine was not running.

I prefer the original logic since it makes more sense but maybe this is related to rattly cam chains during startup and oil light showing for a few seconds on startup after a while standing.

I hope this puts a few peoples minds at rest...ie those who spot the change in light sequence.

(I am on Firmware DM6 KOMBI)

ttfn

Cristhemuso

cristhemuso said:

Hi all

Just had my bike serviced by BMW. I notice now that the oil light only flashes on during test when you turn ignition on. It then remains off under any circumstances.

I am sure that previously the the light was on after the bulb test and before the engine was started.....when cold in particular.

Now it only shows on during the initial test and never again!..even when the engine is stopped.

Dealer spent 2.5 hours trying to figure out the problem but couldn't. Report says sensor ok and wiring ok.
Tech says that BMW dont even fit a sensor to the now models!...hohum....
They flashed the latest firmware too.

Basically I am worried the oil light would not show for low oil pressure at the moment.

Can anyone confirm that the light shows on their bike when the engine is stopped?

I do recall that after leaving the bike for a long time, on starting, I could hear the cam chain tensioner (oil pressure tensioned) rattling and the oil light would show for a few secs before the pressure built up!

Should I ignore this and be happy the light is always off?

Cris

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