Oil Light Flashing... I couldn't find any threads.

[vdub00]

So my oil light started flashing, which i assume means that i was low on oil. so i bought a couple quarts of the mobil 1 euro spec and put it in my engine. this was around 230pm today.

I went back to work, worked til 7 and then come back out and got in my car. no issues. i go to take back something to best buy and on the way my oil light starts flashing, but only when i'm driving seems that below 1000 rpms the light goes away. still other than that nothing wrong. Come back out and get in my car, the light starts flashing when i start driving again, and figure best to get home.

While i'm pulling next to other cars on the way home, i hear what sounds like a turbo diesel driving next to me, but it appears to be my car not the other car. so i pull over, the light goes off, and i leave my car running and pop the hood. Its kinda loud. literally sounds like a diesel or something, and maybe a belt? i cant really tell, ill post a video later to try and see if anyone has heard this before. but basically it seems like now my turbo isn't running. i have next to no boost if any and the thing seems like its puttering.

does anyone have any clue about this? im seriously starting to loose my mind.

[vdub00]

is it possible the oil from Autozone messed something up?

Also i had a shop flush and bleed my brakes just this morning. doubt it had anything to do with it, but just fyi.

thanks again to everyone for your awesome support and helpful nature. this is my go-to place when i have a nB issue.

[Smileybug]

Did you check your oil level before you added? The oil light is for oil pressure, not level, btw.

[vdub00]

would all of those things happen due to too much oil?

and thus that would mean too high of oil pressure, right?

[VDubYah]

Too much is not good either. The crank "weights" can make it frothy as the beat it in the pan if the level is to high. Did you check the level before you added the oil or just go by the light? If the oil pump is going bad or the pick up is becoming clogged it can make the pressure low.

[vdub00]

just went and checked and i am over on my oil by a bit, like half inch, i stupidly didn't check cause i assumed a flashing light for oil was like a flashing light for radiator and i needed more oil. damnit. ok i can get that fixed in the morning, ill go get an oil change and get them to dump it all out. second problem though is that noise the engine is making and the turbo seems like its not giving boost because it really doesn't pull at all right now.

think lowering the oil pressure will fix that?

[vdub00]

with those noises, and the lack of power should i be driving it? cause i have no other way of getting it to the jiffylube.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

You can't lower the oil pressure, nor do you need to.

According to the Bentley, overfilling can cause damage to the catalytic converter. It also states that overfilling can also cause misfire DTCs to be stored in the ECM.

Most likely, at this point you have not done any damage by over filling the oil, but more likely you have done damage to the turbo-charger (and possibly the engine) by running at high RPMs without significant oil pressure. Driving with the light flashing, would be doing this. Below 1000 rpm you had adequate pressure, above that you did not.

Have no clue what a half inch on the dipstick could indicate as to how much oil is actually in the engine. Kind of a moot point until you can determine what has caused the low oil pressure, and what damage you have done. Sorry to be the bearer of such news.

The light would not have been on if the oil pressure was up, or would have gone out if the low oil pressure was being caused by low oil level, but obviously it wasn't. From what I've read about the need for the turbo to run cool, and this is primarily accomplished with the oil, I'm betting the Turbo is history.

Postscript, No, DO NOT DRIVE IT, and besides Jiffylube ain't going to be able to help you!

MORAV

[vdub00]

right but i figure an oil change at least will get the oil pressure levels corrects. also i never went high on the rpms, not about 4 at the most, if that. 2.5 to 3.0 is where i keep it almost religiously. could that be enough to trash it?

"Have no clue what a half inch on the dipstick could indicate as to how much oil is actually in the engine. Kind of a moot point until you can determine what has caused the low oil pressure, and what damage you have done. Sorry to be the bearer of such news."
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i have too much oil, wouldn't that equate to high oil pressure, as opposed to low?


$50 for an oil change to at least remove that from the equation and possibly correct the issue seems worth it, they will be able to see if there is metal in the oil which would mean something blew right?

i see it as the first step, as you said obvioulsy a blown turbo is not going to be fixed at JiffyLube. but at least ill know where i stand. keeping it low on the rpms seems the only option to get to jiffy lube for my situation, if its blown, then not driving it wont fix it right? and cant the engine still function without the turbo, i will just experience horrible performance, or is it going to melt other things?


thanks for the help btw

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Originally Posted by vdub00

right but i figure an oil change at least will get the oil pressure levels corrects. also i never went high on the rpms, not about 4 at the most, if that. 2.5 to 3.0 is where i keep it almost religiously. could that be enough to trash it?

"Have no clue what a half inch on the dipstick could indicate as to how much oil is actually in the engine. Kind of a moot point until you can determine what has caused the low oil pressure, and what damage you have done. Sorry to be the bearer of such news."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
i have too much oil, wouldn't that equate to high oil pressure, as opposed to low?


$50 for an oil change to at least remove that from the equation and possibly correct the issue seems worth it, they will be able to see if there is metal in the oil which would mean something blew right?

i see it as the first step, as you said obvioulsy a blown turbo is not going to be fixed at JiffyLube. but at least ill know where i stand. keeping it low on the rpms seems the only option to get to jiffy lube for my situation, if its blown, then not driving it wont fix it right? and cant the engine still function without the turbo, i will just experience horrible performance, or is it going to melt other things?


thanks for the help btw

Not trying to be a smart ass, really. The oil level has little to do with oil pressure. Oil pressure is created by the oil pump. Very low oil level (like down 3 qts or more) could cause the pressure to drop, but since you had NO or VERY LOW oil pressure, with aparently almost the correct amount of oil, you have an oil pressure problem. Google "low oil pressure causes" and you can read a lot more about this and the possible causes. Blocked oil pick-up, clogged screen, failed oil pump, plugged oil filter, etc, You can probably drive it to Jiffylube, on surface streets, since apparently you are getting some oil flow, but keep the rpm low, below where the turbo kicks in, but I promise, this is not going to fix your problem.

Remember, you had a flashing light before you added the oil, and if you were only down a quart, I don't think you would have had a oil pressure light.

There are a couple active Orgers up your way who can probably hook you up with an Independent Bug Shop, that can at least look at it, and give you a preliminary diagnosis of what damage may have been done.

I'm have very little knowledge of turbos, but I'm guessing tany trubo damage is not going to show up in the oil.

M.

[vdub00]

oh i didn't think you were trying to be a smart ass. i really am just worried and wanting as much info on this as possible.

the main issue is that the red flashing light would happen very infrequently so that is why i assumed it meant low on oil, but as it turns out i wasn't cause im way over now after dropping oil into it yesterday.

but it sounds like you're saying that it doesn't matter how much oil i had in there.

so could this just be coincidence that i put too much oil in it today and then it does this?

i also yesterday morning had a shop flush the and bleed the brakes, but it seems like unless they did something else and checked the other systems or topped off oil (which they would have charged me for) i would have grounds for them to make the repairs would i?

off to at least get the oil replaced, filter replaced, maybe that is where the clog is.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

How many miles on the oil filter? Can't imagine the shop that did the work you are talking about could have done anything to cause what you have described. Perhaps what you are describing is NOT oil pressure failure or turbo related if you have been getting this flashing low oil pressure light for a while, this is the first you mentioned that.

Good luck, keep us posted!

M.

[vdub00]

Just got back. Engine sounds brand new, oil pressure light is gone, didn't come up at all while driving back. Had them oil change and clean the system, there was sludge on the cap.

now the only thing i notice is the lack of power and sort of a whaaaaa sound when im trying to accelerate with some authority.

Guess that means the turbo went.

So next question, might be a while before i can afford to replace the turbo, like 2-3 months unless i have a winfall. i drive very limited amounts, about 4 miles to work and 4 miles back, all city driving.

is it going to cause further damage to other parts if the turbo is toast and i drive it? cause at this point the engine sounds great minus the turbo possibly not working.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

I am now at a total loss. All the noise it was making yesterday is gone? No low oil pressure light? I have to believe at this point hat it might have been the oil filter reducing the pressure. You should probably have snagged the filter and opened it up to see if it had collapsed, or was plugged up. Any idea how many miles were on the filter? What did the oil look like that came out? Contaminents? Had you been running spec oil before the oil change?

As to continuing to drive it - ???

Glad your mobile, at least for now.

M.

[vdub00]

The guys said there was sludge, and didnt make mention of anything in the oil or the filter. The engine sounds as good if not better than it did last week or ever a year ago. but i still have power loss which i assume means the turbo is damaged. im about to go outside and take a look under the car and see if i spot any oil on the ground, but other than that i have no clue about driving it in this shape. i can have my brother get me to and from work today so that is my plan for today, but it seems fine other than that lack of power.

I guess i should make sure it doesn't go above 2500-3000 rpms cause isn't that when the turbo kicks in? if i basically have it bypassed while driving it should limit the possibilities/risk of it causing any damage.

at least logically it seems that way.

also were probably less than 4500 miles on it with the full synthetic oil. (under presumption that 5k is the interval change for synthetic... right?)

[vdub00]

Has anyone else had this happen? and should i treat this like cancer or more a bum leg? stay off it as much as possible and only use it when absolutely necessary?

i can drive 30-45 mph the whole way to work which is like 4 miles or less from my house, so 8 miles round-trip.

[MyOtherRidesAVette]

Just read this thread and thought it was interesting and might relate. See the post from Fl_bug toward the end.
My car hesitates on the freeway... what could it be?

M.

[vdub00]

i saw that, and thank you, that makes a lot of sense.

Also i went to autozone this morning, and they ran the codes, only thing i had is the always vexing PL1424 secondary air injection junk I've been trying to fix since I bought the car.

I drove it to work today, about 3-4 miles max in like 55mph max traffic, it drove fine, just noticed that no boost seems to be kicking in and when at slow speeds i could hear the "WHAAAAAAAAA" like it was sucking air or trying to suck air at around 2.5 -3k rpms.

Got an appointment at Austin VeeDub on Tuesday morning.

guess ill find out more then.

[Smileybug]

17832/P1424/005156 - Secondary Air Injection System; Bank 1: Leak Detected
Possible Symptoms

* Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) active

Possible Causes

* Piping between Secondary Air Injection Pump and Secondary Air Injection Valve leaking

Possible Solutions

* Check Piping between Secondary Air Injection Pump and Secondary Air Injection Valve

Code actually seems to point to just one place so I'd look into that piping.

[vdub00]

i just replaced those hoses, which means that it must be the air box, that connection from that hose is a bit weak. which matches with what i figured the issue is. i need to get a new top for sure, maybe a new bottom as well.

thanks for the info on that Smiley.