intermittent oil light

[CHRIS_MC]

whats the likey cause of an intermittent oil warning light coming on?.......it seems pretty random, just be driving along when it buzzes on & scares the sh!t out of me, the oil level is fine (i topped it up so much so that i think i put too much in) the oil is burning off slightly, its certainly not leaking so its not a lack of oil, when it happens i have to pull over straight away because it feels like im doing the car damage...... it occurs usually after about 15 minutes of operation......im convinced its e dodgy connection behind the clocks or sumthing, got to be electrical surely?

[dabill]

this question gets asked alot... try some searching on this section, should come up trumps hopefully.

in the mean time, dont just assume its an electrical fault.

check all the connections under the bonnet (im gonna presume you have a 8v digi) one pressure sendor on the oil cooler, one on the right hand side of the head... if they look at all dodgey, change the connectors. failing that, check the wires for breaks etc...

if that doesnt solve anything, you can do one of two things... change the suspect pressure sensor (think its the high pressure one which is on the oil cooler(if i remember rightly) that sets the buzzer off. only get these from a  main dealer though as the Euro-car-parts and GSF ones are pants apparantly. not majorly expensive...

or, if i were you i'd have the engine pressure tested, make sure it isnt building up too much pressure or not enough, and this way you will know if its anything major, or just a simple case of a dodgy connector.
if it is building up too much pressure then this can cause serious damage to the engine, and you wont want to be driving it until its sorted! so get it to a good VAG garage and they will advise on the best course of action...

hope this helps some...

Rob

[Conker]

It might be a complete fluke, but one guy on another thread reckoned he solved this by dropping the sump off and cleaning out loads of gunk that had settled in it, I think he also cleaned the oil sprayer pipe that goes to the top of th engine IIRC. So in other words a really good oil flush.

My light flashes briefly if the idle has a hissy fit and starts hunting up and down - I guess its almost stalling the engine, hence the drop in pressure.

[dabill]

yeah forgot to mention about the oil pick up, if it does turn out to be engine pressure and not just an electrical problem, an extreamly common cause is that the oil pick-up, which is located inside the sump can become clogged with bots of crap that circulate around the engine... it might be worth dropping the sump off and checking this either way, i did and mine was fine, so i just replaced the pump and its never buzzed after...

but like a say in my first post, do this followed by a really good engine flush... to make sure its all out and clean...

all you'll need is a new sump gasket and about 2 hours if you take your time...

good luck!