Oil Light - ON!

Yesterday traveling home from work, my oil like flickered on and off. I thought nothing of it because i was about a mile from home. I drove to work this morning and noticed that it came on and stayed on. I pulled over at a station to check the oil. The oil level is fine and the oil pressure is just fine. Is this an oil sending unit gone bad?

[Habanero]

Probably the oil level switch in the side of the pan is going south. I think mine is as well, since my light will flicker occasionally even when the level is above the minimum on the dipstick.

yes, this is what i'm thinking as well. I'll probably just change it out on my next oil change.

You didn't happen to be going sideways at the time the oil lite was on?
I know the bug...if I jump it off something...or do anything more than a 15MPH e-brake slide...I loose my oil pump prime

[CSchmidt]

Tom,

My SDL oil light comes on above the min mark on the dipstick. Put oil in and it goes off. May just be a characteristic of the engines - early warning the oil is heading low????

Chuck

no, i drove home tonight and it's still on. I was going forward as well.

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by CSchmidt

Tom,

My SDL oil light comes on above the min mark on the dipstick. Put oil in and it goes off. May just be a characteristic of the engines - early warning the oil is heading low????

Chuck

Not to be a jerk but thats what the manual in the glove box says!

Mine has never come on even in some parking lot "manuvers".

[CSchmidt]

Folks,

As I remember ( it only happened once when I first got the car) - it was when the oil reached about 2/3 of the way down between max and min. Not any where near the min mark. Higher than I would have expected. I'm guilty of not RTFM sometimes , so I'll double check the meaning of the light but I would think it would have been targeted at the min level.

Chuck

[Brian Carlton]

Tom, I'm with Chuck on this. The yellow light comes on when the level is about 3/4 of the way down to the low mark. The light will come on on the uphills and go off on the downhills. It's only annoying at night. If it really bothers me, I'll add about 8 ounces of oil to turn the damn thing off.

I can't believe that I have to add 8 ounces of motor oil. Talk about a primadonna of an engine.............

Your right, I just walked outside and checked it's down barley a mm on the stick off the full mark. I'll stop and get me a quart of oil in the a.m. going to work. Maybe this will cut it off.

[Hatterasguy]

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

I can't believe that I have to add 8 ounces of motor oil. Talk about a primadonna of an engine.............

It's a German engine what do you expect! I bet those engineers know to the 1/10 of an oz how much oil these engines need. I never let mine get below the 1/2 way mark so I have yet to see that light.

With reguard to the OM 603 engines, I read a thread here many months ago, I think from one of the MB techs, he mentioned having read an MB service bulletin issued quite some time ago informing not to top-off engine oil to the full mark on the dipstick, but rather half way between the add and full marks leaving the crankcase close to a quart shy!

[Hatterasguy]

Yep in the early 90's oil capacity was reduced either 1 quart or 1/2 a quart. Because they tend to burn oil fast above the 1/2 way mark. I just add 8 quarts every oil change and that brings it up about 1/2 way.

[prb51]

With the 606 engine the oil level light has a two function switch. One element (that often fails) is a timed delay element that works on hard cornering. When G's force the oil to one side the light would normally come on indicating low oil, the delay (a few seconds) allows for levelling and keeps the light off. When the delay fails the light comes on, goes off etc as oil sloshes around. Replace sender at the pan at next oil change or, since most of us check our oil all the time, ignore it.