Re: Oil Level Indicator Question

Ok, so it has been a while since I looked closely at the electronic oil level indicator. Since I had recently had the oil changed, I thought I would check it out. So, turned the key one turn and it started flashing, as I remembered. I waited for a while, and then noticed a 'count down' clock to the left of it. It was on 54 minutes, and counting down. The car was already at operating temperature. My questions are:

1. How long does it take to get a reading.
2. What is this countdown clock for?

Thanks,
Mark

The count down is reflective of how long before it will give you an accurate reading. Normally you should check it before you start, with a cold engine and with the car on the level. At that point it takes only a few seconds for the count down to run and show your oil level. You may have tried to check it with a hot engine.

Says so in the owners manual. Aside from that, agree.

The key issue is twofold:

1. if the oil has been agitated bv driving, it must settle before the measurement is accurate
2. if the oil is cold, it is very viscous and wont drain quickly, so it can take an hour - in theory

best is to have a warm motor, level surface, and a few minutes for it to drain. A gas station iwth a poured concrete surface is ideal.

A cold garage will yield a low reading, as the motor will actualyl shring marginally, making the sump and internal voume larger

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2012 11:41AM by grant. (view changes)

Well that explains it. I thought the normal procedure (with cars with a dipstick) was to check oil levels with a WARM engine, but sounds like it is the opposite with this one. I'll try it again later, with the engine cool. Thanks for the input. I was just surprised to see almost 1 hour count down!

Thanks!
Mark

Your welcome Mark. I don't recall seeing that long of a count down on SilverBox (and 08) but it is much longer (10 or 15 minutes) when you see it after stopping to fuel up for example. I always check it first thing in the morning before taking SilverBox out.

Not knowing the MY discussed here, just wanted to say that the 987.2 requires the engine be fully warmed and idling to check the oil. It will not give a reading if the car is off or not warmed sufficiently. And if you just came down off of any higher RPM, it may require several minutes to get a reading. I have also gotten readings within 5 seconds under certain conditions.

Engines are designed to be at spec when warm adn operating, not when cold. Period.

Same reason oen should nto drive a cold motor hard. The aprts dont actually fit properly!

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

What I mean't by "requires" is that you will not get any reading unless those conditions are met.

that should be measured warm - auto, dipstick or otherwise. Its a fundamental corollary of engines achieving design spec (including capacities) onyl at operating temp. S0 987, 986, Ford F-150, sherman tank, GE90 Turbofan - same difference.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

If the engine is cold, I just need to turn the ignition on without starting the engine. It takes about a 5 second countdown and gives me a reading.

Usually when I start the engine after refueling (provided the engine is fully warmed up), the oil level shows up right after startup.

I can also manually check it through the OBC. If the engine has just been run a short while, it can take 5 or more minutes to get a reading.

There's rarely a difference between a hot and cold reading. Only when it seems to be close to being about 0.4 liters down. The only time my car went down that much was when it was new. Since then, the oil level doesn't go down between changes (every 6 - 8K miles)

SilverBox, an 08 responds the same as Guenter's CURVEN8R. I always check the oil before the first run of the day and the reading is typically very near the same as a warmed up reading unless she is not on a level at the time of the warmed up reading. Our manual actually suggests it is fine to measure it cold. It states " It is best to measure the engine oil level before embarking on a journey (if the vehicle has not been driven for an extended period) or with the engine at operating temperature. Shorter waiting times are achieved this way."

Quote
Mark from SC
Ok, so it has been a while since I looked closely at the electronic oil level indicator. Since I had recently had the oil changed, I thought I would check it out. So, turned the key one turn and it started flashing, as I remembered. I waited for a while, and then noticed a 'count down' clock to the left of it. It was on 54 minutes, and counting down. The car was already at operating temperature. My questions are:

1. How long does it take to get a reading.
2. What is this countdown clock for?

Thanks,
Mark

when I park on a cambered road in front of the Livermore post office. However I know the oil level is not low (at least when the car is on the level) so this doesn't faze me. I would *never* drive the car until the level dropped to the point the oil level readout starting flashing. Some owners like to do this but I think it is crazy (and IIRC cautioned against in the owners manual).

Anyhow, in your case, such a long time to wait for a reading suggests that because the level was 'too low' the DME (or whichever controller err controls this) selected the max count down period.

My operating procedure is I check the oil level with the engine cold before the 1st trip of the day. I know because the engine is cold the count down timer will require just 5 seconds and I know the oil level reading will be a bar/segment or two (depends upon the ambient temp) lower than it would be if the engine were up to full operating temp and the hot engine had sat long enough (just a few minutes is all it takes) to deliver a reading.

Then by habit -- though I'm trying to break myself of this -- I check the oil level before every trip start. A habit that I will never break myself of -- I do not want to -- is I always check the oil level after a fill up unless (rare but it happens) unless the engine was not fully up to temp before the fill up and the count down is more than 5 seconds.

Now by fully up to temp I have observed that even though the coolant temp gage needle gets to the 180 mark that due to the variability of gage (they're not real accurate mainly they're for 'show') this doesn't always mean the engine's fully warm. So what I have observed is that even though the count down timer will be only 5 seconds, the level once obtained is lower than it should be. The difference is the engine is not hot enough the oil is not hot enough to drain back to the oil sump as readily/completely as it would if the engine were truly up to its full operating temperature.

Also, I know that if the car is parked in the same exact spot the oil level when checked with the engine hot will be a segment/bar or two higher than when the level was checked cold. I believe this arises from the oil expanding when hot.

Oh, whenever you have the car serviced, the oil changed, always check the oil level if not when you pick up the car as soon as you can. I've never had this happen with my Porsches but I have other cars given back after an oil/filter service way low on oil.

Sincerely,

MarcW.

I definitely should be checking the oil as soon as I get it back from service. Sometimes I just trust people to do what they should, but that doesn't always happen! I just found it strange to give me a 55 minute countdown! I know, in the past, I've always checked the oil in all my vehicles after they were up to operating temperature.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com