What it Means when the Oil Light comes on
You are driving along the road when the oil warning light on your dash comes on. What does it mean, and how serious is the problem. If the oil warning light does come on, pull over to the side of the road, when it's safe to do so. Don't drive on in the hope that you can complete that twenty-mile journey home.
If you are lucky, the warning light is just telling you that you haven't checked your oil in a long time, and it's too low. If so, get some engine oil and top the level up, and hope you haven't done any permanent damage to your engine components.
I don't recommend using the warning light as reminder to check your oil. Overheating an engine massively increases wear and tear. Not only does this affect the metal components, but the rubber oil seals will also start to deteriorate.
You are also increasing the chances of your car engine seizing, with all the monetary costs to you that this will entail. All for the sake of not checking your oil level regularly.
Other reasons for your oil warning light coming on are caused by rather more serious problems. Using the wrong grade of oil will cause wear problems, especially an oil which is too thin. The higher the running temperature of your engine the thinner the oil becomes, and so it cannot protect your engine as well as the correct grade. This leads to engine component surfaces wearing quicker than they need to.
If you have been faithfully checking your oil, and there are no obvious oil leaks, then it's time to get the advice of a mechanic. Your oil pump could be defective, which may lead to your engine's bearings becoming worn. Unfortunately if there is excessive wear to your main bearings, you are talking about a costly engine rebuild.
A good way to get an idea of how much wear is going on inside your engine is to drain the oil, and remove the sump. Use a magnet, to see if there are any metal particles in the oil. This is a sure sign of damage to your engine. If there are no signs of wear, then you've been lucky, and caught the problem in time.
Having checked that your oil pump is within wear limits, then another place the problem could lie, is in the oil pick-up strainer. You can access the strainer while the sump is off the engine. A clogged strainer is a sure sign that your car has been neglected in the past.
Infrequent oil changes leads to a build up of old cloggy oil in the bottom of the sump, which then gets sucked up into the strainer. This affects the ability of the oil in the sump to circulate around the engine, and generally reduces the oil pressure. Clean the strainer, re-fit the sump and add new oil. You should change the oil filter at the same time, as some of that gunge may be limiting the oil circulation through the filter as well.
The oil warning light coming on can also be a sign of problems with your engine's cooling system. If your cooling system is faulty, it will cause the temperature of the engine to rise. This in turn will affect the viscosity of your engine oil, and again, lead to wear and tear of your engine's internal components. Don't forget to check the coolant level; your thermostat gauge may be faulty.
So, if your oil warning light comes on, stop and check if there are any obvious reasons for the warning. Have you forgotten to top-up the oil, has the engine developed an oil leak, or possibly your thermostat gauge is faulty.
Personally speaking, anything other than having forgotten to put oil in the car is best dealt with by getting your car towed home or to a garage, and checked out. It's better to be cautious now, than blow your engine completely, and end up paying for either a new engine or a complete rebuild.
