Oil Light Came On
 

hey guys i was driving to work this morning and everything was normal as it should be but i noticed as i got half way to work my oil light went on and my oil pressure gauge dropped to 0.

i stopped immediately and checked my oil levels which were still good but topped it up a little just to be safe hoping the light will go off after a while.

it's almost 9pm now and i just checked and the light is still on and the gauge still at 0. was wondering if it's still ok to drive tomorrow to work and to a mechanic or no and what do you guys think could be wrong?

thanks in advance!

Do you want to find out the expensive way that you could've got away with replacing an oil pump instead if an engine?

Not saying it is but why would you risk it?

so i shouldn't drive it is what your saying?

Do you have a gizmo (OBDII scanner or bluetooth OBD adapter with phone app?) that can read the code and reset the light? If so, read code and check what it points to. Then reset code/light and drive around the block to see if the light goes back on again. It may be that topping it up with oil did the trick temporarily and you might be able to make it to mechanic for further investigation. How far is said mechanic?

Disclaimer, based on what you told me, the above is what I would do. I kinda know the personality of my car. I am not a professional mechanic so please use my comments with your discretion.

Gadget looks like this
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Z1sAAO...XGV/s-l300.jpg

no i don't have either of that i'd have to go to a mechanic to get it done. and when i topped it up the light never went away..it just stayed on until now. this is my only means of transportation to and from work and things are a little tight right now so im kind of stressing out

What car you have? year and model? Some models have electronic oil level sensors, some old school ones have mechanical. With cold temperature we have.. it might just be the sensor. Also things doen't reset by time.. so just because it is 9PM, the sensor will not start working again.

You don't want to overfill the engine. Also I assumed you checked your undercarriage and sure there is no huge gash around your engine assembly. It can happen if you drive over some ice caked side roads. Also what oil have you been using?

If you are really worried, use BCAA (or Canadian Tire right now have half price on their gold & silver plans according to RFD) to get the car towed to your mechanic. Again depends on what kind of car you have, is it still on warranty etc? For most appliance cars, I don't think it matters much.

Also where is your mechanic? I mean if you live in Vancouver and your mechanic is in the valley.. vs just down the block makes a lot of difference.

If you park the car outside, with temperature we have been having I will wager it is just the sensor. Physical measure of oil level trumps electronic ones any day.

Yah, can you take pic of your dashboard and post? You mentioned that it was an 2011 Sentra (in pm), I googled images of the dash and can't see an oil gauge. Every dash has an oil light but oil gauge is rare in basic cars.

Get it looked at before driving further.

Best case: Faulty pressure sensor
Worst Case: Mechanical issue ie: Spun bearing, dead oil pump, etc

it's a 2011 sentra ser..the oil gauge would be in the center on top of of the radio unit beside the (useless) gforce gauge
two gauge clusters in center (not my car in pic)
http://media.automanager.com/wmphoto...9c4291_640.jpg

Take it to a mechanic, since it sounds like you don't know much about cars. Let them figure it out. To me it probably comes down to a loose connection due to the weather.

Question next is how you take it in.. tow or drive.

Next time, don't top up the oil immediately after you had turned off your car.. the level will likely not be accurate, because most oil will not be in the pan.

get it towed to a shop in the morning and have them diagnose it. armchair mechanics will sit here all night spouting off this that and the other thing. if you're trying to be el cheapo supremo and avoid getting it towed and then having it fixed, think about how much more expensive it'll be to replace the engine, not have a car to get to work in for a few days, etc. etc.

nom' sayin?

Yah, to be on the safe side, since your oil gauge is pointing to 0, I'd get it towed. By chance, do you have Roadstar? If so, I believe you can get a tow reimbursed.

thanks for the advice guys..taking it to a shop just up the block from me tomorrow morning

Sounds like you have a car that had been drinking oil and needed topping up once in a while if you have oil readily available to top up while driving to work

Get it checked out, depending on mileage, maybe you do have a serious issue.

no..i was picking up a coworker and coincidentally the light went on near his place and he let me use some oil. the car has about 98,500 km on it with no past issues

good. i hope you're getting it towed there..

If it suddenly dropped to 0 I'm going to assume a bad sensor, but to be safe definitely get a mechanic to hook up a mechanical oil pressure gauge to be sure the pressure level is okay and the sensor or wiring is the problem.

might be an oil pump and your engine could be really fucked if you drove it longer.

IIRC the SE-R has the QR25DE which had some issues with oil consumption. Like many have already said, have it towed to a shop you trust and hope for the best.

I had the same thing happen to my B16 SER, if your oil level is good then its just the sensor for the gauge. Cheap fix.

Bold statement, based on one factor. Just cause it might have been the cause of your light turning on, or is a common issue, doesn't make it the case every time. Better to properly diagnose the problem first, unless the parts cost is negligible.

got the car back today and turns out it was the oil pressure sensor so everything is all good to go. thanks to everyone for their advice!