Engine Seizure Help

goldspanners

anewman wrote: »

Yes you will find oil will be well below the bottom of the dipstick, never mind the lowest mark on the dipstick, before the oil light comes on. I have read somewhere some cars do have an oil level warning, think it was a porsche or something?

A lot of cars these days have a little digital bar that is displayed upon turning on ignition,this is an oil level check,mostly french stuff that has it,girlfriends 206 has it,my last van had it (renault). it is not oil pressure just quantity,the ford focus does not have this.the ford focus has a red oil light,this means low oil pressure (dangerous)
i stil dont think the digital dashboard oil level checks are great,i personally never trust them and would always prefer to see it with my own eyes on the dip stick.

goldspanners

ive got a merc vito and i had the oil light come on, on it,stopped immeditaly and checked the oil,none to be found,filled it up with almost a gallon of oil,been ok,no engine trouble.
im sure if i ignored it i would be in a similar situation to the O.P.

anewman

Do these oil pressure lights normally come on when the key is turned to start the car? My brake fluid level warning and battery ones come on then go out but not oil pressure. I have tested the bulb and swapped the instrument panel due to another issue and it never seems to come on.

steveo3002

i think thats half the trouble...anyone not into cars thinks the pressure warning light simnply means top it up next time you can be bothered

the amount of people i hear saying ohh the oil light came on i must get some up lol...

djheath

steveo3002 wrote: »

i think thats half the trouble...anyone not into cars thinks the pressure warning light simnply means top it up next time you can be bothered

the amount of people i hear saying ohh the oil light came on i must get some up lol...

Thats very true. My aunt phoned me one day saying the light had come on. I said does it have any oil in it? She checked and was shocked to find that it didn't, she thought all cars were sealed systems where the oil stays in the car for life!! I dont know where people get these ideas from!

If you have a oil level indicator - not all cars do - then this will only display an accurate figure when the car has not been driven for about 10 minutes, its sitting on a level surface and the engine isn't running! As soon as the engine is running oil is being pumped around the engine so it will not be showing the correct level.

Oil warning lights, as discussed are oil pressure switches. No pressure means you have no oil, which means STOP! The engine could seize at any minute.

moonrakerz

It is amazing the number of people that don't RTFB !!!

anewman

moonrakerz wrote: »

It is amazing the number of people that don't RTFB !!!

It's also amazing how many second hand cars are sold without the manual. Have to wonder what the original owner did with it.

harveybobbles

Regardless of handbooks - treat warning lights as erm, well traffic lights. When they are red, stop...! Duh!

Crabman

anewman wrote: »

Do these oil pressure lights normally come on when the key is turned to start the car? My brake fluid level warning and battery ones come on then go out but not oil pressure. I have tested the bulb and swapped the instrument panel due to another issue and it never seems to come on.

Mine comes on then goes out about 1 sec after the engine starts... has the light ever worked? If not, how'd you know if the pressure drops :eek:

anewman

Crabman wrote: »

Mine comes on then goes out about 1 sec after the engine starts... has the light ever worked? If not, how'd you know if the pressure drops :eek:

Never seen it light up once. I guess I could try testing by joining the two wires on the pressure switch to see if it brings the light on.