[Mk2] [NA] Oil light / pressure sensor?

[Ozmondo]

First of all, hello to everybody, i have just bought my first MR2 yesterday and i am loving it at the moment, but tonight starts one of possibly many questions i will ask, lol.

When starting from cold there are no lights on dash.

once warmed up to temp however, the oil light comes on.

i drove from newcastle to wales yesterday while this light was on as GTSCHRIS told me it was a common fault? there is plenty of oil there and no signs of any leaks etc so im not worried too much but i dont really want to ignore that light forever as it could be very costly. also seems strange that it only appears once car is upto temp?

does anyone have any thoughts? any help appreciated thanks

EDIT:forgot to add that it has had a oil pressure switch replaced at 45,000 in the past. and mileage is on 94,000 now.

Joe

[HighwayStar]

Got to say there is nothing usual about having the oil pressure light on after even 5 seconds let alone once the car is to temperature. Nor is it at all normal to have no dash lights... something definately wrong there.

R.

PS Just noticed this is your first post.... sorry to sound negative and I hope it transpires to be nothing serious (are they all through the same fuse?). Welcome to the site and MR ownership... it's a lot of fun (mostly!)

[Ozmondo]

cheers

sorry may have incorrectly worded the original post.

its the Low Engine Oil Level Warning Light that comes on after the car has been warmed up to temp. even though oil level is spot on with the dipstick?

and what i mean by starting is when on idle after just having fired up the engine,

[Si_Crewe]

I think Highwaystar was refering to your comment about no lights coming on.

When you turn the key ALL the warning lights should come on. They should then all go off, except for the oil pressure light.
When you start the car the oil pressure light should go off.

If you're talking about the oil LEVEL warning light, and you've manually checked the oil with the dipstick then it almost certainly is a dodgy sensor.
If the oil PRESSURE warning light comes on you should probably start to be very afraid.

Must admit, I've never had the oil level warning light come on in my car.
I wasn't even aware the car had one until I read the manual.

[GDWMR2]

I have the same problem on our car - for us, the oil level sensor (a float type thing, found on the sump pan on the drivers side) is knacked. I checked, and it's a ball ache of a job to fix, AND expensive ... there is even an ECU just for the oil level sensor!
Have a look underneath, and see what you find - I'd originally thought about shorting the connector out, but having the light on constantly (after the 30secs of warm-up) isn't a bad thing ...

[toxo]

Much more likely to be the oil level sender rather than oil pressure! N/A's have both but turbo's only have the pressure switch that screws into the side of the head. Is the light red or orange/yellow?

And yes, most of your dash lights should come on when you click the ignition on, but go out after a few seconds of the engine running. This includes the power steering light, no charging light, engine fault light, etc. If they aren't then you need to get the instrument cluster out and replace the bulbs!

[TheBaker]

Mine has had the same issue since I got it, I got the level/sender switch when I got the car to fit but no one could find where it went, So I bought another one and it was the exact same thing, expecting another type of plug.

I had an RC leak but even after that it still comes on, after 5 seconds or so, even though the oil level is full. I wouldn't worry.

I did recently find this site though which has a guide to the location of it, maybe just replace it. They're only 6 quid or so off camskill.

http://stephenmason.com/cars/mr2misc.html

[Ozmondo]

Thanks for all the replys guys. looks like its the oil LEVEL sensor then not pressure which was a relief until i found out the price of a replacement..

I have the same problem on our car - for us, the oil level sensor (a float type thing, found on the sump pan on the drivers side) is knacked. I checked, and it's a ball ache of a job to fix, AND expensive ... there is even an ECU just for the oil level sensor!
Have a look underneath, and see what you find - I'd originally thought about shorting the connector out, but having the light on constantly (after the 30secs of warm-up) isn't a bad thing ...

yeah over £200 from a toyota dealer!

Much more likely to be the oil level sender rather than oil pressure! N/A's have both but turbo's only have the pressure switch that screws into the side of the head. Is the light red or orange/yellow?

And yes, most of your dash lights should come on when you click the ignition on, but go out after a few seconds of the engine running. This includes the power steering light, no charging light, engine fault light, etc. If they aren't then you need to get the instrument cluster out and replace the bulbs!

the light is orange/yellow, what i am concerned about is the fact it just comes on after the car has been warmed up

[GDWMR2]

My guess is that because the oil level sender runs through its own ECU, there is software code in there which has a time delay (to allow the oil to settle during initial running) - our car shows the light on ignition/key first click, you start the car and the light goes out, then after maybe a minute the light comes on (because it is not getting the 'level is good' signal it is looking for, due to the sensor being in error/faulty/broken).
So long as you keep a check on dipstick oil level you'll be ok, it's just a ball ache to see the light all the time.