Oil pressure warning light ON...!?! UPDATE

[GPZ1100ABS]

I hate to say this. I really, really hate to say this, but... - It turns 
out that I DID forget a piece of paper rag in the top end while doing 
the valves... Convinced that it wasn't an electrical fault or a faulty 
oil pressure switch but rather an oil pump issue I took it to the 
dealer. The paper rag I must have forgotten was placed under the valve 
chain and must have been grabbed by the chain while turning the engine 
to get the cams in position. Result: Exactly as Ralph described - the 
oil pan was filled with the stuff, jamming the oil screen. Long story 
short - she's back on the street again, running as smooth as ever, but 
boy - it was an expensive mistake...

Thanks for all the advice offered :)

Ped
'96 "Black Stealth" GPZ
Denmark


Den 14-02-2014 19:48, GPZ1100ABS skrev:
> I'm a little bit troubled to say at least.
>
> After completing the winter overhaul I had the engine started for the 
> first time since November. It fired right up and ran smoothly at fast 
> idle. After a minute or so the mechanical sound of the engine changed 
> a little bit - not much,  just barely noticeable. It was not rattling 
> or noisy or anything, just a little bit different. Not from the top 
> end, more like a change in the crank case. Not overly concerned I 
> decided to take it for a spin on the suburban road, just a couple of 
> hundred meters. During this the oil pressure warning light flashed a 
> couple of times, then a couple more times at a longer duration, then 
> finally it came on permanently. I stopped to check for oil leaks and 
> found none, plenty of oil in the engine. Fired it up again, the red 
> light remained on, shut down again.
>
> Of course I should have changed the oil and the filter before putting 
> her away for the winter. On the other hand the oil quality should not 
> degrade so much during winter as to cause engine failure at startup 
> months later?
>
> I have drained the oil and taken the filter out. Tomorrow I'll put in 
> a new filter and add fresh oil and see if the problem remains. But 
> given the little change in the sound of the engine I fear that 
> something mechanical has happened.
>
> The only work I have done on the engine this winter was valve 
> adjustment - something I have done more than a dozen times, and I 
> didn't drop anything in the crank case nor left any piece of cloth or 
> anything else in the top end. So what could it be? Can the oil pump 
> quit all of a sudden? Any ideas? The engine has run 158.000 km (almost 
> 100.000 miles), but last year it was still running smooth and with low 
> to moderate oil consumption (approx. 1 liter pr. 10.000 km)
>
> Ped
> '96 Black Stealth" GPZ
> Denmark
>
> PS: Fortunately I have George's engine sitting in the garage, but I'd 
> like this one to run just a little bit longer...