Oil light comes on sporadically (Update: needs new stator)

[remy]

I have this cross-posted in the tech section but I'd like to ask the local crowd what you all think.

Motorcycle: 2007 M695
Current Mileage: 19,500
Last service: 15,000
Last oil change: 18,000
Past issues: None

So I commute 40 miles each way to work and back. This morning I warmed up my bike as usual and then rode just about all the way to work. The whole time I couldn't hear or feel that any aspect of the bike was doing anything odd/different than usual. I reached a stoplight and when I came to a stop I saw my oil light come on. Not wanting to blow up my engine I was prepared to pull off to the side of the road once the light changed. When I got the green and pulled forward, the light turned off and I decided to continue on as usual. I reached a second stoplight and the same thing happened. Once stopped the oil light came on, but turned off as soon as I was moving again. I made it to the parking lot of the building where I work and when I rode in I realized that at a speed of 20mph and below my oil light comes on, but will turn off once above 20mph. I parked and took a look at my oil level which was to the top of the site glass, but it's hot right now (EDIT: I checked again and the oil level is exactly where it should be and is still a nice color). Everything smelled normal and appeared normal to me. Does anyone have any ideas of what might be going on? Thanks.

[Spidey]

My oil light used to come on when it was getting oil starved because of wheelies.

Dunno what's goin' on with yours, but it'll help the tech gang to be a bit more specific.  Is it coming on when you decelerate or when you are already stopped?  If you cruise at an even 15mph, does it come on?  It sounds like it is going off upon acceleration?

[stopintime]

My light did it's own thing for a while - without making any sense.
Dealer replaced the feeler/sensor under warranty. (The part that bolts on/in the right side engine cover, right behind the oil filler cap) It was not the first time for them.
Maybe this is the first thing to check out for you as well?

[remy]

My oil light used to come on when it was getting oil starved because of wheelies.

Dunno what's goin' on with yours, but it'll help the tech gang to be a bit more specific.  Is it coming on when you decelerate or when you are already stopped?  If you cruise at an even 15mph, does it come on?  It sounds like it is going off upon acceleration?

It comes on anytime I'm going less than 20mph, so yes, at an even 15mph it will come on and stay on.

My light did it's own thing for a while - without making any sense.
Dealer replaced the feeler/sensor under warranty. (The part that bolts on/in the right side engine cover, right behind the oil filler cap) It was not the first time for them.

This could be a similar issues. I'll look in to it.
Maybe this is the first thing to check out for you as well?

[mostrobelle]

I s'pose it could be something funky with the light, but just to be safe, I wouldn't ride it.  Most of my indicator lights can't be trusted, but the one thing that's never come on by accident is the oil light.   

So do you appear to have oil in the bike once it cools off?  (Even with my bike hot, I can tell that oil is in there.  It spews all over the viewing glass and you can take off the cap and see that the underside of it has oil on it.)  If you don't see evidence oil, don't ride it.  If you do see oil, then it's probably something else--or perhaps it's dangerously low?  Can't tell from your message how tech-savvy you are.  If you're just looking for basic answers that should get you started.  Otherwise, post this up in Tech like Spidey says. 

[remy]

I s'pose it could be something funky with the light, but just to be safe, I wouldn't ride it.  Most of my indicator lights can't be trusted, but the one thing that's never come on by accident is the oil light.   

So do you appear to have oil in the bike once it cools off?  (Even with my bike hot, I can tell that oil is in there.  It spews all over the viewing glass and you can take off the cap and see that the underside of it has oil on it.)  If you don't see evidence oil, don't ride it.  If you do see oil, then it's probably something else--or perhaps it's dangerously low?  Can't tell from your message how tech-savvy you are.  If you're just looking for basic answers that should get you started.  Otherwise, post this up in Tech like Spidey says. 

It is posted up in tech. I'm getting some similar comments in there about the sensor.

I have checked it again when it was cold and the oil is exactly where it should be and the color that it should be.

I'm not all that tech-savvy but I do my best to learn!    I'm going to take a look at the sensor when I get away from my desk and try and tell if it's loose or has anything obviously wrong with it. Depending on how that goes I'll probably take it to a shop with the sensor in mind and see if it can be shown to be the cause and maybe replaceable under warranty.

[Michael Moore]

Yeah, it's the oil pressure sensor. Mine did exactly the same thing. Desmoto replaced it in ~7 minutes and the whole thing cost me about 30 bucks. Simplest (and cheapest) Ducati repair ever.

[MendoDave]

And the oil pressure sender is speed sensitive and not RPM sensitive?

[Michael Moore]

And the oil pressure sender is speed sensitive and not RPM sensitive?

No, I think it is RPM sensitive.

[remy]

Update!

I need a new stator.

I started narrowing down the areas that could be the source of the issue and it was electrically related. All of a sudden my battery wasn't charging anymore and that was throwing all sorts of lights at me from sensors not knowing what they were reading. My alternator is fine and the rectifier turned out to be fine, but the stator needs to be replaced.
That's about $500 from Ducati and maybe $300 aftermarket if I can find a compatible one.

Does anybody here have the knowledge to fix this? I hear it's a time consuming task and a possible pain to get to.
All your thoughts on this are appreciated. Thanks.

[stopintime]

Good that you found the cause

Your bike is still under warranty, yes?
I would think this should be free of charge.

(this will be exiting to follow )

[remy]

Good that you found the cause

Your bike is still under warranty, yes?
I would think this should be free of charge.

(this will be exiting to follow )

Glad you mentioned that. I have to go over my paperwork and make sure I have a two-year warranty and not a one-year. If that's indeed the case than I can theoretically get the work done free after I have it towed to a shop. What I'm NOT looking forward to is potentially having to fight a dealership to get the free work done since I have had Nichols (not certified) perform services in the past. Now, Nichols are fantastic mechanics and have never touched my stator but I wouldn't put it past a dealership to try and use that as a way to make me pay for something.

[DanTheMan]

Glad you mentioned that. I have to go over my paperwork and make sure I have a two-year warranty and not a one-year. If that's indeed the case than I can theoretically get the work done free after I have it towed to a shop. What I'm NOT looking forward to is potentially having to fight a dealership to get the free work done since I have had Nichols (not certified) perform services in the past. Now, Nichols are fantastic mechanics and have never touched my stator but I wouldn't put it past a dealership to try and use that as a way to make me pay for something.

All ducs have a 2 year unlimited mileage warranty from date of purchase. Its not something on the radar for normal services so you shouldn't have too much of a hassle. But if its something dumb like loose ground or no gas, they'll charge you for diagnostic .

[2 Wheel Wanderer]

Glad you mentioned that. I have to go over my paperwork and make sure I have a two-year warranty and not a one-year. If that's indeed the case than I can theoretically get the work done free after I have it towed to a shop. What I'm NOT looking forward to is potentially having to fight a dealership to get the free work done since I have had Nichols (not certified) perform services in the past. Now, Nichols are fantastic mechanics and have never touched my stator but I wouldn't put it past a dealership to try and use that as a way to make me pay for something.

 Give Hattar in San Rafael a call. They've done warranty work on my bike and I've had the past 2 services done at another dealership(was cheaper) (although they just did a service for me today and did a phenomenal job. The bike feels brand new.). They never asked me any questions on where it was serviced before, they just fixed the problem for me. Talk to Cory or Eric in service. Their service manager's name is Michael. The dude knows everything.

Good luck, I hope it gets resolved soon!!

[remy]

Nichols is an awesome shop and never lets me down. They told me to contact Modesto Ducati and they'd take care of me. I called up MD and they took care of the tow (under warranty) and are fixing the stator under warranty. I didn't even have to bother making any arrangements or additional calls myself.
Massive  to both of those shops at this point. Modesto Ducati even said they'd probably have it all done for me by this weekend. Assuming they do a good job I couldn't ask for a smoother experience.