co2_121 Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 I talked with the dealer and he told me the corect code for the switch. Is the one on realoem that says UP TO 08/2012 but he couldn't tell me if this switch closes the circuit at 0.3 bar or 0.5. He sayd that he will search for specs and then get back to me. I hope that he will call back and say 0.3 bar. I also searched for some after market switches and i found FAE switch that closes at 0.35 bar, VEMO at 0.3 bar and some others that don't say the specs. Seems to me that things start to get clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 (edited) Ok guys. The dealer never call back so i'll call again tomorow. All day i did some more searching and found more detailes on the pressure switch that seeme very interesting. FEBI BILSTEIN switch has 2 different switch points 0.20 - 0.5 bar and that made me think at some other cars like VW that have 2 switches (high and low). In this example, when the car idle's the high pressure switch is ignored(it close's at 0.9 bar) and if the pressure drops to much the low switch is closed( 0.2 bar close's). When you rev the car the low switch is ignored and the high switch is in charge. I found a good post with these example. So maybe the switch in BMW like the FEBI has two switch points and the ECU decides when to turn on the idiot light in the dash depending on the revs. And this can explain a bad wiering or wrong spec switch or something messing up the ECU. What do you guys think about that? Edited January 29, 2013 by co2_121 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 There are no switches for high and low buddy. It's a pretty ancient design. Only one wire set up and its a powered line from the cluster. If the pressure switch turns to ground ,the cluster knows to illuminate the pressure warning light. There are different variants as that set up has been in use since the days of the m50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 There are no switches for high and low buddy. It's a pretty ancient design. Only one wire set up and its a powered line from the cluster. If the pressure switch turns to ground ,the cluster knows to illuminate the pressure warning light. There are different variants as that set up has been in use since the days of the m50. Agree with you on that....that is prety logic to.But what about the two switching points on FEBI switch? That is not the only after market switch for this car that I found. This is strange.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted January 29, 2013 Report Share Posted January 29, 2013 Have you tried running a wire yet???!!!! After market stuff can be strange. I couldn't comment on them as I don't have much experience in aftetmarket pressure switches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 Not yet. As I said, I trying to gader as much info as I can on all posible thinks first, since the engine was already taken appart 2 times. Then I will get to work and start eliminating them one by one. I think the work will start at the end of this week. So here is another question. How much do you think a bad CCV valve or broken hoses on it can influence the oil pressure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Posted January 30, 2013 Report Share Posted January 30, 2013 They can. But... You're getting as close to Damn as possible to the correct oil pressure, so I'd say It's not that. Seriously, ten minutes of your life, and you can determine whether its the loom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddybrown23 Posted February 13, 2013 Report Share Posted February 13, 2013 Did you find out what was causin the light to flicker? Mine has started doing the same Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Did you find out what was causin the light to flicker? Mine has started doing the same I'm sory to hear about that. No, i did not solve it yet. Right now we took the engine apart again to check all the clearences and i found that the new bearings(kobelschmit) are out of spec. I don't know exactly why, but we checked them with the caps and bolts on and the ovality is bigger compared with the old ones.I am investigating this with the supplier of my bearings. I also found the primari chain tensioner had some visible wear on the piston. I will post back when i'll get to the bottom of this. If i were you,i will check the oil pressure with a mecanical gauge and see if you realy have low oil pressure before jumping to conclusions. It will be a good thing to test the gauge on a good car and be sure that is calibrated. If your presure i good(above 0.5 BAR at hot idle), change the switch and check the wires + change filter and oil and you're good to go. If you read below 0.5 bar also read the presure at 1000RPM(you should get around 1.5 bar) and at 3000RPM(you should reach the maximum pressure 4 BAR). If you do not get this values at 1000 and 3000 RPM your have a pickup tube issue(don't bother to clean it....change it) or bad oil pump. If you reach the 4 bar value at 3000 RPM but at hot idle below 0.5 bar than you have a internal oil leak(if your oil level does not drop and indicate a external leak......i assumed that you already checked the oil level) and this can be caused by a lot of things but you can eliminate a part of them if the engine is running good(steady idle, no noises.....etc). Another advice for you is to not drive the car again untill you fix it because if you have a simple issue( for example pickup tube, oil filter hausing gasket, oil pressure reliefe valve, oil bypass valve in the filter hausing, the two thiny O-rings on the filter cap, chain tensioner, etc) you can damage the engine pretty bad. Good luck....i hope is just the switch or wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guywithtwoe46s Posted April 1, 2013 Report Share Posted April 1, 2013 Hello I am a new member because after seeing this post I had to reply because I had the same issue and just by chance found the problem with my flickering oil light. The problem my car had was after warm up the oil pressure light would flicker at idle but once above 850 rpms the light would go away. I went to replace the oil pressure sensor and thought I found the problem as the sensor was leaking oil through the switch and connector. New oil pressure sensor installed and now the oil pressure light stayed on solid and would not go away until above 1000 rpm now!!!! Here was the problem, the Oil Separator/ PCV system was bad. How I found this out just by chance I tried to open the oil fill cap while the car was running and could not hardly pull the cap out because there was so much vacuum, I knew that was not normal. So I found only only a few posts about the oil separator/pcv problems but sure enough after replacing the oil separator and ALL of the hoses connecting it my oil pressure light problem is solved. When you do replace the oil separator you do want to get all new hoses because they cannot be unclipped and will most certainly crack and break. All of the hoses on mine broke into several pieces upon removal. Two of the hoses had collapsed on themselves because of the severe vacuum caused. I hope this helps anyone out there jdoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Hi, Here is some update. The problem is electric....i don't know if is the loom or the dash. I runned a wire from the new switch to a separate bulb and no more flashing. The switch triggers only with engine off or if i try to drive with clutch only and the revs reaches 400 RPM. It is very strange because the electric issue it's related to the temperature of the engine. Hope this helps others and thank you all for you're help. When i will solve this electrical issue i wi'll get back with some more updates. Also in my case the oil pump and bearings where giving up because before changing those i could never achieve 4 bar pressure at any RPM( it was 2.5 bar max). After that at 3000 RPM i was seeing 4.2 bar. The cause of this wear in the pump and bearings was the bipass valve in the oil filter hausing that was stuck open and the oil was not filtered causing premature wear. Anyway i changed all the used parts and now the car has good pressure and works well. So what i learned so far is: - the bmw M54 engine should have over 0.5 bar even at 500RPM(so what the BMW tech told me was true) - the PCV can cause that oil light to flicker only if it creates masive vaccum in the cranckcase but this means also burning oil - the bipass stuck valve in the oil filter hausing caused some scoring on the exhaust camshaft journas(4 and 6) - use only recomanded oil(0w30 5w30 5w40). The car should be able to make good pressure with this oil. Don't use 10w40 or 10w50 because you will cause cold start wear in the engine - don't trust everything that the tech tells you and start with the simple tings working you're way up. If you get to change the bearings...change them all(main and rod) and machine the crank and also tear appart the entire engine and check everything else(camshafts, squirters, non return valve in the head.....). Thanks again and good luck to you all. jdoe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc l Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 Good post. Glad you got it fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted April 25, 2013 Report Share Posted April 25, 2013 I did not fixed it yet. But at least i'm sure that my engine it's strong and has no more issues. For the moment i have a bulb to monitor the oil pressure...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjamin298 Posted May 19, 2013 Report Share Posted May 19, 2013 Hi I normally sit in the back ground but I have been suffering with the flickering light problem for a while and decided to do some investigation yesterday.First I changed the pressure switch and when removing the connector noticed the wire was just visible through the plastic,with the new switch fitted the problem was worse so as mentioned in a earlier post I removed the connector cut the wire back and put a new connector on and touch wood so far there has been no reoccurrence of the problem hope this helps someone else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted September 26, 2013 Report Share Posted September 26, 2013 Hi I normally sit in the back ground but I have been suffering with the flickering light problem for a while and decided to do some investigation yesterday.First I changed the pressure switch and when removing the connector noticed the wire was just visible through the plastic,with the new switch fitted the problem was worse so as mentioned in a earlier post I removed the connector cut the wire back and put a new connector on and touch wood so far there has been no reoccurrence of the problem hope this helps someone else Hi, I confirm what benjamin298 said. I did not cut the wire yet, instead i took a piece of wire(like 10 cm), soldered 2 pin connectors to it(one that fitted on to the pin of the oil pressure switch and one to plug into the connector on the car. So basicaly now i have a 10 cm wire between the oil pressure switch and the connector. 5 months and no oil light flicker. So the problem is in the connector. I also tryed to put the connector back like it was before and the oil light flicker appeared again. I can't find any logilac explenation for this because the connector has just 1 wire and the oil pressure unit it's just a simple on/off switch. @benjamin298 Where did you got a new connector and how did you change it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matyas Posted February 27, 2014 Report Share Posted February 27, 2014 I had flickering red light on hot idle neary 500-600rpm soemtimes, since my engine got new pistonrings, and piston rod bearings the light lit more often... things has been checked or replaced: oil pump, pressure regulator on the pump visual inspection (was perfect) cylinder head (someone mentioned the check valve is there, but this has no effect on the oil pressure) vanos 'O' -rings on the filter cap oil 5w-30 original BMW So made readnigs with manual two gauge. Engine coolant 96°C oil temp 105°C idle oil pressure is 0,6-0,7 bar on 1000rpm => 1bar 2000rpm => 2 bar etc. around 4000 rpm is 4,2 bar. the pressure regulator is working fine the pressure with sudden aceleration go till 5 bar than satbilizing at 4,2 bar.. the pressure sensor already replaced to some not OEM part since the light is not flickering.. it is all the time on hot idle I ordered original bmw pressure switch see if the situation will be better .... on the original sensor u can read pressure range 0,2-0,5 bar. In my opinion this is because the switch is also heating up, therfore the accurancy is not so good. I just recommend to check the oil pressure frist with 2 different manual gauge 0- 6bar range (note: the reading on the gauges usually starts from 0,2 ; 0,3 bar, so not real zero) And check the oil temperature in the same time.. because the engine can be hot and the oil is still 60-70°C... //Matyas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebiloku Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) On 1/28/2013 at 12:19, co2_121 said: I talked with the dealer and he told me the corect code for the switch. Is the one on realoem that says UP TO 08/2012 but he couldn't tell me if this switch closes the circuit at 0.3 bar or 0.5. He sayd that he will search for specs and then get back to me. I hope that he will call back and say 0.3 bar. I also searched for some after market switches and i found FAE switch that closes at 0.35 bar, VEMO at 0.3 bar and some others that don't say the specs. Seems to me that things start to get clear. hello i have the same problem ,you fixed ? Edited May 23, 2016 by bebiloku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 10 minutes ago, bebiloku said: hello i have the same problem ,you fixed ? Yes. In my case was the wiring loom. i don't know what was wrong with it but the problem was solved after changing the entire engine wiring loom. My suggestion for you is to replace the oil pressure sensor first. it is a simple job and the oil sensor is cheap. If this does not work take a mechanical gauge and measure the oil pressure but you must be 100% sure that the gouge is a good gouge(calibrated...in my case the gouge was bad and i started to waste money on engine parts...). If the oil pressure is above 0.5 bar than is an electrical issue. You can also take a 12v bulb with 2 wires and connected it to the oil pressure sensor and batteri of the car. Put the ignition on and the bulb should light up than start the car(bulb goes off) and let it heat up. You should never see the bulb turn on, otherwise is a mechanical issue(here you can have a lot of reasons....oil pump, bearings, oil filter housing, and the list goes on...). Good luck. bebiloku 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebiloku Posted May 23, 2016 Report Share Posted May 23, 2016 (edited) 11 hours ago, co2_121 said: Yes. In my case was the wiring loom. i don't know what was wrong with it but the problem was solved after changing the entire engine wiring loom. My suggestion for you is to replace the oil pressure sensor first. it is a simple job and the oil sensor is cheap. If this does not work take a mechanical gauge and measure the oil pressure but you must be 100% sure that the gouge is a good gouge(calibrated...in my case the gouge was bad and i started to waste money on engine parts...). If the oil pressure is above 0.5 bar than is an electrical issue. You can also take a 12v bulb with 2 wires and connected it to the oil pressure sensor and batteri of the car. Put the ignition on and the bulb should light up than start the car(bulb goes off) and let it heat up. You should never see the bulb turn on, otherwise is a mechanical issue(here you can have a lot of reasons....oil pump, bearings, oil filter housing, and the list goes on...). Good luck. Thank you for your answer .my car is diesel engine 3.0d 2003 .for this problem i have changed new sensor oem oil from 0 30 to 5 40 new oem filter with two orings i have test the presure and is ok .wiring !my car have only one wire . i cant understand why i have this problem only to highland drivering. Doubt to bearing but is not easy to change my car is l322 model range rover . Edited May 23, 2016 by bebiloku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
co2_121 Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) 8 hours ago, bebiloku said: Thank you for your answer .my car is diesel engine 3.0d 2003 .for this problem i have changed new sensor oem oil from 0 30 to 5 40 new oem filter with two orings i have test the presure and is ok .wiring !my car have only one wire . i cant understand why i have this problem only to highland drivering. Doubt to bearing but is not easy to change my car is l322 model range rover . What do you mean by 'highland drivering'? In my case the problem appeared ONLY on hot idle.... Also in my car the pressure switch has just 1 wire. Most of the cars have also just 1 wire on the pressure switch. I also know that some diesel engines have 2 oil pressure switches (ex. VW) but i'm not sure about yours. If you have tested the pressure and it's ok and the oil level is fine than it is an electrical issue. I also remember that when i had this problem someone suggested to try and replacace the dash gouges. Because this is quite simple to do, i took one from a friends car (same model). If you do that DO NOT drive the car because you can mess up the millage. The problem was still there with the new dash so i ended up changing the engine loom. Problem fixed.....i know this is strange but this worked for me. Hope this helps. Edited May 24, 2016 by co2_121 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bebiloku Posted May 24, 2016 Report Share Posted May 24, 2016 13 hours ago, co2_121 said: What do you mean by 'highland drivering'? In my case the problem appeared ONLY on hot idle.... Also in my car the pressure switch has just 1 wire. Most of the cars have also just 1 wire on the pressure switch. I also know that some diesel engines have 2 oil pressure switches (ex. VW) but i'm not sure about yours. If you have tested the pressure and it's ok and the oil level is fine than it is an electrical issue. I also remember that when i had this problem someone suggested to try and replacace the dash gouges. Because this is quite simple to do, i took one from a friends car (same model). If you do that DO NOT drive the car because you can mess up the millage. The problem was still there with the new dash so i ended up changing the engine loom. Problem fixed.....i know this is strange but this worked for me. Hope this helps. Only highland at idle speed. Yes the presure is ok 1.2 bar hot.olso for check my gouge if is ok i check another engine and have the same 1.2 hot at idle. Maybe is electrical problem i hope .thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TamHam79 Posted May 27, 2016 Report Share Posted May 27, 2016 I had this problem with my e39 520I at the time bought it like this so did a service on it my self and found when I took off the top of the oil filter housing that the small rubber oring was missing and replaced it a no more oil light on tickover or when up to temp fixed it and then had it 5years never missed a beat sold it with 189.000 miles on it hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
