The banner above is an advertisment - if it asks you to download software, please ignore.
Site News - 7/1: Members: Log In to See Fewer Ads! | 5/28: SAAB Evolutions/TSN T-Shirts $14
[General | Members | C900 | 9000 | NG900 & OG93 | 93 | 95 | NG95 | 99 | Sonett | Vintage Models | Clubs | Other Cars | FAQs | Gifts | Member Photo Galleries | Member Directory | Classifieds | Manuals | *Buddy Registry | *Mileage Registry | Polls | What's New | Raffle | Photo of the Month | Sponsors]

9000 Bulletin Board
1985-1998 [Subscribe to Daily Digest]
(Search Author's Posts: e.g. Keyword:username)*Members Only

[Main 9000 Bulletin Board | BBFAQ | Prev by Date | Next by Date | Post Followup ] Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
Re: URGENT - Oil Warning Light on this morning...
Like This Post: - Subscribe to Daily Digest for this Bulletin Board
Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Mon, 3 Nov 2003 08:29:22 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: URGENT - Oil Warning Light on this morning..., Zip, Mon, 3 Nov 2003 03:38:08
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup

The Oil Can is oil pressure - quite critical. The Oil Level shows up as words in the EDU display.

I have seen oil pressure senders fail, and they don't always fail hard and stay failed. Also, all the sender consists of is a switch to ground - if the wire from the sender is wearing against a grounded bit of metal (most everything in the engine compartment), you might be getting an intermittent contact.

Possible causes - yes, oil pumps wear out, but that's pretty uncommon. I would put that way down on the list.

Now we're into two possibilities - you actually have low oil pressure, or the sensing is bad. That's where it becomes difficult. The right thing to do is to pull the pressure switch and stick in a pressure gauge, and actually measure the pressure, both cold, and warm. Again, that's the exact right thing to do, but not always practical or easiest.

The other approach is, on average, the most expensive. That's to keep driving it. If you have low oil pressure, you'll know because the engine will pack up, and you'll need a new one. If it's the sensor, nothing will fail, and you know you've got to replace the sensor. That's cheap - in terms of tests, it's free. Now, most of the time it's the sensor, but if you run the probability of it being low oil pressure (maybe 20-40%) times the cost of a new motor (a few grand), you see how it's an expensive test.

My best advice would be to get the car flat-bedded to a garage where they can test the pressure. Not cheap, and not easy, but the lowest risk of trashing an engine.

Next, you can start the car and listen to the idle. If you do have low oil pressure, you'll hear rattly valves. This is tough - Saab engines tend to be rattly even with full oil pressure.

There is a big difference between cold and warm oil. The oil pressure light comes on at around 7 psi - that's designed not to come on with hot oil on a hot day at low idle - the lowest pressure condition. 7 psi might be OK for idle, but it just won't do at speed and under load. If you're seeing the light with a warm engine, and not a cold engine, I'd worry.

If you do have low oil pressure ,the most likely problem is the oil pressure regulator. Oil pressure is regulated by a little spring-loaded valve down by the oil pump. If the spring gets tired, it opens sooner, and you get lower oil pressure. The spring can be replaced simply by pulling the access bolt out. Of course, drain the oil first.

If the engine is quiet at idle and warm, most probably it's just the sender, which I have had fail in the past. The scary part is that if you guess wrong on this, it's Buy New Engine Light time.



posted by 192.249....
Posts in this Thread:
Alert me when someone posts in this thread:
Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup
Post a Followup

No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.

Name: Member Login / Signup - Members see fewer ads. - Latest Member Gallery Photos
E-Mail: (Optional)
Re-Enter E-Mail: (Confidential & Secure - Not revealed to other users!)
Note: Please check your spam folder for BB responses.

Subject:

Posting rules are simple - No for sale/wanted ads may be posted here - use the site classifieds.
You may not cross-post your message to multiple BBs.
Not permitted: political/religious topics and being disrespectful (personal attacks, insults, etc...).
 Site Members do not see any red text, inline ad links, bottom of page anchor ads, box ads, or anti-spam check.

Message: (please no for sale/wanted classifieds - post those in the Saabnet.com Classifieds)
Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).

Links are now automatically made active, no need for any special code (or use the Option Link field below) - don't put links in () or end with a '.'
To add inline images to your post above, use [img]http://www.domain.com/img.jpg[endimg] (or use the Optional Image Link field below).
Optional Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/)
Link Title: (Optional)
Optional Photo/Image Link: (e.g. http://www.saabnet.com/img.jpg)
Photo/Image to Upload: (Please be patient while file uploads)



StateOfNine.com
SaabClub.com
Jak Stoll Performance
M Car Covers
Ad Available

The content on this site may not be republished without permission. Copyright © 1988-2024 - The Saab Network - saabnet.com.
For usage guidelines, see the Mission & Privacy Notice.
[Contact | Site Map | Saabnet.com on Facebook | Saabnet.com on Twitter | Shop Amazon via TSN | Site Donations]

Random Saabnet.com Member Gallery Photos (Click Image)
This is a moderated bulletin board - Posting is a privilege, not a right. Unsolicited commercial postings are not allowed (no spam). Please, no For Sale or Wanted postings, SERIOUSLY. Classifieds are to be listed in The Saab Network Classifieds pages. This is a problem solving forum for over 250,000 Saab owners, so expect to see problems discussed here even though our cars are generally very reliable. This is not an anything goes type of forum. Saabnet.com has been a moderated forum since 1988. For usage guidelines, see the Saabnet.com Mission and Purpose Page. Please remember that you are not anonymous. Site Contact | Site Donations | Other Sites by SP - Poverty2Prosperity.org | Run Club Menlo Park | ScreenBot


Site Members do not see red text instructions, bottom of the page anchor ads, or box ads.
Click here to see all the Site Membership Benefits!