Oil pressure light on at idle, with high oil pressure

[blue]

Year of manufacture: 1989
Engine size: 1.6D [originally 1.7D]
Engine code: JK [from Jetta, only 40,00 miles, allegedly]
left or right hand drive: RHD
transmission type: manual
Fuel type: diesel

Bought this van, having test driven. Drove fine, still drives fine. Buzzer of doom at test drive, on cornering - seller replaced both pressure switches with new ones, problem solved. Bought van, drove home, 1 mile, switched off, ten mins later, went to repark, and oil light came on at idle and wouldn't go out [didn't try high revs at that time].

Have had switches and pressure checked. Low presure fine. High pressure reading off the scale of my mechanic's guage! Hmmm...now driving her daily, whilst trying to ascertain if the oil pump is the Jetta one or the T25, due to engine angle. It seems the oil is taking a while to pick up in cold engine. So now, when start up, oil light comes on. Allow to run a few secs, then as engine sound changes [oil moving around the engine fully?] raise revs, oil light goes out, and away I go.

Any thoughts, similar experiences? Haven't got hold of the seller yet to confirm which pump she has, although I suspect Jetta, in which case we need to change it, right?

Any help or advice welcome.

Thanks.

[ghost123uk]

Sounds like a blocked oil pick up pipe in the sump to me.
I would get it sorted ASAP as driving it like that ain't doing it any good at all.

btw - oil light coming on when going round corners is nowt to do with oil pressure switches, it is to do with very low oil levels causing the system to suck up air instead of oil !!

[badger]

not familiar with JK engine, but maybe the pressure relief valve is stuck,hence off the scale on your mechanic's gauge?

[ghost123uk]

Also, I had a mate who had these symptoms on his non VW van.

Turned out that this is what was happening =
The oil was so low, that on starting up cold, it pumped it up around the engine, and at that point the reduction in the level caused it to suck air = oil light on.
Then when it got slightly warm, the oil in the upper parts of the engine was able to run back into the sump quicker, therefore raising the level slightly, so the oil light then went out.

When I sussed that out and showed him the non existant oil leval on the dipstick, he was suitably embarrased !

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E D I T =

btw - I agree with badger re the oil pressure release valve.
I am not familier with this motor either, but I doubt the pressure should go "off the scale" !!

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[blue]

extra info: oil level is fine, was correct when we got the cornering buzzer of doom issue, and is correct now, having had oil and filter change on both occasions, so more likely blockage or incorrect pump?

cheers for the feedback guys,
Blue

[tonytech]

Did you use a good quality oil filter?
Some after market filters drain down, causing temporary oil starvation at start up.

T

[blue]

you could have me there Tony. I normally use top grade oil filters, but on this occasion...ahem...Halfords [I know...]. Not sure what filter was on prior, it was very recent though, and the guy may well have gone cheap like me! Maybe should try a change of filter, no harm I guess...my mechanic didn't pick up on this idea, although did check the filter.

[blue]

must add, this problem with the oil light staying on at idle, is only present with a real cold engine, like overnight, or left for a couple of hours. Ten mins, no problem. Any further thoughts, other than heading off to pick up a Mann oil filter?

[ghost123uk]

Still reckon it's partiailly blocked pick up pipe strainer.

A mate of mine had a similar problem ( tho not on a Vee Dub )

[blue]

thanks...guess I'll have to get this checked out, a job for my mechanic, rather than me, I guess...at least he's cheap...

[Simon Baxter]

Nowt wrong with Halfords filters, they don't sell "pooh", it's all quality stuff made by top manufacturers, usually Lucas for filters but it has been a few years....
What grade of oil is used? Use 15w40 oil
the lights do take a few seconds to go out when the engine have a few miles on their back.
I would be tempted to check the oil pump, I have replaced mine with a "Shadek" item from GSF who's pick up is slightly lower that the original T3 item, this cured my oil surge problems with my own Westy.

When you say you had the pressure checked? what was the pressure? was the engine hot?

[blue]

Interesting info...so filter okay? Filled her with Castrol GTD Plus 10W40. i always used this in my old t25 1.7d, which ran to 223,000 + miles with regular oil and filters. Only off the road now due to body rot!

The bus in question here though was previously run on 15W40, and my VW mechanic recommended 10W40, so we refilled her and went for new filter. My old VW mechanic also always insisted on 10W40. I rate your opinion Simon, but this one has me confused! Would you still go with 15W40?

Am booking her in for oil pump check next, once I've rung previous owner for info on which pump is on there, as if the original Jetta pump is on there, I gather this can be the explanation. This van has only done 119,000 miles, and the engine has done 40,000 miles [Jetta 1.6D engine]. my old 223,000 miler never did this, so it has me stumped so far.

Oil pressure [tested by reputable VW mechanic] was normal for low pressure. High pressure went off his scale...max on his scale reads 100. He would have tested it hot, before, and then after oil change. At first, oil didn't come through after oil change. Checked filter for blockage, filter had oil in it. Then suddenly..."pooh" of oil bust out, and he got the high reading. Thought blockage at first, then thought oil a little thick, after change, then...he's not really sure. Wants to check the pump, but doesn't want to run me up a bill. But with this being a new project, I have [a little, very little] cash set aside to fix any glitches like this, so it has to get a fix...

[HarryMann]

Simon always uses 15W-40, thats what recommended anyway..

Its not the pump as much as the putting the original pickup on it from the canted over engine installation. Well, thats what I did anyway, having bought a pump for my 'upright' 1.9 engine. However, I think in a previous post you will find that he reckons the Shadek pump for these, if ordered correctly (CS?), can be fitted as is.

Drain thoroughly and look through the oil filler (if at rear of sump) using a torch to see how far off bottom pickup sieve is. Might be draining right back overnight somehow.

Something is definitely a bit suspect in there, and doesn't sound like a typical pressure signalling problem.

If you have the sump off (recommended at this stage I shoudl think) then be careful putting it back, ensuring that the set scrws are all nipped up evenly before tightening the bellhousing through bolts, then torque the sump bolts up accurately.