GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk2 => Topic started by: illumin on 08 December 2005, 20:28
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My oil light has decided to start flashing again today along with the car running a bit rougher than usual (not sure if the two things are connected).
For those that didn't read my last post about this, basically my oil light started flashing after an oil change - turned out that the car has been running for a long time with 3 litres of oil in it rather than 4. This was due to a previous owner not spending £1.68 at the dealership for a dipstick guide and instead using a bit of hosepipe........ :evil: :evil:
Had a few days with no light, oil temp around the 96 degrees mark but car running gradually worse. Keeps trying to stall on the downrevs - oil light seems to coincide with that........ :huh:
Is the engine just dying a slow death due to prolonged lack of oil and being thrashed about a bit?(Btw it now has the correct amount of oil in it!)
Could it be electrical? My dash clocks (Motometer) did go haywire for a while a couple of months ago, changing the earth straps seemed to sort out the problem, but can't help thinking they are still not right. The MFA mpg meter is also screwy at the moment - says I'm doing about 9mpg! Could the two things be connected?
Tbh, getting fed up with the car - it's one thing after another, thought VWs were supposed to reliable??? :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Any ideas gladly received.....................
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Had my vdub repaired this summer after a lengthy layoff and the MFA said she was doing 12 mpg? Didn't have a clue why, but she was running sh!te, stalling and sometimes smelt of petrol - This turned out the be the fuel presure regulator not working correctly and fuel was being dumped into the engine. When my mate dropped the oil it was thin as! Your's maybe a different problem but its worth investigating :undecided:
I finally got one off a Mk3 golf as it has the same pressure rating - 3 p.s.i I think.
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VWs are reliable, as long as they haven't had some complete muppet owner who would use a piece of hose as a dipstick guide tube, or in my case twist the starter motor live wires together & wrap bodge tape round it :rolleyes:
You're going to have to start diagnosing the problem logically, it may just be a coincidence. BTW, if the engine revs drop too low then the oil pump will also be spinning more slowly so I'd imagine you would loose oil pressure. First thing I'd do is check the 2 oil sensor boots for oil seepage, and the wiring for damage.
You also want replace all the vacuum tubing, not forgetting the one behind the throttle body which you can't get to without removing the inlet boot :) For the price of it you might as well replace the lot to save messing about! Next check the blanking plugs on the brake servo pipe for damage, and the inlet boot for cracks, particularly in the folds. Also replace the rubber bung that the black 'flying saucer' plugs into on top of the rocker cover, even if it 'looks' ok it may still have cracks around the lip on the base and give you a nice air leak.
Last of all make sure the oil filler cap is screwed on properly, sounds silly but its easy to do (whoopsy! :embarassed:)
Oh and check your oil level again, you might have a leak! I had a nice pinhole on the front of my sump which would only leak when the engine was up to temperature as the oil thinned down it could squeeze out the hole!
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Thanks for the replies - it is unbelievable how some people bodge repairs, especially in this case - he must have been a right cheap git! :grin:
Been to a couple of garages this morning, still none the wiser as they came up with completely different theories from changing the oil pump to it being a dash problem. :rolleyes:
Will have a check around for air leaks at the weekend see what I can find......Btw someone mentioned previously that the vacuum pipe that goes into the back of the dash clocks can affect the MFA mpg reading (my car is actually doing about 34mpg rather than the 9 that the MFA says). Apparently it goes through the bulkhead into the throttle body, but haven't been able to find it. There are a couple of pipes at the back of the throttle body that have been blocked off, not sure what they are. Does anybody have a diagram/picture of which pipe I should be looking for? :smiley:
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Why yes:
http://www.clubgti.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=94620
See the braided hose below the blue arrow? Thats the one that goes off to the dash clocks. If this is disconnected you'll get a nice vacuum leak :)
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iam havin exactly the same problem the horrible buzzin noise is gettin on
my nerves as well,i have changed the oil temp sensor,took the sump off and cleaned the strainer out and still no good.however my mfa is also giving funny readings out as well such as 99mpg!!
i think iam gunna try a diff set of clocks
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My clocks have always been a bit dodgy, thought I had fixed them by changing the earthstraps before.........
The oil light hasn't been on again for a couple of days so fingers crossed that's the end of the matter. If it does come on again, I'm gonna try flushing it before changing the oil and filter again. A local "VW specialist"(there are loads of em here in Northampton!) suggested changing the oil pump as it's "only" about 100 quid, but not rushing into that just yet...... :smiley:
Getting a different problem sorted out today - outer CV joint, wish my car would stop falling to bits!!! :evil:
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Spoke too soon!!!!!!!!!! :evil: Oil came on a couple times while out and about this morning bloody car!
Haven't checked for air leaks yet, but the oil light coming on seems to be definitely connected to the revs dropping too low. Basically, when depressing the clutch the revs drop right down, oil light flashes (although not every time), then the engine corrects itself and the revs come back up, oil light goes out............very strange :undecided: :undecided:
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If you sort your idle problem out then you may not get the oil light problem anymore.
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If you sort your idle problem out then you may not get the oil light problem anymore.
That's kinda what I have been thinking..........Would an air leak be the culprit, or specific parts like the ISV/temp sensor? :undecided:
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Im no expert with digifant 8v's im more of a 16v guy. But i belive there is a blue sensor which is always the 1st thing to check. Best just replace it as they are only cheap. Then go through the stepps for setting up the idle. I belive you do something like disconect the sensor cable then rev 3 times past 3k which makes the ecu go into setup mode, then you set the idle. Something like that anyway. Ask more questions and the 8v guys will be able to help you.
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all sounds abit strange dude????could well be the oil pump slowly waering out???my vacume of the clocks came off when i was putting my engine in,through pulling it mind you!lol my car didnt want to run at all cos of it.i pressure tested all my vacum pipes to make sure none wer5e cracked or splitt two of them were?????another thing that helped me to sort my car out!
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Mk2GTI2.016v is correct the blue temp sensor is for the ECU, and is worth replacing for the £10 or so it costs. The symptoms will be poor running from cold mostly. Once the car is hot the signal isn't used however, its only for 'choke'. If you get the car up to temp (oil temp over 80 degrees) and unplug the temp sensor The idle should sit about 800-900rpm, if it drops or rises significantly then you need to check the vacuum system & reset the idle & CO.
The ISV is responsible for controlling the revs when you dip the clutch mostly, stabilising the idle and smoothing out on/off throttle at low speeds. If when you rev the car the revs plummet then the ISV isn't functioning correctly, it should fall to about 2k then drop slowly. You'll also want to replace all the braided vacuum hoses, not forgetting the one behind the throttle body which you can't really get to without taking the inlet boot off. There are also some plastic blanking caps on the thick vacuum hose to the brake servo, make sure these arn't split. Next thing to check is the rubber bung in the rocker cover that the plastic 'flying saucer' plugs into, then take the inlet boot off & check in the folds for cracking. Then last of all while the inlet boot is off give the throttle body a damn good clean till its nice n shiny :)
Once you've got all this sorted out, reset the idle/CO:
1. Get the engine up to temp, at least 80 degrees on the MFA oil temp display
2. Turn the engine off and remove & plug the intake side of the breather pipe between the rocker cover & air intake
3. Hold the MFA button in and turn the ignition on, off and on again, then start the car. This puts the MFA into a 'secret' mode. Put the MFA switch to setting 2 and press the button till you get the digital rev counter, position 2 I think :)
4. Unplug the blue temp sender and rev the engine cleanly over 3k rpm 3 times, letting it return to idle between each rev.
5. Check the rev display, adjust the idle with the idle screw on the throttle body to about 850-900 rpm. Clockwise to decrease, anticlockwise to increase
6. If you have a CO meter, block off one of the talipipes (i use a load of duck tape) and shove the probe up the pipe. Follow the manufacturers instructions, and set the CO to about 1.8ish using the allen screw on the MAF, clockwise to increase, anticlockwise to decrease.
If you don't have a CO meter, turn the screw in until the engine starts to sound rough then back it out gradually till the idle sounds smooth & even. Check the aerial or bonnet stay for vibration, you want it smooth as possible. This will get you close, then take it to a garage to get it set properly :)
7. Reset the idle to 850-900 rpm if it has changed, and adjust the CO accordingly, repeat till you get about 1.8 at 850ish rpm :)
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What brand of oil did you use and what spec? Does the oil light start flashing when the oil temp increases? I had a similiar problem a while back, when the engine got up to temp the oil light came on, the oil thinned out and set off the low pressure sensor, think I used magnatec or sumfink silly...came out of the sump like water when I drained it..changed the oil and no probs since.