So the oil warning lamp isn't?

[IAmATeaf]

I'll probably get slated by the righteous here but coming back from work on Friday I noticed out of the corner of my eye a red light blib on my dash. Had been gunning it so slowed down to a crawl and kept an eye on things. Noticed that going round a sharp right corner the oil warning indicator would blip so nursed the car home. The oil was registering a few mm off the bottom of the dipstick so well below the minimum indicator, it needed around 2.5 litres of oil and all now seems well.

Now I do regularly check the oil in my car, well actually I check the level in my wifes car but then also check mine but hadn't done so for 6 odd months because of one thing or another.

Onto the questions, the car seems fine but do people think there is likely to be any damage? and why the hell does the oil warning indicator not serve it's purpose, yes I know that in the majority of cars it's actually an indicator of oil pressure but can they not make it an indicator for the actual level, say when you turn the key to the radio position?

Lastly, people get out there and check your oil and tyre pressures

 

[[TW]Fox]

Some cars have a level indicator, some don't. Even those that don't will have a pressure indicator - seems like thats what came on in yours.

The reason why some cars dont have both is becuase an oil pressure guage doesn't check level, it takes check pressure. Checking level requires a different system - asking why your car hasnt got that is like asking why it hasn't got, say, cruise or a nav system - because it wasn't fitted!

 

[Meridian]

Old fashioned oil warning lights are notorious for basically telling you that your engine has now run out of oil. Generally, once the light is on, the dipstick will probably come out dry. Assuming that they work on pressure, the problem is that idle pressure at high revs is very low (about 2 bar on my car for example) compared to even medium revs when high (about 6 bar in this case). This means that you have to set the warning threshold below the "hot idle" pressure. But at medium revs and hot, the oil must nearly all have gone before the pressure drops that low. For level-related systems the problem is the cold idle: the level there is very low, so again, the trigger point has to be lower. And yet again, at speed with hot oil you've lost a lot of oil before it drops below that point. I'm sure an intelligent system will come along sooner or later, but only when it becomes LOT cheaper.


M

 

[atpbx]

Easiest system is just move the set up they have on trucks into cars which at the press of a button tells you what the level is.

 

[dalin80]

The vast majority of cars do a have a level sensor.

 

[Nightglow]

[QUOTE People get out there and check your oil and tyre pressures [/QUOTE]

Check mine religiously ever week.

 

[Jonny ///M]

I think my dads Laguna has a level sensor as it has a couple of dashes for level and it says oil before starting.

I checked my oil last week or so and it was what I thought was middle of the range.

I then checked the other day and it was below the L mark. I do tend to use high revs and drive at high speed so I imagine it uses more than driving around town.

i Have no smoke and no visible leak...but have managed 9k in 6 months using the last of a 4L can which I think was 1/1.5l of oil.

Either way it pays to check it regularly.

 

[teulk]

I noticed out of the corner of my eye a red light blib on my dash. Noticed that going round a sharp right corner the oil warning indicator would blip so nursed the car home. The oil was registering a few mm off the bottom of the dipstick so well below the minimum

Onto the questions, why the hell does the oil warning indicator not serve it's purpose

The oil warning indicator came on, you checked your oil, it was low, it served its purpose

 

[Dave L]

I do tend to use high revs and drive at high speed

For gods sake don't tell me you are one of these goons who "use high revs and drive at high speeds" late at night in their noisy, tatty, odd coloured Nissans?

 

[Jonny ///M]

For gods sake don't tell me you are one of these goons who "use high revs and drive at high speeds" late at night in their noisy, tatty, odd coloured Nissans?

Not around McDonalds car parks I don't.

I don't hang around coming home on the motorway though.

I like my green car! Rather have it than a silver avensis or something.

 

[Dr Who]

Last time my oil light came on I had just trashed the engine in an MGZS

Never bothered checking the oil in my old company cars, my own cars get checked every week, in the CLK I can do it from the drivers seat

 

[Scania]

[QUOTE People get out there and check your oil and tyre pressures

Check mine religiously ever week.

I check my oil, water, tyres & lights daily.

Legal requirement of driving my truck and something that I do as a matter of routine when in the car.

 

[paradigm]

My oil level sensor (yes, level) flagged up on Saturday, my oil pressure warning didn't however

Topped up with .75l at the next petrol station (0.8 of a mile) and drove off again.

 

[Simon]

Most level sensors don't work properly so don't trust them and check on the dipstick now and then.

 

[mrk]

Mine glowed orange to indicate a topup required when I turned the car off at the weekend, dipstick showed it was closer to the min level indicator than desirable so topped up and all is well.

Needs about another .15~ litre though as the topup was from the remains from a 1 litre bottle from last service.

 

[OllyM]

Most level sensors don't work properly so don't trust them and check on the dipstick now and then.

What if you don't have a dipstick?

 

[phil675]

What if you don't have a dipstick?

Drain it out the bottom in to a jug and measure it, pour back in if you have enough. Make sure you wash up the jug or your missus won't be happy.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

but can they not make it an indicator for the actual level, say when you turn the key to the radio position?

That's because most people aren't stupid enough to leave it six months between oil checks

in the CLK I can do it from the drivers seat

My Dad killed his Merc by relying on that sensor - seems it had died ages back (they are supposed to fail in fail safe mode - i.e. if they die they light the dash indicator - his didn't though).

And my boss killed his when his sensor died - this time it did fail and light the dash indicator - he then proceeded to fill it up with about 9 litres of oil trying to extinguish it and when he started the engine it popped both crank seals and blew a few piston oil control rings.

 

[Dogbreath]

Onto the questions, the car seems fine but do people think there is likely to be any damage? and why the hell does the oil warning indicator not serve it's purpose,

It does serve it's purpose, it tells you there is a serious engine problem and that you should stop at once. The problem is that running that low on oil can cause oil starvation to the top end before the pressure warning lamp illuminates, and it sounds like the car had done quite a distance on a very low oil level. However, unless the engine is already making bad noises it's difficult to know if any damage has been done, so just keep a close eye on it.

Now I do regularly check the oil in my car, well actually I check the level in my wifes car but then also check mine but hadn't done so for 6 odd months because of one thing or another.

So you don't regularly check it. There is no valid reason for leaving a check that takes no more than a minute or so for so long. Blaming the inadequacy of oil pressure sensors or the lack of an oil level sensor in your car isn't going to help.

 

[Dr Who]

My Dad killed his Merc by relying on that sensor - seems it had died ages back (they are supposed to fail in fail safe mode - i.e. if they die they light the dash indicator - his didn't though).

I can double check with the dipstick, and do whenever the bonnet is up, typically twice a week when I do my other fluid checks.