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Oil Light Flash

Landscraper

Landscraper

Tuned and Synch'ed
Joined
Oct 6, 2015
Messages
39
Location
Cambridge MA
Good morning everyone,

I'm writing to you today because I have not found satisfaction pouring through the "oil in airbox" posts that abound on the forums.

I have a 2016 V7II Stone with 1700 miles on it currently.

THE PROBLEM:
Oil light flashed for no more than a second while decelerating from 50mph last night. Has not lit since.
Upon inspection at home I found water fouled oil in the airbox (see photograph).
Upon inspectoin at home I found the oil level one hash mark above the minimum line (see photograph).

DETAILS:
The oil in the airbox was obviously condensation or otherwise water fouled ... with the bike on its side stand the deepest region of oil was up to my index finger nail (~.5") ... I ride every day and assume that the color of the oil in the airbox was due to water fouling because of temperature fluxtuations ... more on that in a second.

THE RIDE ITSELF:
A usual commute home (~8 miles) with a stop at a friend's house. At the friend's house I allowed the bike to idle on the side stand for roughly 5 minutes while I dropped off a piece of mail to him. After the drop-off I rode another ~3 miles home and this is when the oil light came on.

After accelerating around traffic to a speed of ~50mph I came to a stop at a light. It was during the decel process that the light flashed for a second and then went out ... my assumption is that the oil has gotten hot enough by now (urban commuter traffic, stopping and idling) that it might be thin enough to just slosh past the sensor for a second causing a warning blip.

The bike has never given me any reason to worry before that single blip of the oil light ... but now I'm worried about engine oil consumption. I broke in per the factory manual procedure but peppered in some WOT just in case to cover all bases. Bike spent several days out in the rain on a recent trip and was washed very recently after that.

QUESTIONS:
Given that the last time I checked the airbox oil spray issue was at around 825 (we're now at 1700) could it be possible that during the last voluntary oil change (at 865) a service tech might have overfilled it causing that larger volume of oil to collect in the box as the engine spat off excess? Prior to this the oil level was a non-threatening 1-2tbsp in the bottom of the airbox. I've cleaned the airbox out and will monitor, but when should I start worrying?

Thanks for your feedback everyone!
 

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To answer your question - Yes. Could have been overfilled.

Probably best to leave the oil level as it is (providing it stays above the bottom line with a warm engine, bike upright), and monitor what happens.

Personally I woulod never leave an air cooled bike idling on the side stand for 5 minutes......in fact not even for 1 minute. No airflow over the heads, and I worry about too much oil to the LH side of engine and not enough to RHS.

Oil light - could be a faulty earth on the oil pressure system? Again, I would monitor and see if it ever happens again.

AndyB
 
andyb said:
To answer your question - Yes. Could have been overfilled.

Probably best to leave the oil level as it is (providing it stays above the bottom line with a warm engine, bike upright), and monitor what happens.

Personally I woulod never leave an air cooled bike idling on the side stand for 5 minutes......in fact not even for 1 minute. No airflow over the heads, and I worry about too much oil to the LH side of engine and not enough to RHS.

Oil light - could be a faulty earth on the oil pressure system? Again, I would monitor and see if it ever happens again.

AndyB
Click to expand...

Andy,

Thanks for your suggestions and cautions ... I'm not opposed to leaving the bike idling on the side stand and have done that to warm up many a Honda twin in the past ... perhaps I'll just sit on it and hug it from now on if I need to warm the bike up (it's getting cold up here in MA ... 32 this morning!). I'll move forward with caution given that I've never owned a Moto Guzzi before. Honda didn't seem to mind (or never complained, rather) , good ol UJM sewing machine.

I wonder if the bike wont just level out by itself ... I'm keeping religious tabs on the oil level today and for the next week.
If I end up with that much oil in the box again it's going in for warranty trouble shooting.

I'm thinking that the oil might have just brushed by the sensor long enough to trip a signal. Given that the bike was REALLY warm by the time I hopped back on it last night (after idling in the driveway) it could be that I really thinned that oil out.

I'll monitor and report back if necessary.
 
Checked on the airbox after cleaning it completely before getting out of work ...

Acceptable level of oil (less than 1tbsp) in bottom of the box, oil level seems to have grown by a whole hash mark making it in between minimim and maximum fill levels ... I'll have to find a surface that I KNOW is flat to do the next reading.

I'm no longer worried, seems to have just been a fluke warning, but I'm now curious about synthetic oil in extreme cold weather.

The oil that came up on my ride home tonight was definitely milky light brown and had almost no viscosity to it. Hopefully this is just the result of running the bike in 34 degree weather. Oil on the dipstick seems to be completely normal.
 
You know those little clear nipples on the Air box well the one on the left hand side behind the side cover
will at times have oil in it so my thought is maybe it would be better to take this nipple plug thing lol off and
put a hose with a plug in the end so any oil will run down into the tube instead of laying in the air box and getting sucked
up into the engine.
You could run the hose down far enough so you can see when it needs draining.
Or get a air oil separator the one they use on go karts as they are 4" long by 2" dia and set it up on the hose that runs to the bottom of the air box.
 
...or run a hose from that nipple over the chain. Dammit, no chain. Just found the reason why some bikes have chains.

AndyB
 
I just looked at a fiche for the airbox ... it would have to be a LOT LOT LOT of oil to get to that center hole that drains to the two tiny oil penis deals going on there ... Situation is totally normal here ... no oil light flashes, acceptable level of oil in the airbox (still under 2tbsp) after a second ride this morning.

Must have been a tech mistake at last oil change. I'll be doing my own from now on anyhow!

Thanks everyone
 
There's another oil penis behind the left hand cover you can use to drain the oil out of the airbox (if you look inside the airbox you can see the channel in the bottom leading to it.

On the V7-II there is no drain from the airbox to the sump.
On the V7-II the drain line is from the top frame rail (where the oil is seperated from the blow-by gases).
Sometimes not all the oil is seperated/drained in the frame rail and ends up in the airbox.
 
Nipples and penises.

Wierd ... Well I definitely am happy that the water fouled crud wasn't getting back into the sump.

Q: How do you titillate an ocelot?
A: oscillate his titalot!
 
So another update!

I noticed that there was an oil weep around the bottom of the right hand cylinder.
Bike is going in for service (that is certainly warranty covered).

Could be that this is the cause of the water fouling of the oil? Crossing fingers for good prognosis, or for complete warranty replacement!

Bummer if it turns out to be something serious, but no doubt there's something screwy about that lil guy.
 
A quick update, the bike has been assessed by SeaCoast Sport Cycle in Derry, New Hampshire.

1. Timing cover gasket leaking (possible that it was not replaced after the valve change, damaged during normal service, or other reason ... no matter, it's replaced). This is a huge relief because it isolated the weeping that pooled against the front of the cylinder as opposed to being a head gasket leak (which was my worst case estimation based on the readily water fouled oil)

2. Abnormally large amount of blow-by in the airbox must have been from oil box overfilling / oil thinning on very long ride. Water fouling of oil in airbox most likely caused by condensation (as I had guessed) during freezing / near freezing MA nights combined with cold (sub 45°) weather short commuting.

3. Oil readings are user error (womp, womp :tmi:) ... no notes from tech as to low oil level that might have caused oil pressure light flashing.

4. Oil pressure light flashing must have been due to extreme conditions in sump ... I will be ordering the sump extender anyhows to ease my anxious mind.
 
My V7ii also had a timing cover oil leak, and the funny thing is that every V7ii I see around here has the same issue. It's probably coming from where the alternator wires come out. Guzzi did a poor job of sealing it. Puts oil on the right side of the engine - I was really disappointed when I saw that. Fixed it myself and all good now.

I've had no issues with overfilling the oil. No extender, I just check it regularly before riding.
 
jpv7 said:
My V7ii also had a timing cover oil leak, and the funny thing is that every V7ii I see around here has the same issue. It's probably coming from where the alternator wires come out. Guzzi did a poor job of sealing it. Puts oil on the right side of the engine - I was really disappointed when I saw that. Fixed it myself and all good now.

I've had no issues with overfilling the oil. No extender, I just check it regularly before riding.
Click to expand...


AHA! Yes, reports say it is the interface between the rubber wire keeper, the engine, and the metal of the cover.

I am willing to absorb a few silly little issues like that given that the guzzi fits me 95% to a tee. Kind of a shame that it has to be be done, but it's not costing me anything so I can't really complain. My gut is happy I'm riding my bicycle for the time being as well :sick:
 
Yes, when I took it apart it appeared that they didn't use sealant completely around the rubber grommet. Also, when the cover is installed, the grommet is wedged into place, and they assume it will seal against the gasket and also put enough pressure on the gasket to seal against the engine...so I used a tiny bit of sealant on the gasket at just that location and it worked.
 
From what I have read, Moto Guzzis seem to be notorious for getting rid of crankcase oil when overfilled, and overfilled is anything above the halfway mark on the dipstick.
Measuring oil level is hit or miss if you are doing it while trying to hold the bike vertical. I suggest a centerstand, a wheel chock or a wheel stand (Pit Bull, etc) that will hold the bike vertical for you.
The fluid in the airbox having no viscosity is an indicator that it is mostly water. Condensation is a wintertime problem, compounded by short trips and an air cooled engine. I know that some Stelvio owners cover the oil cooler in the winter to increase the engine/oil temp. V7s don't have an oil cooler, perhaps you could make a "windshield" for the heads.
 
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