PROBLEM: Red oil light ontop of the speedometer

[MightyMouse04]

Hey Guys,

Today I was driving and noticed that a red oil light on top of the cluster came on, the problem is that it goes off when I step on the gas and comes back on when I brake, what could be causing this? And what does the light mean?

[Tigerbait]

it means pull over and check your oil!!!

[GunnerNell]

Doh!

[pureco99]

oil is either SUPER low or your oil pump could be toast.

[Junaid]

my guess oil pump, good luck

did you check your oil?

[Phillips0417]

DON'T DRIVE YOUR CAR EXTENSIVELY OR HARD!!

The RED oil light means your oil pressure is low and the yellow/orange oil light means your oil level is low.

[Mstearnsy]

Don't drive your car AT ALL, not simply not hard, with the red oil light on. Unless you want us to give you advice for your new thread "blew my motor, should I swap in an M3 motor or rebuild mine?". And the answer to that is rebuild and turbo...

[RomanTaylor]

Don't drive your car AT ALL, not simply not hard, with the red oil light on. Unless you want us to give you advice for your new thread "blew my motor, should I swap in an M3 motor or rebuild mine?". And the answer to that is rebuild and turbo...

lol ^

"My oil light came on, what does that suppose to mean?" Duuhh

[slvrXI]

Either Oil pressure sender is bad, or oil pump. Tow it to the shop ASAP.

[AC330Ci]

Check the simplest first. That is oil level. Since the light is only coming on sparatically and if you have not been driving a lot while this condition exists. Then it is usually not a big issue. Just top up the oil and you should be fine. Don't go looking for complicated causes until oil level is checked.

The other causes (if oil level is ok) will require a bit more trouble shooting skills and tools to figure out. If you don't have any of these, it is best left to a professional.

[SilverBeam]

tomorrow's thread: OMG my car stopped working, BMW's are POS.

Read the damn manual and turn off the car when a light comes on that you don't know.

[Pswirley]

OP,

Auto-x as soon as possible. Post results.

[RomanTaylor]

DO IT YOURSELF:

INTRO: If you have trouble starting your car with house keys and reading manual, here is quick and easy DIY just for you.

Materials:
Gas (yes you will have to use premium for BMW)
Lighter

Steps:
Pour the gasoline all over your car starting from the roof and light the whole F. thing up. (how to use lighter) Note: You might want to wear a helmet for your safety.

Conclusion: Did I mention that it's recommended to have insurance on your car and everything around?

Before:

After:

[slvrXI]

Check the simplest first. That is oil level. Since the light is only coming on sparatically and if you have not been driving a lot while this condition exists. Then it is usually not a big issue. Just top up the oil and you should be fine. Don't go looking for complicated causes until oil level is checked.

The other causes (if oil level is ok) will require a bit more trouble shooting skills and tools to figure out. If you don't have any of these, it is best left to a professional.

ummmm.... red means turn your car off, so please don't tell him its not a big issue. He states that when he is accelerating the light turns off (because when the engine runs higher rpms, the oil pump will rotate a lot faster) I'm sure there is some kind of pressure regulator for the pump that allows oil to bleed out at high rpms, and oil to build up at idle. This is probably where the issue is.

You are thinking of the yellow oil light which is simply a level switch in the bottom of the oil pan, that tells you when you get below a quart low. Even with the oil low, he can still build proper oil pressure. There for he would see the yellow light far before he saw the red light.

The advice to end this thread...

Get the car towed to your trusted shop, or the dealer if you dont trust anyone. It very well could be the pressure sensor for the oil. On other cars they are known to bleed pressure by, giving a false reading saying you have low pressure. Non the less it could be something serious like your oil pump. Please tow it to a shop and have it checked out. Unless you are looking to spend thousands on a new/rebuilt engine.

Good luck, hope no further damage occurs.

Before:

After:

No you didn't, you would kill yourself before you destroyed that car.

Besides, that car was cut up...

OP,

Auto-x as soon as possible. Post results.

haha what results.

[phathom]

I would do an oil change as soon as possible. I had this problem (low pressure, and slight power loss) on my vw. Turns out the oil hadn't been changed in forever before I got the car. My dad (a mechanic) thought first thing, it's probably the oil pump. Well I changed the oil and it resolved everything, never had that problem again with regular chages. So just change your oil and filter and report back. It's the cheapest solution and it probably needs to be done anyway.

[02325]

if you are using an aftermarket filter than the filter may have come apart and is covering the port for th eoil sensor. I have seen this a quite a few times.

first thing first, is check oil level. if full change it. see what it does after a change.