S500 Low Oil Level light

[JRB]

I just changed the oil and filter at a Meineke store, and now the car has the oil level warning light on. Is the first time in 13 years that this happens, did they do something wrong?. I asked for synthetic oil. Car has 110,000 miles and this is also the first time that I service the car out from the dealer.
Light turns on 30-60 seconds after I start the car. I want help in how to reset that warning.

[Gilly]

what year car?

[JRB]

Car is 1995, with zero mechanical problems since new.

[LUVMBDiesels]

How is the oil level? Maybe you are a quart or two low. You can't trust these guys!

[JRB]

Oil level is ok. Light turned on at Meineke store as soon as they changed the oil, but they know nothing about Mercedes ( too late to know this). Is the sender inside the oil pan? or can it be tested from outside? Is this a dealer job?

[Hatterasguy]

I don't see how this is there fault. The sender is a float inside the oil pan, and if its going to fail its going to fail. You can either wait until your next oil change to replace it or drain the oil and change it now.

[JRB]

Thank you for your answer. Now I understand that it was not their fault, since there is no way to break the sender from outside when you do the oil change. Do you know where is the wire connector located in the engine?, probably I can disconnect it and turn off the light.

[Hatterasguy]

I'm not that familer with the M119 but the sender is in the oil pan somewhere, you will see a wire going to it. On my 603 its on the drivers side looking up.

[bobs]

On the M119, it's on the passenger side (LHD car) near the front of the engine, stuck through the side of the block just below the level of the crankshaft. It's right next to the oil pressure sender.

I'm told that you have to drop the oil pan out of the car to change it. That could entail a bit of work because on some cars (like my S420) you have to hoist the front of the engine a bit to get at the front three oil pan screws. Since you already have the motor lifted-up, you might as well do motor mounts too!

[platt-deutsch]

Dont Know the 119 but is it possible that they stuck a suction hose down the inside of the dipstick tube to suck the oil out and hit the float? I suck mine out thru the dipstick but with a adapter on the top end of the tube and dont insert anything into the tube.

[manny]

How do you get [B][/B]all the oil out by this method?
Any dipstick tube I've ever seen does not get anywhere near the bottom of an oilpan.

[platt-deutsch]

Once after I sucked the oil out I took out the drain plug and I dont think there was more than a cup of oil left in it..
I think most Mercedes shops use the suction method..or so I have been told..

[manny]

Yes, all M-B shops use the suction method, but they also feed the suctiontube to the bottom of the oilpan.
I would not be happy with a " cupfull " of dirty oil remaining in the pan.

[JRB]

Mercedes makes great cars, but hard to Do By Yourself or be serviced at franchise stores. I will try to live with that light on.

[manny]

Originally Posted by JRB

Mercedes makes great cars, but hard to Do By Yourself

Mercedes does not make any " Do it yourself " cars.
Least of all S 500's.
Have you ever seen the Honda slogan " Don't open your hood to strangers "?
The Mercedes slogan would be " Don't open your wallet to strangers ".