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Re: E28 oil light on too long

>        The oil light on my 1984 533 stays on approx. 8-12 seconds when
>        the engine is started cold. This seems to me to be too long. The
>        dipstick shows a fine level of oil. Its been doing it for a few
>        months now and I can't recall any events that relate to that time.
>
>        Any ideas on what might cause such behaviour would be much
>        appreciated.
>
>        BTW - its running synthetic oil of a weight specified in the
>        owners manual.

I posted a similar question some time ago about my e28.  A couple of things
that were mentioned:

Make sure that the oil spray bar bolt is tight.  This is the fitting on the
oil feed line that supplies oil to the camshaft and rocker arms.  On many
big sixes, the bolt has been known to come loose, possibly resulting in
poor oil pressure.  If you want some more info on this let me know.

Several (!) people claimed that they (or their mechanics) had found that
the bolts holding the oil pump had come loose. Yikes!

I've found that changing the oil from 20W50 Castrol to 10W30 Castrol (for
the winter) resulted in the oil light going out much quicker (about 1 - 2
seconds compared to about 5 seconds).  You may want to try a non synthetic
oil.

I installed an oil pressure guage in the car (fits nicely in a home made
walnut panel that replaces the ash tray).  You may want to monitor the
actual pressure as some point.  My car typically has around 50 - 60 PSI
when warmed up and running around 2500 - 3000 RPM.  Idle pressure is
suprisingly low when warm, about 10 - 15 PSI.  On hot summer days, the
pressure is about 45 PSI at highway speeds.  This may be low but I think
its in spec.

Also, don't forget to try the easy stuff first; try replacing the sending unit!

Good luck,





*++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*  Mike Daun <daun@domain.elided>
*  Nicolet Instrument Corporation
*  608-276-6100
*  '85 535i
*  '78 R80/7
*++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
*  Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!
*++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++