Oil Level Sensor...

darkstar_one

Registered User
Hey,

Anyone know if AUTOZONE or KRAGEN carries the OIL LEVEL SENSOR mounted on the oil pan... I think i need to replace mine.. or can they just be cleaned out... the reason im asking this is because it doesnt go off when i am low on oil... neither does the low coolant ... only the low fuel goes off....
 
Well, there is no oil level sensor that I'm aware of. There is an oil pressure gauge (not really functional except if you have oil pressure) and an idiot light. I certainly hope you aren't running the car without oil pressure or with the "oil" light on. Serious damage will occur.
 
Yes, there is an oil level sensor mounted in the side of the pan to provide the low oil warning on the VMM. Mine is very sensitive. It alerts me if I'm only about 1/3 qt low!

Jon
 
1/2 quart ...

My VMM will light up when engine is about 1/2 a quart low. My sensor is ok, but the plug going into the sensor is messed up. I have an extra harness with a good plug but haven't gotten around to installing it.

Eddie
'90 5-speed SC - modified
'90 automatic SC - stock
 
Here's a thought ... just check the oil every time you get gas. Old school. For those that don't have the VMM with all the wonky, inaccurate sensors. Coolant level sensor = junk. Oil level sensor, lights up if you park with the front of the car pointed down hill. Really. Tells you to change the oil at 1000 miles. I'm glad my 93 doesn't have this. My old anni did and it was a sore butt creator.
Alan
 
Here's a thought ... just check the oil every time you get gas. Old school. For those that don't have the VMM with all the wonky, inaccurate sensors. Coolant level sensor = junk. Oil level sensor, lights up if you park with the front of the car pointed down hill. Really. Tells you to change the oil at 1000 miles. I'm glad my 93 doesn't have this. My old anni did and it was a sore butt creator.
Alan

My coolant level sensor works just fine, as well as the wiper fluid sensor and the oil level sensor. As for the oil change indication, somebody posted a link to the actual patent for the sensor. There are numerous factors that are used to determine when the oil needs to be changed, most of which are directly related to how hard you drive your car. I usually don't pay much attention to the oil change indication as I'm usually changing my oil more frequently than it tells me to, especially since I rarely put more than 2000 miles on my car a year anymore.
 
The low oil sensor for the VMM is actually more than just a low level sensor. It is also a temperature sensor. I think that basically, it looks like the ECT sensor, except that the electrical circuit is not continuous. Oil needs to be present at the gap in the sensor to complete the circuit and allow a temperature reading to take place. Obviously, if the circuit is open, then the "LOW OIL" light comes on.

If your sensor does not trip when the oil level is low, then I would suggest that you remove it during the next oil change and give it a good cleaning. There is probably some sort of sludge or debris keeping the circuit continuously closed.

I believe that, if the circuit was perpetually open, because the harness plug or wiring was loose, that the "LOW OIL" light would be on all the time. And if the wiring was shorted, then the light would never come on.

If the "CHANGE OIL" light comes on every 1000 miles or so, that means that the temperature-sensing portion of the sensor is not working. The VMM therefore is telling you to change the oil on the most severe service schedule there is, based on bad data from the sensor.

I don't know why the temperature-sensing portion of the sensor can fail sometimes. I have had 2 Thunderbirds in which it worked perfectly for years, and 1 in which it didn't work from the time I got the car. It just works ... unless it doesn't.
 
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