E30 Zone

hi all am a newbie in a state of panic.

i had my oil changed a couple of weeks ago and my oil light keeps coming on - i dont know why

am i in trouble here - i have checked the dip stick and it seems fine - oil is clean and at th right level.

it does seem very oily under the sump - is that normal - i cant seem to see any leaks - although to be fair i dont really know what i should be lloking for.

can anyone help me please

Which oil light? and what engine?

If it's the one on the check pannel then its probably a dodgy sensor or the wireing is rubbing somwhere.

If it's the one on the dash.... thats either a wire rubbing as above, or it could be really not good

If it is a 6 pot then the sump gaskets love to leak, and are a messy horrible job to change. on the + side the gaskets are under £5 (not much consalation though, mine is being done on sunday... can't wait )

thanks for the reply - it is the oil light on the dash the one that comes on when you turn the key in the ignition and then is supposed to go off - the prob withmine is that sometimes it goes off sometimes it doesnt.

also it sometimes comes on when i am in the middle of driving.

its a 318is

btw - where is the check panel

cheers

johnny

Being a lowly iS you do not get the troublesome check panel,does your engine rattle and sound poorly when the oil light is on?

i dont think so - maybe it idles a little rough - but i think it might do that anyeay wether the light is on or off.

do i have a major prob with the oil light coming on

what should i do

Oil pressure switches can go wrong - try a new switch first of all. If that doesn't work, check the wiring from the switch, before it enters a loom with other wires, for cracks and possible shorts.
If that doesn't work, keep the new switch, and attach a fresh engine to it.

Theres a sticky at the top of the page titled ''of use'' its an on-line E30 workshop manual, heres a snapshot from it



Thats where your switch is for the light, i would check the wireing and make sure it's not earthing out and bringing the light on that way.

If the engine isn't rattly its almost certainly the switch - they can play up if they get water in them as well.

I had a Mk1 Golf and steam cleaned the engine bay - the oil pressure switch played up for days afterwards but then was fine once it dried out.

The other reason which would usually show by rattling top end as well as the oil light coming on is a knackered oil pump - which is obviously a little more serious ! - Had this problem on a Mk2 Golf - only thing you can do is change the pump.

The way to be sure is to ask a garage to plug a gauge in the sensor port and see what the pressure really is. If you've got a healthy circulation and the light comes on, you can fault diagnose your electrics quietly without worrying about the engine every time you turn the key.

thank you so much everyone - sorry for not getting back sooner - will check out the online e30 manual now and see if i can check out the sensor

ps how can you tell if it is earthing

cheers

it has was running fine until now

was at a roundabout and i heard a sort of spluttering coming from the back i think - not too sure

it started getting worse very quick - oil light came on aswell do not know if this is related as i just had oil changed a few weeks ago.

lost alot of power

got it home - opened up the bonnet and the engine was shaking - the top part

it has also caused it to idle poorly aswell - feels like it is going to cut out but it wont.


i have just bought the car FEW weeks ago so i am very worried

please help

is it bad

If that doesn't work, keep the new switch, and attach a fresh engine to it.

johnnyg wrote:it has was running fine until now

was at a roundabout and i heard a sort of spluttering coming from the back i think - not too sure

it started getting worse very quick - oil light came on aswell do not know if this is related as i just had oil changed a few weeks ago.

lost alot of power

got it home - opened up the bonnet and the engine was shaking - the top part

it has also caused it to idle poorly aswell - feels like it is going to cut out but it wont.


i have just bought the car FEW weeks ago so i am very worried

please help

is it bad

Was going to suggest it might be a duff filter especially if it is not OEM. In the past I have known none OEM filters to have a lower pressure setting than proper ones....

However with what you're describing now it sounds like a more serious problem. Sorry

Has the engine gone very rattly and is there any smoke out of the back ?

This sounds like a weird one - If it was an oil pump failure leading to low pressure the top end would rattle like hell - together with rough running.

I would think if you had some sort of major internal engine problem there would be definite knocking/rattling noises - and probably plenty of blue smoke.

The symptoms you have mentioned ( loss of power, "shaking" engine and poor idle ) sound like fuel/ignition type misfiring problems rather than a major mechanical failure.

Sure someone will come along shortly to correct me if Im wrong !

there is no blue smoke

not too sure if i would be able to hear a knock or a rattle in the engine only because of my inexperience

loss of power - i drove it back very slowly because i didnt want to mess anything else up

i can rev it right up when she is neutral - no problem - so i might have described the loss of power wrongly

any ideas

thanks

johnny

Check the engine earthing strap is good and working.

thanks - where would i find the engine earthing strap - again sorry for the stupid questions - but thanks for the suggestions

johnny

Oil pressure light on, shaking engine, loss of power kind of indicates to me that the engine is now scrap.

I hope for your sake I am wrong.