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First post so bear with me please. Long story short, I picked up a used 2012 hustler hyperdrive earlier this year. I've noticed since it's been so hot here lately that after 30 mins or so of mowing my oil light comes on. If I remain at a constant speed it flickers down very low but any strain on the motor and it lights up brighter. I'm in line with the local dealer to have it looked at but messing with it today I noticed that if I loosen the oil fill cap the light goes out completely. Has anyone ever seen such a thing? Just a FYI the oil level is correct and the oil and filter was changed 40 hours ago. The mower currently has 1065 original hours on it. Thanks for any help.

what oil are you using and how level is you yard ?

bertsmobile1 said:

what oil are you using and how level is you yard ?

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Eastern NC so yard is flat. 10w30 oil

Normal oil for Kawasaki is 15W50 Synthetic. Also depending on number hours on the engine the oil gerotor set (IE oil pump) could be worn out. Just had that problem last on an engine with 3000 hrs on it.

Chevymanrc said:

First post so bear with me please. Long story short, I picked up a used 2012 hustler hyperdrive earlier this year. I've noticed since it's been so hot here lately that after 30 mins or so of mowing my oil light comes on. If I remain at a constant speed it flickers down very low but any strain on the motor and it lights up brighter. I'm in line with the local dealer to have it looked at but messing with it today I noticed that if I loosen the oil fill cap the light goes out completely. Has anyone ever seen such a thing? Just a FYI the oil level is correct and the oil and filter was changed 40 hours ago. The mower currently has 1065 original hours on it. Thanks for any help.

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It is best to know what you actually have for oil pressure. You can use any of the pipe plugs (Allen head) to tap into to get a pressure reading. Keep in mind that the threads are 1/8” British pipe thread. It is also aluminum so do not over-tighten.
Hustler has has issues with the oil light.
One Hustler tech told me they just recommend disconnecting it. A failure of a gerotor style pump is very rare. If you know there is full oil level in the engine and check it regularly. The light is just a convenience. Recommended oil is 10W40 but I always use 20W50. Synthetic is optional.

Easy things first
Go to a 10w40 or the 15w50 synthetic and see if the problem goes away
Mower oil lights can be either oil level or oil pressure
A pressure gauge will be very close to the oil filter , a level gauge will usually be around the back of the engine.
I had a Dixon owner with an oil level switch that was not particulalry good and if the owner stopped the engine along the fence line it would not restart
Another Dixon, this time with a Honda engine would cut out on compound slopes for the same reason
I can not see any reason why removing the filler cap would make any difference to either a pressure or level gague

Don’t waste time and money on changing oil. Oil switches on riding equipment, mower, golf cars, etc., in the US only detect pressure not level. You could be a quart low and still not activate the switch potentially. This is why everyday, people are seizing their engines. By relying on the light instead of checking their oil regularly.

txmowman said:

It is best to know what you actually have for oil pressure. You can use any of the pipe plugs (Allen head) to tap into to get a pressure reading. Keep in mind that the threads are 1/8” British pipe thread. It is also aluminum so do not over-tighten.
Hustler has has issues with the oil light.
One Hustler tech told me they just recommend disconnecting it. A failure of a gerotor style pump is very rare. If you know there is full oil level in the engine and check it regularly. The light is just a convenience. Recommended oil is 10W40 but I always use 20W50. Synthetic is optiona

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txmowman said:

Don’t waste time and money on changing oil. Oil switches on riding equipment, mower, golf cars, etc., in the US only detect pressure not level. You could be a quart low and still not activate the switch potentially. This is why everyday, people are seizing their engines. By relying on the light instead of checking their oil regularly.

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According to the dipstick the oil level is perfect. Do you think I could get a cheap pressure Guage online and check the actual pressure? If so, will that to check it while hot as well?

It was very fashionable to fit pressure gauges to BSA motorcycles particularly after they had a spate of rod failures
We called them "worry gauges" and for decades owners went mad chasing low pressure failures that they did not have.
The actual problem was riding WFO on the long strait USA roads allowed the rings to flutter and bow the contents of the oil tank out the breather tube & exhaust pipes
The eventual fix was oval ground pistons .
BSA did not have this problem in the UK where the bikes were made because there was nowhere you could ride WFO for longer than 20 minutes

So unless you actually know what the oil pressure should be under all conditions then like most idiots on you tube who finally worked out how to take a multimeter out of the box all you will end up with is a mess of numbers that you do not understand .
FWIW pressure is directly proportional to temperature of the oil at the gauge
And most mower engines will run quite happily on nothing more than splash because they are low reving engines
No mower will run happily without oil .

First step change to a heavier oil
Second step change the sender unit
Then start to pannic

Run the engine and warm up thoroughly.
Run the engine at 3 200 r/min (rpm) and read the oil pressure gauge.
Oil Pressure 294 to 588 kPa (43 to 85 psi)

Measurement Condition
Engine Oil Temperature: 50 ∼ 60°C (122 ∼ 144°F)
Engine Speed: 3,200 r/min (rpm)

Note oil pressure switch operates at about 20 psi. So if your oil pressure is flickering you are already way low on pressure.

Also the pressure is threaded as BSPT 1/8-28. SAE NPT 1/8-27 will not fit.

Chevymanrc said:

According to the dipstick the oil level is perfect. Do you think I could get a cheap pressure Guage online and check the actual pressure? If so, will that to check it while hot as well?

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My mower does not have an oil pressure switch. I like Hustler’s suggestion to just unplug it and check your oil regularly. Unless the engine is about to fail anyway, you likely don’t have low pressure.

given oil pump failures are rare, I use oil TEMPERATURE SENSORS. For all my machines, I use oil pressure temp sensors in the factory "pressure ports" (threaded with a block plug, usually located near the oil filler tube or oil filter area). I am more interested in oil temp. Living in the deep south, we have many days where temperatures swell into the triple digits. So knowing the temp of the engine as I ride gives me the indication when its a good time to shut things down...check oil levels...check oil condition...and clear any grass debris from the engine cooling fins. It's an easy mod, with simple wiring. Amazon has many different styles to choose from and youtube many videos showing how to wire it up and install the gauge in the instrument/control panel. What I will do is run the engine and notice where the temp reaches it's high temp cycle while driving and mowing. this is very helpful especially in thick stuff and when mowing hills. If the temp reaches above a certain point, I shut it down and take a long break, or just swap with one of the other mowers we have have (it's a very large piece of property and we have 4 commercial grade mowers and 3 operators). Heat is what kills these air cooled engines and wears them out more than any other factor. Keeping them within a reasonable temperature range helps eliminate alot big expenses and down time.

Just a heads up, I switched over to 20-50 conventional oil and the problem went away. Also I think my last oil change was 10-40 which looks to be the lowest recommended oil and I'm guessing maybe in cooler climates. I will keep you posted with any updates.