Stupid question... and no I am not female ;)

[robin]

Does the oil light flicker at idle only? If so it could actually be low oil pressure. If it flickers at random at any engine speed it's much more likely to be a duff or dirty contact at the sensor. Are you sure it's the oil light, though? The nearby brake and charge warning lights can also flicker.

0.5L is half the difference between low and high so should have made an appreciable difference in the level on the dipstick ...

Cheers,
Robin

[steviej]

Paint the lower area of the dipstick matt black, then you might see the level more easily as the oil will look glossy against the matt surface

[izibecoz]

The car had done 3.5K miles since last service in April - the "top up" made the level look about right to me, but as said before it is a barsteward to read the fecking thing.

Anyway - i am sure the level is fine - and also sure it would have used .5 of a litre over the 3.5k Miles.

Right - so onto the random light flicker... and yes it is completely random. can flash up for a mili second, other times it flickers faster than a humming birds wings. but also can do it after a 5 mile trip - and then not come on all at all over 200 mile trip.... fecking random!

Is it easy to check connectors etc -- no clue where to look etc!

Oh and guys --- this site is WAY better than SELOC Responses are fast and informative - thanks mucho

C

[robin]

The most likely location for the fault will be near the switch itself. This is located on the oil filter housing which is on the bottom right forward corner of the engine (corner nearest the driver's arse ). To get access you need to remove the undertray (at least half of it, anyway). Then you should see the oil filter between engine and bulkhead and then you should be able to find the oil pressure switch sticking down out of the housing with a (brown?) connector clicked onto it. The loom from there runs back under the front pulley and is usually tie-wrapped here and there. Sometimes the metal cable guide that lives under the pulley is corroded and broken, so it's possible the cable itself has been damaged and is shorting out on something.

It's worth noting that the light only comes on when the switch (or something else) makes a circuit to earth, so a loose connector by itself would not make this happen (quite the opposite: sometimes the light would not come on when it should, e.g. when ignition is on, engine is off).

To get false indications on the oil pressure switch something must be providing a path to earth, so either the cable is frayed and touching against the block or the switch itself is shagged.

90% likely the problem will be somewhere between the loom at the pulley and the switch, or the switch itself. Elsewhere there is much less scope for chafing the wire and causing a short.

Cheers,
Robin

[izibecoz]

Thanks for that Robin... But I don't fancy trying to remove the under tray on a jack. Think the garage will be required to fix this gremlin.
Unless any one in or around aberdoom has a pit or has experience in doing this we job

What garage around here would u guys use. The porker usually ended up at Bavaria as town and county were completely useless!

[robin]

You can remove the undertray on the floor if you have to, or reverse the car up onto some blocks to give a little more room.

Cheers,
Robin

[jen]

Are you the dude I stalked at Denburn carpark?! If so, I told you this place is ace!!

I always get my husband (ex-fully qualified diagnostic automotive technician ) to fix my cars. I'm not aware of anyone competent or confident enough to fix our kind of cars in Aberdeen itself but many on here take theirs to either JD in Insch (as Kinnon suggested) or Ricky Gaulds in Huntly. I'm sure if there is someone on here that can recommend a more central garage, they'll let you know, but either of those two are your best bet.

Hope that helps!

Jen

[izibecoz]

Nah Jen wasnt me I am afriad but it's cool you guys point us newbies at this great site.

Will prob give the removal a bash, socket and Allen key I presume required

[robin]

Correct. Should be 8mm spanner size bolts around the edge and 4x5mm hex key in the middle (IIRC). Sometimes the middle four bolts have been replaced with 13mm spanner size bolts. I strongly suggest a good coating of copper grease when reassembling. You might need a hand to put the tray back on, depending on how many arms you have and whether or not you can use your legs as though they were arms

Cheers,
Robin

[pete]

I am officially the least competent mechanic citation needed on SE and even I can remove the trays.

Trolley under one side to lift car, blocks of wood under rear wheel. Repeat on other side. Remove tray. Refitting is the reverse of removal (MAKE SURE TRAY IS RIGHT WAY UP. Saves swearing when you realise it is upside down. If necessary use jack to lift tray into approximate place to enable refitting - this saves growing extra arm).

Takes about 20 minutes to remove and refit.

[campbell]

What he said. Also even I can remove and refit trays as well. Just be sure to do it with car on stands or blocks or kerbs, not jacks - obviously!

[izibecoz]

Right all set... Tools in hand, car on blocks..... Let's go!!! Gulp!

[izibecoz]

ok guys i have taken the undertray off - no problemo.... however i have taken some pics as i need advice..

it wont let me put them on the post though... do i need permissions to do this???

[Shug]

ok guys i have taken the undertray off - no problemo.... however i have taken some pics as i need advice..

it wont let me put them on the post though... do i need permissions to do this???

How to post pics - http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... f=9&t=1350

Upload isn't for loading big pictures, so please use the method in that thread.

[campbell]

Best way is to host the pics on your fave online photo store - flickr, photobox, picasaweb, etc - then post IMG links to them. We don't have much server space for actual photo uploads.