1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

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ericheath
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#16

Post by ericheath »

Before delving deeper, I would investigate the wire for chafing, as suggested. The switch completes the ground to light the indicator and the wire has several spots where it could be randomly touching the frame or motor or the clips that hold it.
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77 WING, 1200 engine with 77 heads, cams, gl1100 foot pegs, Magna V65 front end, 764A carbs, [-gone Suzuki M109 monoshock--, replaced with gl1100 shocks] gl 1200 swing arm, gl1500 final drive, wheel and rear brakes Valkyrie seat, Meanstreak tank, Sportster pipes, Power Arc ignition off crank.
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

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Post by low-side »

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Not much on the pickup screen. No metal. Appears to be rubber fibers. Oil in the filter housing had more rubber and metal. I found ferrous metal as well. Bottom of my drain pan is sparkly now. Definitely an oil pressure issue. Is there any single problem that anyone can think of that would put rubber, ferrous metal, and non ferrous metal in the oil with a significant drop in oil pressure without any nasty noises or poor running? Thanks for reading this.
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CYBORG
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#18

Post by CYBORG »

I would guess the oil pump is bad. Rubber is from the oil pump seals
1978 custom GL1000
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1985 gl1200
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#19

Post by low-side »

I had checked out the wire to where it goes up into the faux tank. Today I followed it up into that area to find a mouse nest and the jacket chewed through on several wires, including the oil pressure switch. They even managed to chew most of the way through one of my plug wire jackets. I'll fix all of that mess, but I think I may still have an issue with all the contaminates in that oil. This bike has 39,500 mi on it and there was only about 150 miles on that oil when I drained it.
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#20

Post by low-side »

Cyborg, that makes quite a bit of sense. It fits all of the symptoms. I noticed a bit of rubber when I first got this bike going, but it wasn't very much and it had sat for a long time. Now I'll always wonder if that engine always had that problem or if I caused it when I did the water pump job. After I fix the wiring I'll throw some oil in it and test the oil pressure, but I think the oil pump makes the most sense. Anyone have a chart showing acceptable oil pressures for these engines at a given rpm?
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#21

Post by CYBORG »

I think a number of variables come into play. Type and weight of oil, temp of engine, etc. I think the manual has a chart, but a cold engine, 2500 plus RPM, I see 60 plus psi. Idle 20psi
1978 custom GL1000
1977 custom with 1200 engine
1985 gl1200
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todd54219
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#22

Post by todd54219 »

Just looked in my factory service manual and it shows:
Cold Warm psi
Cranking 18 5
900RPM 60 12
5000RPM 64 60

Keep digging, you will figure it out Keep us informed.
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CYBORG
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#23

Post by CYBORG »

As I stated before, 10psi per 1000rpm, is a good rule of thumb
1978 custom GL1000
1977 custom with 1200 engine
1985 gl1200
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#24

Post by todd54219 »

An engine flush with some type of solvent might not be a bad idea. Is the debris in the screen rubber or maybe silicone gasket sealer? People have been known to use it in excess. Anyway, a good flush would seem appropriate.

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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#25

Post by Track T 2411 »

todd54219 wrote:An engine flush with some type of solvent might not be a bad idea. Is the debris in the screen rubber or maybe silicone gasket sealer? People have been known to use it in excess. Anyway, a good flush would seem appropriate.

Todd
+1 concerning the rubber. As far as the metal, might it be from the dreaded 'B plate' clutch issue? Just a thought...
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#26

Post by CYBORG »

Most stuff in screen is usually from the clutch :lol:
1978 custom GL1000
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1985 gl1200
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#27

Post by low-side »

Some of the rubber is soft, like a seal lip. Others are harder like it's from a tensioner. Im sure that theres some clutch in there too. It's the white, non ferrous metal that bothers me most about the situation. We'll see. Thanks.
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#28

Post by 77Gowing »

Sounds like after you clean out the nest you are going to losed ..."Mouse Power!"
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#29

Post by low-side »

Engine warm with 15W40: 1100rpm idle=15 psi; 2600 rpm = 60 psi; 4000 rpm = 70 psi. I think I might have a stretched chain eating its tensioner shoe and getting the case at the same time. That would explain the prior symptoms as well as the healthy oil pressure. What do you guys think?
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Re: 1978 GL1000 Oil Light comes on intermittently

#30

Post by low-side »

I think the clutch material guys may have had it right all along. I was reading about clogged scavenger pumps on Wingovations and the material clogging the pump looks like a compressed version of what I found in my oil pan. Maybe some deposits got knocked loose. I'm going to fix the rodent damage, install a mechanical oil pressure guage in place of the fuel guage, and just keep an eye on things and see if the contamination lessens. Thanks.
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