Leon Speed

I've driven 500 kms today at pretty good rpms mostly (3000-4500). When I parked the car and turned off the engine, I get a low oil level warning. Check the dipstick and sure enough, the level was way low - way below the minimum. Not too comfortable about that, but the oil pressure was pegged at 5 bar while driving.

So I've been thinking, why doesn't the warning appear when the level reaches the minimum on the dipstick? Does the warning appear at all while driving? Somehow I get the feeling it only shows with the engine off.

The tech info for the '89 model says the low oil level warning is a priority II warning and needs to be "eliminated as quickly as possible" where as the oil pressure warning is a priority I warning. Here "it is necessary to stop the car and eliminate the fault immediately". So I assume when I would have kept on driving, I would have gotten a low pressure warning while driving and when stopped a low oil level warning. Would the engine be damaged by then? It seems to me the oil warning system has a flaw.

sweet928

Oil level should not be measured after driving without waiting ten to twenty minutes. This caused me grief recently. Check oil level again, it might not be as low as you think.

Alan

Also - the level is affected quite a bit by any angle the car is parked on - so you need to be on a level surface for evaluating oil level - even with the dipstick.

If you park on a non-level surface and esp if you restart the car soon after - you can get a false warning - one that would not have happened on level ground after a full drainback.

However I do think the trigger level is set a little low even on the flat - when mine initially indicates - the oil level is quite low also. So maybe a non-level driveway is a good idea...

Alan

dr bob

Low oil level switch sets on mine when I stop at the bottom of the hill to get the mail. Less than a minute shut down, on an uphill slope, light comes on. Got my attention the first time!! Oil at the tip of the dipstick, pressure OK, so cruised slowly up to the hacienda and parked in the garage. Half an hour later, on the level floor and everything drained back to the sump, level shows at the full mark on the stick. No good way to move the level switch closer to the center of the sump.

The level alarm is there to get your attention, but it only seems to come on immediately following start-up. Good info but hardly complete.


So, group question that doesn't quite deserve a poll: Do you check the oil level as often as you put fuel in the car?

jon928se

From somewhere in the mist of "killed by red wine" brain cells, one of the remaining ones tells me that the low oil level warning system is inop when the engine is actually running - only used when ingition on and engine not running. If I'm correct it makes sense as it would trigger everytime you drove up a steep hill and/or accelerated hard.

Leon Speed

I checked with the car level and after letting the car cool off (it was pretty hot yesterday).

Maybe the floater arm can be bent 2 mm upwards the next time the pan is off. Don't remember what it's made of, if it's a cast alloy then no luck.

Good point. I did stop to get gas yesterday and I looked at the flap that says "Oil OK?" and said to myself, yes, oil is OK, I checked it this morning. Oops.