So perhaps I am missing some obvious porsche secret...having not known the history of my engines oil, I opted to do an oil change early on in my ownership of this fine automobile...
1. Pulled the plug
2. Took off the filter
3. Performed step 1 and 2 in reverse.
4. Filled crankcase with 6.5 quarts of valvoline 20W50 racing oil
5. Turned key to get a check engine light on the dash
Anything I am missing? I must admit I don't care for porsche putting the oil filter on in an orientation where you can't prime the system....but other than that, this was a standard oil change to me. Pressure cold on the gauge looks the same ~3.5bar, when Hot the car was running 2.0+ at idle and 4.0 on the highway.
Thoughts, inputs, next steps?
well, you're starting off almost a half quart low. it takes 6.87 no 6.5. depending on the sensor, it may be thinking it's low.
check the dipstick.
These cars are very sensitive to low oil, the light goes on as little as 1/4 quart below level.
Jay
Those pressures are probably within spec, but seem a bit low to me. With 50,000 miles on the engine I have almost 5 bar cold and when on the highway, and 2.5 at least at hot idle.
My light comes on when I am about a quart low.
My light does not come on until about 1.5 quarts low.. And pressures reading exactly the same as above.. 5 most of the time, 2.5 when hot and idling. 110k miles on the odo.
On a vaguely related note, my car consumes about 1 quart every 1000 mi or so, whereas the MBZ ( C 240 ) burns 1 quart every 20,000 .
mine used to come on at 1.5 qt. then, when it started consuming oil, it came on at 1qt. low. no idea what that is about
by the way, the dipstick line is 1.6 qts (1.5 liters) and not 1 qt like every american car.
Oil level appeared the same as before I changed it, which was maybe 3mm beliw the top line, but I will certainly give adding half a quart a try.
I was going off memory, and wit the light on, I opted not to let it warm up incase I was missing something.
Question two, how do I reset the light? The last time I pulled the battery I threw a light that the dealer had to clear for me, is there a specific disconnect sequence? Will the light go off when the oil is topped up?
the light should reset as soon as it senses oil to the appropriate level. if the sensor is bad, nothing you can do will turn that off.
Are both the big light on top AND the oil light on (I believe) the lower left comng on?
That sensor is quite finicky. When you drained the oil and refilled it could have stuck at the bottom and not floated to the top thus creating the light. Mine didn't work at all last year. I pulled it in the winter, cleaned and fiddled with it. Verified it's operation with a meter and put it back; now it works just fine. It's is quite easy to remove and test, loosen the 2 10mm shield nuts and 3 * 8mm? bolts. Obviously you have to drain the oil first <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.png" class="smilie" alt="" />
The only light that stays on is the check engine light in the lower right of the cluster
Every time he closes his eyes the light goes out <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/rolleyes.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
Original title of the thread refers to check engine light, isn't this different than the oil level light? Would check engine come on for low oil? If it is the oil level light you are referring to, my guess is the sensor has an issue, mine was finicky until I cleaned it.
which is why i said to do a blink test
Did the blink test this morning, and I got 1-1-3-4, from the sheet I found online, this points to the hall signal.....the odd thing is I just had this replaced 500 miles ago when the timing belt was done.....why would this come on after an oil change?
Check the connector and wiring to see if it's "crispy".
Yes, the oil sensor is very sensitive. That's good. If you park on a slope, with the front of the car higher, the BIG RED light tends to come on if you are even a slight bit low on oil. Once you level the car for a few minutes, the light will go off. That's been my experience, with both my '87 944 and now the 968.