Oil Pressure Warning Light On Tdi (flickers)

[Guest dale]

Was driving home last night in the snow and I noticed my oil pressure light flickering. It would flicker on and off a couple of times, then stop. It was almost like a fuel warning light that is right on the edge - it happened more when the car was turning or accelerating/decelerating.

 

I topped the oil up a couple of weeks ago and accidently went slightly over the mark. I checked the levels again this morning and it was still sitting slightly over maximum.

 

Could it just be there's a tad to much oil and when it gets warm this is the symptom - or is it likely to be something more sinister? Ford want

[Ivor_E_Tower]

..so just change the switch, should be about a tenner. As Stirling Moss once said, the only thing an oil pressure light tells you is when to buy a new engine (assuming it is working correclty, that is).

[Guest dale]

Could overfilling the oil trigger the warning light?

 

Is this going to cause me any problems?

 

Should I drain the oil down to a lower level?

 

Is the sump plug the only way to drain the oil down?

 

 

 

Dipstick diag below:

 

l

l

l - I filled to here :huh:

/

| -MAX

|

|

| -MIN

\

l

l

[Richmond]

I had an oil pressure transducer fail shortly after an oil change (not on the Galaxy). Maybe the increased oil pressure was the last straw for it. Your recent top up might have had the same effect; it's probably not the slight overfill but the increased pressure from fresh, less viscous, oil wot did it (although I suppose the overfill doesn't help).

[Guest dale]

It's due for an 80K mile service in a month. Basically I'm wondering if given the oil level isn't dropping, there's no froth in the coolant and the engine is performing and sounding normal - is it pretty safe to assume it's the sensor and leave it until the service when they change the oil and filter anyways?

 

Dale

[seatkid]

Overfilling is not the problem here and is not a danger for your engine - the problem with overfilling (but by a lot more than you have) is possible damage to the catalytic converter.

 

is it pretty safe to assume it's the sensor and leave it until the service when they change the oil and filter anyways?

 

NO!

 

If your light flickers you should take it seriously. It may be a faulty switch but it also could be a real oil pressure fault. Oil pressure relief valves have been known to stick open and pump housings can leak in various ways. There may be a blockage in the oil intake pipe...

 

Low oil pressure will invariably lead to total engine failure! :huh: :D

 

I would change the switch straight away and not drive anywhere until I have satisfied myself the problem is fixed!

[Guest dale]

How easy is the switch to replace? Is it an oil change job as well or can it be changed without dumping and replacing the oil?

 

I don't think anything is leading, the underside is clean, the ground under the car is clean, the engine area is clean, the coolant is oil free and the oil level hasn't dropped...

[Guest nimrod]

There are two oil pressure switches! they are colour coded blue and grey

the blue switch (0.25 bar) is on the left hand end of the cylinder block the grey (0.9 bar) is mounted on the oil filter housing

[Guest dale]

Thanks Nimrod... I'm an Computer Engineer by profession so am pretty used to getting my hands into things - but big fat Diesel engines are still a little new to me... I've got a torque wrench, pretty much every household and garage tool known and a couple of axle stands - is this an amateur do-able job?

 

I've got the Haynes manual at home and will brush up when I get there, but any tips you may be able to offer would be appreciated...

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Don't know location of switches - hopefully Nimrod or someone else will provide details, but it is amateur do-able with no need to drain the oil, and you shouldn't loose any oin when you change the switches - but have a rag standing by to collect any slight dribbles just in case. Once you've found the switches, it should take a couple of minutes to do each one.

[Guest dale]

Thanks all. I drove short distances today - the oil light didn't come on once. It might have been a freak incident given the heavy snow and what have or it may only show up once the engine has been run for half an hour or so...

 

I'm giving it a good run on saturday so we'll see what happens - will keep oil, rags and gear on standby though.