Usually, oil lamp lights up a little before hanging on the engine.
However, when the oil lamp lights up while driving, the car is in a very dangerous condition.
What happens to the car when the oil lamp turns on?
I will show you why it will light up, what to check and how to deal with it to turn off.
Oil lamps are what we call hydraulic warning lights. It is a lamp which warns by lighting if there is an abnormality in hydraulic pressure as the name suggests.
The abnormality of hydraulic pressure means that the hydraulic pressure is too low. Therefore, the cause of the oil lamp lighting is a drop in hydraulic pressure.
The reason why the hydraulic pressure drops is mainly as follows.
In the case of engines that are traveling a lot more often, the possibility of failure of the oil pump increases.
When the oil pump cannot suck up the engine oil, the normal amount of oil will not lubricate the inside of the engine, the internal pressure of the engine will decrease and light up.
If you check the amount of engine oil and the oil lamp does not light though the oil is not decreasing, let's have a look at the oil pump.
Even when the amount of oil is less than the specified amount, the hydraulic pressure will fall and light up. The reason why the remaining amount of oil decreases is due to "oil leak".
Depending on the cause, the oil lamp lights up or flashes.
I will explain what the oil lamp will look like when the engine oil is in different kind of conditions.
It is a state where the so-called oil lamp blinks.
At this time, the amount of engine oil is slightly less than the specified amount. Because the engine also shakes due to the shaking of the car body, the oil level falls lower than the specified amount of engine oil, and the oil level rises and it goes out that’s exactly why it repeats.
When starting the engine, the oil lamp lights for just a moment. Then, if it keeps going off, there is a specified amount of engine oil and hydraulic pressure doesn’t have any issue at all.
If it happens during driving, the oil level of the oil changes due to the movement of the car, and the sensor of the oil lamp senses that the hydraulic pressure is falling for only a moment.
In this case, oil may be running low.
The state of the car when stepping on the brake is a front sweep.
The engine also slopes as the car does.
The engine oil inside the engine is biased to the front and the oil level is not horizontal, so the sensor of the oil lamp senses that the hydraulic pressure is going down.
We will show you how to deal with the oil lamp when it lights up.
In the case of lit only for a moment only when stepping on the vehicle body or the brake, because the engine oil is a little less than the prescribed amount, as a first aid, adding the engine oil to the specified amount can deal with it.
However, if you deal with it by just replenishing it, engine oil will deteriorate more and more, so let's replace the engine oil as soon as possible.
This condition is diminished so that engine oil is in a dangerous condition. Or, due to a failure of the oil pump, the engine oil is not normally lubricated inside the engine.
If the oil lamp continues to light up while driving, please stop the car at a safe place promptly and avoid self-propelled.
Since there is a possibility of oil leakage or oil pump failure, let the engine check at the dealer or car repair shop soon, and have it repaired.
I will never recommend to keep running with the oil lamp on.
The oil lamp lights in red. Red means danger. Speaking of the signal, the red light is dangerous. It is the same.
The fact that the oil lamp is on means that the hydraulic pressure is decreasing.
It informs that the engine oil inside the engine is getting low enough to make the engine dangerous.
If the oil lamp continues to run, what will happen?
If the engine is overheating, in the worst case the engine will burn up, engine blowing will occur and the engine will not be usable.
In this way it will be replaced with a scrapped car or engine, which will not only result in significant expenses but also a very dangerous situation, leading to a major accident.
If the oil lamp turns on, stop the car in a safe place promptly, avoid self-propelled and call a tower.
As I have talked about so far, the cause of the lighting of the oil lamp is that the hydraulic pressure drops.
The cause of the drop in hydraulic pressure is as follows.
・Oil pump breakdown
・Reduction of engine oil
Checking and maintenance of the oil pump is difficult for individuals, so let's have it checked regularly at a dealer or the likes. Checking the engine oil can also be done by an individual.
Let's open the hood at least once in about three months and check the amount of oil with an oil gauge. Also, please keep the replacement time specified for your car like 3000 km every 5000 km, let's change engine oil.
If the engine oil is suddenly decreasing, there is a possibility of oil leakage. When looking at the engine, the oil is bleeding from a joint such as a cylinder head or an oil pan, when white smoke like a burned oil comes out from a muffler, the engine is in a state of oil leakage.
In this case, depending on the degree of oil leakage, if it is a level that cannot be handled with additives etc, please ask dealer or maintenance factory to repair the engine.
