plenty of oil, oil light comes on and will not turn over

im pulling my bike out of storage this week and i tried to start it the other day and the battery is charged and it has plenty of oil in it. But it wont turn over and the oil light is on. Any ideas as to why this is happening? The bike is a '82 SECA 650

 

Oil light is on because there is no oil pressure. check the starter solenoid.

 

I could be wrong here, but isn't it an oil LEVEL light? And isn't it supposed to come on when you hit the start button? Have you tried putting battery power directly to the starter? Jump the terminals on the starter solenoid.

 

If the "oil" light lights up when you push the starter button, it generally indicates that the "safety circuit" is deployed.

Which means the bike thinks it's in gear with the sidestand down.

If the neutral light isn't on, then it doesn't know it's in neutral.

If the neutral light IS on and this happens it is usually a problem with the kickstand switch (and/or sidestand relay if so equipped) or related wiring.

The "oil" light has nothing to do with pressure. It is triggered by a simple float mechanism to indicate a low oil level.

 

fitz, I thought the oil light illuminating at startup (only when pushing start) is normal and an indication that all is well, but if it comes on when you only turn on the ignition, its a problem

 

That is indeed normal operation.

But, if you push the button and all you get is the red light and the bike won't turn over it means it thinks you're trying to screw up and it isn't about to let you.

Both my 550s work that way, I know because I occasionally do screw up and the bike saves me from damaging something. Switch on, mash button, nothing but red light. D'oh. Put the stand up or put it in neutral. My kids love it when this happens, one or the other of them will holler "STAND!!!"

 

:lol:

 

X2 on the safety circuit.

I'm going to guess the side stand switch being the culprit.

 

So what if your oil light is coming on only partially, meaning it's on, but not at full brightness? Is there a way that a loose/corroded connection somewhere could trigger the light to (partially) come on? I've been noticing my light doing this, and it's only as of my recent wire-hiding efforts.

I still plan on changing the oil, but it didn't make sense that I was seeing a gradual light considering it's only checking level in a yes/no sense, and not the gray area that is pressure.

 

You have a loose wire/poor connection to the sending unit. It's on the bottom of the motor. Your wire-hiding efforts are probably tugging at it somewhere.

 

Thanks Fitz, that's just the confirmation I was looking for.

 

I'll just add, on mine, it behaved exactly the same, but it had a stuck starter, a little trick, if you let your centre stand spring up whilst holding your start button, the thud of the stand can jerk your starter just enough to get you going.

 

You probably have a sticky side stand switch. Peel the rubber boot back and clean it with electrical contact cleaner while moving the switch plunger. Follow up with a dry-film silicon lube and repeat annually.

If it is indeed the starter motor then it’s in need of new brushes.

 

Or, do what I do......I just reach Down and pull the plunger out the rest of the way, then start my bike. You can push the plunger in and out by hand, which will usually remove enough oxidation To get it to start. That will confirm that the side stand switch is sticky and then needs to be cleaned out.