First some background. This past weekend, I was out running some errands and I noticed that the oil light on the dash was lit while sitting idling at a traffic light. The engine kept running and wasn't making any unusual noises, so I babied it back to a parking lot to check things out. The oil level was fine and there were no signs of smoke or anything that would indicate my engine was about to blow up. Upon restarting the engine, the light stayed on at idle but went off when I revved it, still the engine sounded normal.

To err on the side of caution, I went ahead and had it towed to the dealer. They diagnosed it as a problem with the oil filter cap and said that it was missing some parts. I've done all the oil changes on my car since I bought it (used), and I'm pretty sure none of the parts had gone missing unless they weren't there when I bought it...30,000 miles ago.

After I picked it up today, I was on my way home and once again the oil light was on. I pulled over to check the oil level (since we've all heard horror stories) but it was full.

When I called the dealer back, the after-hours service person suggested that they might just have to reset it and to bring it back in the morning. Does that make any sense? I'm skeptical of that, so I thought maybe people on here would have an idea. Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

Sounds like the OP Sensor is going out.

 

+1 I had an oil pressure sender go out in my newly rebuilt 4.0 Ford Explorer motor: scared the stuffing out of me on a long fishing trip in the middle of nowhere. Like you, checked oil level: OK, no unusual sounds either. On the way home the gauge eventually dropped to zero and stayed there, very disconcerting when driving.

I hooked up my mechanical pressure gauge in place of the sending unit and had great oil pressure. Replaced the 'new' sender and all was well.

For peace of mind, have your dealer check the pressure with a mechanical gauge to verify all is well before installing the new sending unit.

Eric

 

This is why I installed additional gauges in my MCS. I hate warning lights, I want to know whats really going on under the hood. With a good mechanical gauge you will really know what you oil pressure is.

 

@36rodder: Those look nice, almost factory. Where did you get them? Were they fairly easy to install?

 

These are Marshall Mini Cooper Gauges. These really look factory. They came with chrome trim rings and I painted them to match the standard silver rings. You can get them at: http://www.marshallinstruments.com/c...per_gauges.cfm

This is what they look like at night.



The only problem I had was mounting the oil pressure sender and the idiot light sensor in the stock location. Not much room under the oil filter, so I did a remote mount for both senders. Much easier to get to and no leaks.



The Vac/Boost gauge hookup was pretty straight forward. There are numerous posts on where to tap into the supercharger.

Mounting: I bought (2) 52mm plastic Gauge Pods for $7 each and made a simple mount that fits under the Tachometer, or you can buy MINI specific gauge pods.

Wiring: If you want to dim your add on gauges like the stock gauges, disconnect the plug on the back of your tach and tap into the middle wire. That is the backlight power for the Tachometer. Hook that to your backlight wire on your new gauges and they will dim the same as the stock gauges.

 

There have been many posts about a small plastic piece inside the canister breaking and causing an oil light. Can't remember what it was called.

 

Yeah, the dealer originally replaced some parts in the oil filter canister because it was missing something, but I'm not sure what.

I took it back to the dealer tonight, so I'll update y'all on what their next "fix" is.

 

The verdict from the dealer is in. They said that oil was leaking from the oil pressure sensor and getting into a wiring harness (I'm assuming the one for the sensor), which caused the bad signal and the light to come on. They replaced the sensor, wiring harness, and the heat shield (I'm scratching my head on that one).

With oil getting into the wiring like that, I'm wondering if that was a fire waiting to happen.