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Oil light on, and previous coolant issue.

1K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  ubertalldude 
#1 ·
Hey all, so I just recently had my coolant bottle burst and shoot coolant into my leg. I replaced the bottle and the coolant, as well as the oil, but I haven't been able to test the coolant issue again because the oil light stays on when she's running. Obviously I'm not comfortable running it for very long while the light is on. Any pointers on where to look to fix this? As well as potential issues to look at involving the coolant? Thanks guys!
 
#2 ·
Hopefully it is the sending unit and not the oil pressure. That is usually the case. Check the oil level in the sight glass with the engine off. It should be completely full. If there is no little bubble at the top of the sight glass, lean the bike to the right just a little. You can do that with it on the centerstand. Being a little bit over full will not affect oil pressure. But just to make sure there is oil in it, I would remove some until you see that little bubble at the top of the sight glass. Then leaving it on the centerstand, start the engine, and QUICKLY get down and check the sight glass, or get someone else to start the engine while you are watching the sight glass. The oil level should quickly drop almost to the bottom. If it does, you have oil pressure. Sometimes dirt gets into the sending unit. It can be removed and cleaned with spray brake or carb cleaner. Wear face protection. Also make sure you have the right filter. A broken coolant tank will have no effect on oil pressure. Remember the Vulcan 750 holds a GALLON of oil, more than some cars.
 
#3 ·
If you did not prefill the oil filter with oil before installing, then the issue could be air trapped in the oil filter. This happened to me once because I was too lazy to prefill the oil filter. Search the forum and you'll find it has happened to others as well. Solution is to unscrew the oil filter while the bike is running until oil comes out, then tighten back up. This technique is referred to as 'burping' by some here.
 
#4 ·
The problem with prefilling a VN750 oil filter is that you can only get a little bit in it, because it is horizontal. If it were vertical you could fill it completely up. But I have changed the oil in 2 different VN750s every 3000 miles for close to 200,000 miles, and never poured oil into the filter, with no problems. Oil light went out within 2 seconds.

There is another issue with some Kawasaki engines however. I don't know if it affects the VN750, because I have never dropped one. It affects the engines in the 454LTD, both versions of the VN500, and the EX500. I used to own a 2009 EX500 Ninja, and joined a Ninja 500 forum. A few members there wound up destroying their engines, because they dropped their bikes, picked them up, started them, and took off, not noticing the oil pressure light was still on. Apparently there is a design issue with these engines that causes the pump to lose prime if the bike is laid on it's side. Not a problem if the oil is drained and refilled with the bike upright. Since this happened to 5 -6 members of one forum, there is definitely a problem with that particular engine.
 
#5 ·
unscrew the filter just a turn or two and crank the bike over until oil comes out, then screw the filter back on tight and top the oil up.

this is sometimes called "burping" the filter and can bleed an air bubble out of the oil pump. this usually fixes the oil light on my bike. if it keeps coming back there are other things to look at, but it's usually just a bubble that needs to be let loose.
 
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