Ty

Are any of you running Castrol 20w-50 oil? Since my oil change my oil level light has started to come on. I should mention the I didn't have any Mahle or Mobil 1 oil filters locally to use, so I had to use the STP S6941 oil filter. When I crank the car, the light goes off, but when I let it idle or rev the engine a little the light comes on and stays on. The oil level is full and I have checked all three connections.(two wires on pressure sender and the oil level sensor on oil pan, and wiggled the wiring coming from them to check to see if they're grounding out anywhere.) Does anyone think it may be related to the STP oil filter? I performed a search and it seems that some of us don't post if we have the problem corrected or not. I know I'm not a member but as a suggestion, does anyone think we should have or start a "Problems Solved" link like the FAQ. This would save most of us tons of time by doing searches and then having to read them all or most of them, only to find that some of the fixed problems were not posted or shared, on what they did to correct the problem.

Ty

Porschefile

I'm using Castrol (GTX I believe) 20w50 AND that STP oil filter coincidentally. I've never had a problem with either. I've been using that STP oil fiter for awhile, and have tried a Purolator and Wix oil filter as well. All 3 seem to work fine and I never experienced any issues with them. As long as you're not using one of those crappy Fram filters, you're good. I'd say you might have a problem in another area.

reno808

valveline 2050 racing oil is the best. Get that STP crap out of there!!!!!111111

bearone

turbo takes 7, na 6 with filter, you didn't say which and i'm assuming '87 or later for the lite.

87951

Ty

My bad.. I have an 88 944 turbo, not S. The oil on the stick is reading right on the top line but the light remains on. But right now that's the least of my worries. The %&%/! car just died on me in out of town and won't start. I had to pay $95 freakin dollars to have it towed just 25 miles (less than an hour's work) !!! Man am I in the wrong business! Now I have to figure out why. Could it possibly be uuhhhmmm... DME... sensors... vaccuum..., this car ticks me off so bad, but I love it when she's running. It's almost as if I'm in a relationship with a crackhead... she'll love you and do you right when things are going good. But when she needs a fix, you'll wake up and realize your wallet has been emptied!! What's a man to do?

SD Porsche Fan

I'm using Castrol 20-50. I order my Mahle filters from Paragon Products. Never had any problems.

http://www.paragon-products.com/

You can change the filter with out having to change the oil. It would be an easy way to rule it out.

bearone

the dme relay is a likely suspect, or a clogged fuel filter.

until you can confirm you've really got oil pressure with a wet line don't drive it.

i had a friend who saw the oil lite, checked the oil, it was full but wasn't aware the oil pump had sheared.

good luck.

87951

Ty

What do you mean the oil pump had sheared? Can you give me more in detail and what did he do to correct it?

chris951

I'm using castrol 20w50 anti-sludge with an stp filter and have never had a problem.

bearone

replaced the engine.

the oil pump wasn't pumping and destroyed the engine.

gmsracing

Don't drive your car until you figure this out!
It can be a whole bunch of things:

1. Bad gauge or sender unit.
2. Stuck oil pressure relief vavle.
3. Crank pully bolt isn't tight.
4. Bad oil pump/seal.
5. Cracked oil pick up tube. Or bad pick up tube seal.

I'm assuming the needle part of the gauge is @ 0 when the light is on, but it sounds like the gauge/sender is messed up because the light should be ON when you just turn the key to do the light/gauge check. If it is off, then it turns on, something doesn't sound right. Varify oil pressure w/ a mechanical pressure gauge. If you take out the DME relay you can crank the car w/o starting it. You should be able to build pressure after a second or two. If not, then something is really wrong!

If those systems check out then I would check your crank pully bolt next.

Ty

I appologize for not replying sooner, I just got back in town.

Both lights (one at the bottom of the oil pressure gauge and the other on the left lower which says engine oil) come on when I first crank the engine, and then go off. After about 1 minute the lower left "low engine oil" light comes back on as if I'm a quart or two low. The oil pressure guage is not the one I'm having trouble with because it shows a solid 4 or 5 most of the time and the light at the bottom goes off as it is suppose to.

Thanks for all the replies! Does anyone have any other suggestions?

R.B.

Do an oil change, use a different oil (Valvoline 20W50) and use the Porsche filter. See if it still happens. I used Valvoline since I owned my car (5 years). I did one oil change using Castrol and I always use the Porsche filters, and I saw the oil light come on a couple of times at start up. I switched back and have never seen it again. I also change my oil every 2000km- 3000km.

Note: I have around 340 000km on my car too.

HTH
R.B.

Dal Heger

You just have a low oil level. No worries about pressure. Just add 1/2 a quart. It'll go off. There is an oil level float in the oil pan. It registers when the oil level is 1/2 quart low and turns on that little oil level light. It only "measures" the oil level for a few seconds after it starts, then it either lights that little light, or not. It won't check again until the next start up.

Dal.

VWaddict

In post 1 he says that the oil level is full.

I'm speaking from experience,having lost an engine on a race car (brand new engine, 600 miles from manufacture) when an oil pickup tube got blocked, I consider it may be VERY dangerous to just dismiss ANY lubrication warning lights, even -or specialy- when the oil level is demonstrably full.

On VWs I've usually replaced the sender switch (or one of a pair of switches), as these tend to fail. However, I DON'T drive the car until it goes away. Either the pressure sender switch is bad, or you have low oil pressure. If the gauge sits low, you probably have low pressure. If you just add oil and ignore the warking light, you just didi the equivalent of betting the cost of a new engine on a single number in Roulette. You may be right... you'd better be ready to take your lumps if you're wrong.

If the warning light is fed by a different sender unit from the unit which sends to the gauge (as in my VW) then you have TWO sensors telling you that the pressure is low. If your dipstick says full, fix the problem.

Keith