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Old 13-Jun-2003, 10:52
Bungi Bungi is offline
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oil light

Having done a search on the sites boards on this subject, many of you have indicated common faulty switches being common. but are there any other eplanation in my case.

I have experiance this on my 2001 996s & my 1999 996 while doing trackdays, no problems until there is an uninterupted session, allowing a full 20 mins of abuse, in both cases on separate occaisions the oil light came on intermittently during the seeion causing me to end the session a few laps early, the latter on the 996 the light was flickering while ticking over on the way into the pits.
on both occiasions the bike had recieved an oil and filter change before the trackdays, so oil quality is not an issue( at lest i dont think so, the bike had used a small amount of oil but not much during each trackday.
i have considered the posibility of the switch being the cause, but the 996s has done about a 1k since and I would have expected from the info in previous threads for it to have failed by now if it was gonna.
could this be caused by the oil getting too hot, what possible remidy is there, it feels very diffcualt to just ignoor it.

your help and thoughts please
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Old 13-Jun-2003, 11:00
Dibble
 
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I am currently suffering the same problem, there diesnt appear to be any other explanation to it after speaking with both Ducati London South and our very own Nelly ... apparently the switches are quite easy to replace, just dont forget to replace the ally washer at the same time and dont overtighten it ..!!!
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Old 13-Jun-2003, 15:15
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DSC Member Shazaam! Shazaam! is offline
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It would be unwise to ignore the other possibility: that your oil pressure is actually marginally low. The consequences can include failed bearings and engine seizures.

As your oil temperature rises during a track session its viscosity drops and engine oil pressure drops slightly. If you have low oil pressure (as opposed to a bad pressure switch) usually what happens is that initially the oil light will start to flicker after riding hard either on track or in the canyons, but not under normal commuting type riding. After awhile the light starts coming on more frequently, even if you're not riding hard.

I would first check to make sure that the oil pump clearances are not out of spec, the driven gear oil seal is OK, and that the oil pressure relief valve is not lifting at too low a pressure.
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Old 13-Jun-2003, 17:04
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DSC Member Shazaam! Shazaam! is offline
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Oil Temperatures

The main reason for installing oil cooling radiators is to keep the oil temperature, and consequently the oil pressure within a designated range for expected riding conditions. But when you take your road bike to the track, a warm day and spirited riding can easily take the oil temperature beyond the design limits.

That's why you should be using a 50-weight or higher viscosity oil for track days to maintain an adequate oil pressure.

In addition, you should carefully straighten the oil cooler radiator fins that were bent from road debris to get the maximum cooling from the unit. After you straighten them, attach some window screening to the backside of the v-piece to prevent future damage.

Also use a synthetic oil to give yourself a safety net. A normal oil may lose its film strength at temperatures only slightly above 220°F, while many synthetic oils can be safely used at temperatures as high as 300°F before lubrication related failure occurs.

Some studies have shown that test engines produce optimum horsepower in dyno-simulated racing situations when the oil was between 200-220°F.

I lost the reference, but one source states: "An engine should never be driven hard until the oil reaches 120°F. The ideal operating temperature is 175-195°F. It can go as high as 265°F for short periods but oil breakdown and excessive oxidation will take place above this temperature."

Suzuki states, for example, that under racing conditions, oil should be kept at about 190-210°F and that temperatures any higher should be an issue of concern. I don't know what Ducati's position on this issue is.

For highly-modified race bikes, a larger oil cooler often needs to be fitted to keep temperatures in the optimum range and avoid lubrication failure induced engine failures.

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Old 13-Jun-2003, 21:50
Bungi Bungi is offline
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really usefull comments, thanks shazaam

will get the stuff you sugested checked

ive been using the recommended shell ultra fully synthetic, so is there any thing better or should i say , better at managing high temp.

all things being equal, is there any straightforward way of fitting an oil temp guage, to confirm the theory.

secondly do all variations of this 996 style model have the same oil cooler, leading to is their a more efficant cooler that fits fairly simply.

I understand that some of the race bike (748rs etc) dont have a pressure switch and have a blanking plug fitted in the location, how do they know if they have such a problem.


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