oil warning light always on : electrical short

[teigan]

suddenly while riding my '82 1000cc, the oil pressure indicator light came on. i checked the oil and it is at fill line. so i tried unhooking the connector on the pressure sender, and the light stays on. i figure there is a short circuit somewhere. anyone else had this problem, and if so then where was the short?

[Nut-Nut]

Best way to find shorts is to move/jiggle sections of the harness until the light goes off... if you have a short is will be the easiest way to finding the general area.... once you have an area of the harness, open it and visially check....

[teigan]

okay thanks. i tried a little of that last night. i just hope i don't need to take anything apart. the wire ducks through and under a few tight places.

[tteety]

Best way to find shorts is to move/jiggle sections of the harness until the light goes off... if you have a short is will be the easiest way to finding the general area.... once you have an area of the harness, open it and visially check....

[tone]

The oil light works on a short by putting the signal to earth through the oil pressure switch so if the light stays on with the wire disconnected you are right in saying there is a short in the harness

Test by removing the ground wire to the pressure switch both ends & putting in a temporary wire, the light should go out when bike is started its then up to you if you want to dig into the harness or leave it at that

[everready]

It may not be a short at all. It may be that the oil is not circulating correctly. There is a difference between oil level and oil pressure. You might want to consider pulling the oil pan and checking the pick up screen.

[Shin-Ken 1074]

The oil light issue could be the "O-ring" in the sump has moved from its position on the sump post. This problem normally occurs after the sump has been off and the "O-ring" has not been positioned correctly when installing the sump. One other reason is the old compressed "O-ring" has moved from its normal position, light will come on because its a pressure indicator not an oil level indicator. Hope this is of help, cheers.

[katman1260]

Have you fixed the problem? Your oil light switch connects to a green wire in the harness under a small rubber boot. If the light stays on after you unclip it from the switch, the green wire is grounding somewhere. I believe the boot is under your by the reg/rec panel or around your airbox.
It has been a long time since I have looked at a stock configured bike.

YOu could also check where the wire routes under the starter cover, if it is pinched there that could be your grounding point.

[teigan]

thanks for the help everyone. i traced it to a pinched wire inside the gauge cluster. can't seem to find the exact place without taking it all apart. for now, i am able to jiggle the pod and get the oil light to flicker off momentarily (usually). was hoping it was at the wire connector so i cleaned those contacts, but that didn't solve it.