04 oil light only at idle

[Lanky]

Help. My ninja's oil light is on but only when at idle RPM. it runs fine. The fan came on once or twice but it was 95+ outside. Coolant levels seem good what can i do to troubleshoot this?
Thank you for your advice!

[Motofool]

Welcome to the site, Sean !!

1) Level of oil should be almost to the top of the sight glass, when both tires are touching the ground and the bike is vertical.

2) Increase idle to more than 1500 and less than 2000 rpm.

3) Replace oil filter and change oil.

[Lanky]

Thank you. I also noticed that i over filled it (I know better but completely forgot to put it on center stand last time) could this cause the light? And what about the fan? my bandit's fan almost never comes on. Thanks again for the advice. the idle adjustment will fix it.

[Motofool]

You are welcome.

Yes, the fan on while going slow or at stop in hot days is very common and nothing to worry about, unless the gauge reaches the red zone.

Oil overfilling shouldn't produce an oil light, but it could damage some gaskets in the engine.

If the oil looks very dark, the oil filter may be partially clogged, especially if the last oil change was done around 6000 miles earlier.

[Lanky]

Ok cool. The light still is on when engine speed hits 1000 rpm or if the key is in the on position and the engine off. Other than that it stays off.

[FrugalNinja250]

There are two possible scenarios at play here. One is a faulty oil pressure switch, and the other is excessively worn bearings. There are two ways to test this, either replace the oil pressure switch with a known good one, or temporarily install an oil pressure gauge to verify sufficient oil pressure at idle.

The oil pressure switch and warning light is a very basic, simple circuit. There's a mechanical contact that works against a spring in the switch, that contact connects the wire to the housing of the switch which is grounded through the block. At the other end, power is on the warning light bulb all the time the key is on, and the other bulb wire goes to the switch. According to the schematics, there is no bulb-check function. Since oil pressure is zero with the engine off, the light should always light up until you crank.

[Lanky]

Also I noticed that my coolant is blue. I thought inbred somewhere that only orange should be used. Additionally when I remove the radiator cap the coolant is nearly overflowing. Is this acceptable?

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by Lanky

Ok cool. The light still is on when engine speed hits 1000 rpm or if the key is in the on position and the engine off. Other than that it stays off.

Originally Posted by Lanky

Also I noticed that my coolant is blue. I thought inbred somewhere that only orange should be used. Additionally when I remove the radiator cap the coolant is nearly overflowing. Is this acceptable?

The oil light and temp light will come on when the engine is too hot and also when there is not enough oil pressure. The two are connected. Your idle speed is too low and needs to be raised up to provide proper oil pump pressure. It is normal for a little coolant to be at the very top of the radiator during hot weather riding. Engine Ice may be the coolant that is in your radiator, which is fine. I wouldn't recommend using Dexcool (orange coolant) in the bike.

The bike needs moving air to stay cool along with the coolant and fan. The fan coming on is a good sign that the system is working properly to prevent over heating. With ambient temps in the 90's, it will be common place for the fan to come every now and then, especially in stop and go traffic.