Oil pressure light, technical help needed!

[liam1610]

Rite will start from beginning, i have a 182, Last month if not the month before i had a random oil light flick up, it came on twice going to work, it flicks up with the stop and the oil pressure light on. When this happened, i checked the oil level it was fine so was the wiring so suspected a switch. I never replaced the switch due to the fact that when i re-started the car the light was out and has been out ever since, that was until this morning.

Now this morning i was again on route to work, the car hadn't been driven for 2 days which was firstly unusual as it a daily driver. The light came on again twice and it was only once the car was warm, now i first noticed it when i was coming up to stop at a roundabout so this meant i had my foot off the accelerator and idle was low, it done this twice so again as soon as i got to work i checked oil level, again all ok and i checked wiring, i would also like to mention the car was dry and no signs of water anywhere. Anyway i have started the vehicle and driven the car back home and again all ok and no lights come on.

So my question is as this is an intermittent issue, is it worth just sticking a oil pressure sensor in and seeing how it goes? Do these Clio's suffer with any oil pump failures? There is no strange noises coming from the engine bay when this happens. I have yet to test the oil pressure, is it worth me checking and if so can someone let me know what kind of figure im looking for.

Thank in advance for any help

Liam

 

[MicKPM]

Probably going to be the switch at the end of the day but for what it's worth, I'd stick an oil pressure tester in to actually measure it to confirm/deny it being to spec.

I say this because whilst the oil pressure switches are fairly common at age and the pumps aren't. one common problem I've seen a few times is caused by people that reseal a leaky sump with silicone. It spills over the joint and eventually breaks off and into the sump area and as it's not soluble in oil finds its way to the pickup and blocks it... This reducing the surface area and lowers the oil pressure

 

[JBC27]

Quick question related to this. Does the oil pump work harder the faster you go or does it work at a constant rate regardless of speed?

Reason I ask is mine has started coming on again after a few months of no probs but it only comes on when I accelerate over 70 or thereabouts. Never when driving around town etc.

 

[Struggler]

sorry to dig this up but im having a similar issue so i thought id post rather than make a new thread!! My oil pressure light came on today for no reason and has stayed on.

My clio is never driven and run every couple of days just to move it really, last time it drove was in december when it was fine even when idling warm.

1. JBC27 they work off the crank shaft so the higher the revs, the faster itll spin!!

2. which one is the sender?? is it the one half way up the block on the front of the engine??

3. if i use an oil pressure tester, what kind of pressure am i looking for when cold idling??

 

[MicKPM]

Book figure is 3Bar@3k rpm with the oil temp at 80 deg C iirc so a cold start you'd expect it to be higher until the oil warms/thins.

 

[Struggler]

Is there any figure in the book about when the warning light should be triggered??

 

[MicKPM]

I don't have access to any of my literature right now as I try not to live at work. It depends on the colour of the sensor but again, i believe its around 0.5Bar on the F4R

 

[Struggler]

thanks dude!! sorry for the questions at this hour!!

would i know if the pump has gone?? ie rattly engine, bang as the chain snaps etc?!

because its gone from no light on warm ilde, to light on cold at 3k, which implies somethings gone suddenly rather than a gradual demise!! lol

 

[MicKPM]

Engine noise will change and it will be very tappy but there's no law that says a broken drive chain will make a rattle or a bang.

Firstly confirm you have oil in the engine. Secondly, have a mechanical oil pressure test done to rule out a pump vs sensor fault. My money is on either the sensor or the wire to it being at fault but we do still see the occasional F4R that's got low pressure as the strainer in the pump is blocked with silicone.

 

[Struggler]

i checked there was oil in the car as soon as it came on, and theres plenty!!

however i went out today to check that the issue was still there, but the oil light now turns off when the car is started...

But the stop light still remains?! any suggestions??

 

[Struggler]

i consulted my little handbook and it says that the STOP light should come on with either handbrake/ABS/Oil/temp......

so why is mine on without any other light on?!

 

[MicKPM]

Proberbly because there's been a serious fault raised and even though the sensor is working again the code still remains. The car wants checking over to be sure everything is right.

 

[Struggler]

how annoying!! ill have to try and borrow a code reader as my car is driveway ridden for the next few months at least!! lol