What does an exclamation point on my display mean?

[FLrider]

I did look in the manual but did not find anything.

 

It just popped up. The last electronic thing I added was the wires for a Tourmaster heated vest. But, there was no ! after install. In fact, I've put on a few hundred miles since the install and just not the ! pops up.

 

Is is possible that a canbus issue takes that long to manifest itself as an !.

 

Any ideas?

[JayW]

"Low" oil? If your level is below the halfway mark in the sight glass, add a couple of ounces of oil and the symbol should go off.

 

Jay

[Dave_C]

Yep.

[Firefight911]

Be darn sure you are actually low on oil!!!!!!! Do NOT just add oil hoping the symbol will go away!!! The sensors do go bad so do not rely on it as gospel.

[cpallen]

Is this exclamation point in a yellow triangle in the upper display, or is it in th BC section next to the word OIL?

 

If it's the yellow triangle warning, one or more of the indicators in the lower screen will also be on. Like maybe the gas pump icon ?

[Albert]

What Phil said. If it's the symbol in the display it's a low oil level indicator. My experience as well as many here is, this is a very conservative measure. Mine will display when the oil level is barely below the mid point on the sight glass. It's a nice feature but take it with a grain of salt. No need to panick when you see it come on.

[10ovr]

Be darn sure you are actually low on oil!!!!!!! Do NOT just add oil hoping the symbol will go away!!! The sensors do go bad so do not rely on it as gospel.

Its an RT not a GT,,RT,s only go in the shop for oil changes,,

[T__]

 

Twisty

[jaytee]

What Phil said. If it's the symbol in the display it's a low oil level indicator. My experience as well as many here is, this is a very conservative measure. Mine will display when the oil level is barely below the mid point on the sight glass.

 

Funny, mine never comes on even if oil is at the bottom of the sight glass.

 

JT

[JayW]

What Phil said. If it's the symbol in the display it's a low oil level indicator. My experience as well as many here is, this is a very conservative measure. Mine will display when the oil level is barely below the mid point on the sight glass.

 

Funny, mine never comes on even if oil is at the bottom of the sight glass.

 

JT

 

Then the system is broken, misadjusted or your bike did not come with that option.

 

Jay

[T__]

Funny, mine never comes on even if oil is at the bottom of the sight glass.

 

JT

 

JT, on the late 1200RT’s the engine must be (at operating temperature),, (engine idling for “at least” 30 seconds),, (side stand UP),, & (motorcycle upright) for the oil level indicator to function..

 

On the early 1200RT’s they could read while moving & in a lot of cases indicated erratically.. There was BMW service bulletin to install a new oil level sensor & change the calibration in the computer..

 

Twisty

 

[hopz]

Yes, and... on early models... if you leave the RID on ambient temperature it will show an Oil signal after a run and is not saying low oil, it is saying it is checking oil.

[Penforhire]

Mine is overly sensitive, sometimes coming on briefly when I have normal oil level (according to sightglass).

[jaytee]

What Phil said. If it's the symbol in the display it's a low oil level indicator. My experience as well as many here is, this is a very conservative measure. Mine will display when the oil level is barely below the mid point on the sight glass.

 

Funny, mine never comes on even if oil is at the bottom of the sight glass.

 

JT

 

Then the system is broken, misadjusted or your bike did not come with that option.

 

Jay

 

Honestly I have no idea if mine cones with that system. I have a R1200ST instead of an RT. Does that matter?

 

JT

[FLrider]

Twisty, I don't have any of the examples you showed.It's where cpallen described it.

 

My exclamation point is just above where the remaining fuel number is displayed and just to the right of the abbrev. "BC".

 

The ! is not enclosed in any color triangle nor does it flash.

 

 

[T__]

 

Twisty

[cpallen]

Maybe he needs to sequence the BC button to bring up the oil display? Can you post a photo of your display?

[JayW]

..no idea if mine comes with that system. I have a R1200ST instead of an RT. Does that matter?

JT

 

I am unsure, but I know that the oil level sensor is not standard equipment on the RT, and likely was not on your ST either. Other than looking at the purchasing invoice, I am not aware of any way to easily tell. My guess is that yours does not have the option if you have never seen the symbol, especially since you know the oil level has been down at times.

 

Jay

[Paul In Australia]

..no idea if mine comes with that system. I have a R1200ST instead of an RT. Does that matter?

JT

 

I am unsure, but I know that the oil level sensor is not standard equipment on the RT, and likely was not on your ST either. Other than looking at the purchasing invoice, I am not aware of any way to easily tell. My guess is that yours does not have the option if you have never seen the symbol, especially since you know the oil level has been down at times.

 

Jay

 

fairly sure the oil pressure warning is standard on the R1200RT. It is on all the ones in Australia. The sensitivity varies on year models, but fairly sure it is there.

regards

Paul

[TestPilot]

..no idea if mine comes with that system. I have a R1200ST instead of an RT. Does that matter?

JT

 

I am unsure, but I know that the oil level sensor is not standard equipment on the RT, and likely was not on your ST either. Other than looking at the purchasing invoice, I am not aware of any way to easily tell. My guess is that yours does not have the option if you have never seen the symbol, especially since you know the oil level has been down at times.

 

Jay

 

The oil level sensor and display are on the ST if you have the on-board computer option. If you press the INFO button on the left handgrip and cycle through the trip odometers, you do not have the on-board computer. If pressing the INFO button cycles the display through ambient temperature, average speed, etc., you DO have the computer.

[T__]

Maybe he needs to sequence the BC button to bring up the oil display? Can you post a photo of your display?

 

cpallen, according to my 2009 owners manual the low oil warning will show up no matter if the “oil display” is showing or not & will remember the last oil level until the new criteria is met (warm engine,, idling engine for 30 seconds or more,, kick stand up,, level bike).. Not sure on the earlier 1200RT’s before the updated sensor & computer cal change though but seeing as he has an 09 RT he shouldn’t need to bring up the “oil display”..

 

 

Twisty

 

[Albert]

 

Twisty

JT, on the late 1200RT’s the engine must be (at operating temperature),, (engine idling for “at least” 30 seconds),, (side stand UP),, & (motorcycle upright) for the oil level indicator to function..

 

On the early 1200RT’s they could read while moving & in a lot of cases indicated erratically.. There was BMW service bulletin to install a new oil level sensor & change the calibration in the computer..

 

Not to put too fine a point on this but, mine is an early 06. The oil sensor works as Twisty describes above (e.g. no reading unless the above criteria are met). The only difference I see between mine and the screen capture from Twisty, is that I do not have the word "Oil" next to the indicator when it appears.

 

[JayW]

...fairly sure the oil pressure warning is standard on the R1200RT. It is on all the ones in Australia. The sensitivity varies on year models, but fairly sure it is there...

 

Of course they all have a low oil pressure warning system. The option I am referring to is the oil level warning sensor, which is not standard, at least not on the RT.

 

Jay

[jaytee]

..no idea if mine comes with that system. I have a R1200ST instead of an RT. Does that matter?

JT

 

I am unsure, but I know that the oil level sensor is not standard equipment on the RT, and likely was not on your ST either. Other than looking at the purchasing invoice, I am not aware of any way to easily tell. My guess is that yours does not have the option if you have never seen the symbol, especially since you know the oil level has been down at times.

 

Jay

 

The oil level sensor and display are on the ST if you have the on-board computer option. If you press the INFO button on the left handgrip and cycle through the trip odometers, you do not have the on-board computer. If pressing the INFO button cycles the display through ambient temperature, average speed, etc., you DO have the computer.

 

This answers my question: I do *not* have the on board computer system. My button only cycles through the odo and 2 trips.

 

JT

[Paul In Australia]

...fairly sure the oil pressure warning is standard on the R1200RT. It is on all the ones in Australia. The sensitivity varies on year models, but fairly sure it is there...

 

Of course they all have a low oil pressure warning system. The option I am referring to is the oil level warning sensor, which is not standard, at least not on the RT.

 

Jay

Isn't that what his enquiry was about. The warning lite ? So thats standard ?

Paul

 

[JayW]

Isn't that what his inquiry was about?...

____________________________________________________________

 

Well no, I don't think so. All BMWs (and essentially all 4 stroke motorcycles) have a warning system to tell you when the oil pressure is low, but the oil level can be low without affecting the oil pressure. The former is warning of impending engine failure, while the latter can be addressed at more leisure. The low oil level warning feature is much rarer, even as an option. Now if the oil level gets extremely low, then the oil pickup would be sucking on air and both warning symbols, if available, would be activated at that point.

 

Jay

[FLrider]

 

Twisty

 

First of all, I am very impressed with your posting/photo/graphics skills.

 

Yes. That's exactly where it is HOWEVER, while I DO have an "OIL" display, the "OIL" word is NOT lit up when the ! is visible. There's just the !.

 

I will try and take a picture of the actual display during daylight. IF it does it. It's intermittent.

[T__]

FLrider, no need to post your display… That OIL is just there in that picture,, the should be there no matter what is being displayed to the left as the is constant & indicates a low oil level..

 

You 09 RT should have all the computer updates & the new updated oil level sensor as bought SO if you have that low oil warning () & your oil level is OK then you need to see your dealer as you have a problem with the sensor or low oil level system..

 

Twisty

 

[Paul In Australia]

Hi Jay

If you refer to Twisties reply just above, I think you will find the issue is the oil warning message, not oil pressure. I might stand to be corrected, but the oil warning level ( ! ) as described is standard on Rt's here. Maybe different in the states.

best regards

Paul

[FLrider]

Wow! I must admit that trying to identify the oil level by looking at that little looking glass is kinda tricky but, the oil level is just above the middle. Wish it had a dipstick.

 

Anyway, I am pretty confident that the oil level is correct, therefore it looks like a visit to the dealer.

 

Thank you so much for the guidance.

 

Now, how is it that such an important warning symbol would not be in the manual, or, did I just miss it??

[bimmers]

It does come on before it hits the middle for me, and goes away and comes back.

I was confused with this early on as well but as all have said if you see any oil in the glass you are ok.

I add 200ml when it comes on and that keeps it full and I have no worries, I hope.

This has been one of those features people wish they would not have, it is not accurate but no harm with it either.

 

h

 

 

[cpallen]

Check page 54 - the pictures and descriptions in this thread are better than what's in the owner's manual. It's also briefly mentioned on pg 31. It's part of the 'on board computer' (BC) system.

[JayW]

the oil warning level ( ! ) as described is standard on Rt's here. Maybe different in the states...

 

I just checked the brochure that I got with my RT in 2005. "On-board computer with oil level indicator" is listed under optional equipment. Maybe it became standard in the later model RTs here, and apparently it is standard in your country. Oh well, it is not that important either way.

 

Jay

[hopz]

On my '05... if I have the RID set on ambient temperature and I have just completed a "spirited" run... like pulling off the highway to tank-up... my Oil warning will come on and then shortly go off. My actual oil level is where it should be. I have come to think that the oil level float is reading a low oil situation because the system has not yet - for lack of a better term- drained oil back to where the float can detect the level.

 

I do not know if any of this has anything to do with your bike, or anyone else's but my dealer's service writer called it normal but offered to accomplish the oil float service bulletin for me at no charge. I have not taken him up on the offer- preferring to leave well enough alone.

 

For what it may be worth...

[FLrider]

OK. I added some oil. 3/4 way up to the top. Haven't seen the ! come on yet. That must have been what it was. Was at 1/2, which I thought was ok because when I had the 600 miles service done on it, that's where the dealer filled to. I dunno.

 

Anyway, thanks for the tips and I'll check for the ! picture on page 54.

[pokorskij]

I have an 05 also and that is how mine originally worked. However after a software update the functionality is different, basically the warning does not come on while moving, as others have indicated.

 

Also, I don't understand the complaints on how this notice functions. It is a warning to check you oil level. And for me having it come on when it does is not a problem. It seems some owners want it to come on only when the level is at the lowest possible point, or something similar, and maybe too late as damage may have already been done.

 

Let's face it, it is a combination of a mechanical/electronic system and there will be variations between bikes.

 

If you read the threads, owners don't even agree on what they consider the proper oil level in the site glass. But expect the bike to notify them when a drop, as a size not physically dropping, of oil has brought the oil level below standard. Now would this be while moving, on the center stand or leaning over in a tight corner?

 

Just saying, and don't want a fight, but the system works fine on by beloved 2005 R1200RT.

 

 

[JayW]

Just saying, and don't want a fight, but the system works fine on by beloved 2005 R1200RT.

 

Mine does too. If the level gets down to about the halfway point in the glass, then the symbol comes on at times. If it gets even lower then it stays on. I add a bit of oil and then it stays off. This is the way it has worked since new, and I rather like it.

 

Jay

[Turf man]

Hi all,

 

My (07 R1200RT) warning light came on while we were in NH. Oil level was fine. I had just changed and measured the oil refill. Once I returned to Canada I called the dealer and they claimed there were problems with the oil level sensor on some RT. I was there in the shop when the mech pulled the sensor, sure enought he could make it fail on the bench and or work. We are talking thousands of an inch between lighting up and you not seeing the warning. BMW replaced the sensor and everything is fine. You have to drain al of the oil to replace the sensor. Whats interesting, there was no code that showed up on the BMW diagnostic computer.

 

Greg.