Oil level scare..

[mtechnik]

A little earlier I was driving quite hard into a twisty highway on-ramp and shortly after i realised my oil warning light went on.
So I my heart went in my mouth instantly and wanted by pull over, only there was no emergency lane.

So i very uneasily reduced engine speed and tried to coast a mile ahead cause i knew there's a service station ahead.

But luckily the light went out. So i'm guessing it was oil starvation???
For some days now i needed to top of with a quart of oil but just didnt get around to it. Sure did today!!

So my question is..... We all know that when the oil level/pressure light goes on it is time to pull over. But in a such a case when it's not a cracked oil pan exactly how far before you start to screw the engine over?

[Justin B]

There are two lights, which one are you talking about? The one on the check panel comes on when it thinks your oil level is one quart low or therabouts, and usually doesn't flicker. It takes a while for it to "figure it out" with whatever float thing is inside it. Reason I say taht is once I top back up, it takes a while for the light to go back out. That's not a slow down and stop light, its a you better add oil light.

Now if you were talking about the oil light on the cluster, then yeah, that's pressure. If youre having starvation issues like that you may have other problems but its quite possible that the wire going to the sensor isn't making a good connection somewhere.

[mtechnik]

Was the one on the dash of course.

Yeah the check control one is a normal occurence was just that this time I took extra long in adding a quart of oil.

[mtechnik]

and u know the funny thing is my mind was so DAMN BLANK from the whole thing that I didnt even check the oil dipstick when I reached the gas station.

:dumbo:

[jlevie]

You never, ever, want to see the oil pressure warning light in the cluster come on while driving the car. Assuming the pressure switch is working properly, that light will only come on when the oil pressure drops below 7psi. That's essentially no oil pressure and thus runs the risk of serious damage to rotating parts. The cause; of the light illuminating while driving could be any, or a combination of; low oil level, bad/clogged oil filter, wrong oil, worn oil pump, worn bottom end.

I've seen enough cases of a non-OE oil filter causing low oil pressure to convince me to only use OE filters. Oil and filters are cheap, engines aren't...

If you are having to frequently top up the oil, you probably have a leak that needs fixing.

[mtechnik]

I always use MANN filters. Oil pan gasket needs changing

[-Javier-]

how do we know if we have a faulty pressure switch ?

by the way dont mean to hijack.

[jlevie]

If you have questions about the oil pressure warning switch (light on when it shouldn't be, or not coming on before cranking the engine) you can pressure test the switch to see if it is operating properly, or simply replace it with a new unit.

If the switch checks out or replacement doesn't normal operation of the light, an oil pressure check is in order.

[mtechnik]

hmm thanks Jlevie & Javier. I'll be monitoring it today.

[Ray Smoodiver]

Check that the wiring hasn't come lose from the switch and isn't grounding against something.

My light came on, and when we jacked the car up, the switch had been smashed off the block and the wiring was wrapped around some metal parts.

[vivalegreg]

isnt the light in the dash for a oil level sensor?