Oil warning light ?

Moonpie2

Moonpie2

Moonpie2

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Joined
23 Dec 2002
Posts
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Shiny Shanghai
Hello there.

My car is due for its MOT in a few days (and I was gonna service it anyway too)
But the oil warning light has just popped on for the first time ever, well, in 3 years.
Do I have to sort it instantly or can it do the 20 or so miles I'll probably be doing before its planned garage visit ?

Yes, I know nothing about cars :)
 
Check the oil level. Oil warning lights usually only come on when you are low on oil. That should have been the first thing you checked.
 
Moonpie2 said:
Oh yes its deffinately down on minimum, but can I get a few more days of driving out of it ?
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Why would you want to do this if you know your engine hardly has any oil?

You dont want to spend £10 on oil?

You'll be spending a whole lot more if it goes pop :o
 
Its not a good idea, when you turn a corner the oil left in the sump will move to one end meaning your oil pump is not lifting oil.

Had a friend years ago siezed an engine a couple of days after telling me something similar.

Do yourself a favour and beg borrow or steal some.Its not worth taking the chance.
 
In my experience the light comes on as a last minute warning. Fill it up, don't drive it. It is the most simple thing you can do to a car, if you can drive you can put oil in it!
 
I'm gonna show my noobyness again.

I thought you had to drain all oil before putting new in ?
Are you saying I can just open the cap and bung a load of castrol GTX in on top of the old stuff ?
 
Moonpie2 said:
I'm gonna show my noobyness again.

I thought you had to drain all oil before putting new in ?
Are you saying I can just open the cap and bung a load of castrol GTX in on top of the old stuff ?
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Yes...go buy some oil and top it up before you go anywhere
 
Yeah you can just fill it up. Don't put to much in though, keep checking. To much is just as dangerous as to little!
 
Is it an oil level warning light, or oil pressure? If it's the oil pressure light then chances are you might have already caused some engine damage; when this light comes on it means STOP IMMEDIATELY. Failure to do so can totaly scrap your engine.
 
Dogbreath said:
Is it an oil level warning light, or oil pressure? If it's the oil pressure light then chances are you might have already caused some engine damage; when this light comes on it means STOP IMMEDIATELY. Failure to do so can totaly scrap your engine.
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Me in my old punto...

Driving along... 'whats that light mean?, meh, itl wait til i get home'.... shuddershudderbanghissssssssssssssssssssss... 'whats that smell? is that smoke? oh dear...
 
Defcon5 said:
Me in my old punto...

Driving along... 'whats that light mean?, meh, itl wait til i get home'.... shuddershudderbanghissssssssssssssssssssss... 'whats that smell? is that smoke? oh dear...
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For my wife in the Neon it was... Driving along... shuddershudderbanghissssssssssssssssssssss...'whats that light mean? 'whats that smell? is that smoke? oh dear...

In my experience if you've left it long enough that the idiot light has come on, it's far too late. You've already ruined several VERY expensive parts of the engine.

Moonpie2, if you want to destroy your car and go buy a new one, go ahead and drive it. If you value your car as a form of transportation, don't even start the engine again until you've got a litre or two of oil in there. As rare said, check every 1/2 litre you put in to make sure you don't put too much in.
 
like dogbreath has just said the oil light on most cars doesnt indicate oil level but oil pressure if this comes on your oil level is so low to the point there isnt enough to provide any oil pressure get some more oil in there imediately.

thedazman
 
I have heeded the advice and got the bus into work today :)

There was no shuddering, hissing, smelling or unusualness by the time I got the car home and stopped it, so fingers crossed its all ok.
It only went for another 2 miles or so once the light came on.

I'm not sure if its indicating pressure or level, but I DO know for a fact that the level is quite low.
 
I can put any old oil in right ?

I've just bought some Castrol GTX 15W-40 and have absoloutley no idea what oil is already in there :confused:
 
Moonpie2 said:
I can put any old oil in right ?

I've just bought some Castrol GTX 15W-40 and have absoloutley no idea what oil is already in there :confused:
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Why didn't you read the manual to get the grade before buying the oil?

Anyway, just stick it in (providing your going to service it soon).

Get tje car on a flat surface, engine off for 4/5 minutes, check the level then add a little bit at a time, don't overfill it.
 
Hehe.....Oil pressure warning lights on Triumphs are hillarious - because they're set so low, when they come on it just means "Engine is dead". You have to fit an alternative sender to get a useful warning out of it :D
 
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