Oil Pressure too low, STOP sign appeared!

[begins]

Dear all,

This evening, the "Oil Pressure too low" and "STOP" messages appeared on dashboard. I hope this is not going to spoil my mood for the weekend.

I checked the dipstick and the oil level is alright. There is no visible leak underneath of the car. My 9 years old Citroen C5 Petrol tends to consume engine oil, which I habitually top it up as and when needed.
I disconnected the battery, the warning message went off. After driving for merely 10 mins or so, it shows up again!

The nearest workshop, that I frequent is about 20~30km away. I don't have Citroen service centre nearby here.
This is what I would consider doing come morning:

1. Rest the car throughout the night.
2. Check the dipstick once again and if need be, top it up.
3. Take a steady drive to the workshop and get them to check for abnormality.
4. Probably change engine oil and filter. Not quite sure whether to go for W50 oil instead this time. Should I also change the ATF?
5. Check the oil pump sensor. I wonder where is the location?

I really hope there is no serious matter as I am hoping that the car can sustain till early 2017, hopefully by then I can change to another newer Citroen.

Kindly advise me on what I should be looking out for and whether there are other fixes to the problem.

Thank you very much.

Regards,

[myglaren]

There is a good chance that it is the oil pressure sender that is defective or the wiring to it is in need of attention.

Certainly go for a replacement oil filter first and check the condition of the old one - look for any swarf or coagulated lumps - swarf as a sign that the oil pump is on it's way out - unlikely but has to be born in mind.

[Gibbo2286]

When that happened on my 2.0 HDI it wasn't kidding, debris from a previously failed turbo had blocked the oil ways and run the big ends. I wouldn't recommend driving it far until a proper diagnosis is made.

[dnsey]

Research confirms that it's human nature to assume that a monitoring system is at fault when it flags an abnormal condition. The correct thing to do is to believe that the oil pressure really is low until proven otherwise.
It's very unlikely to be due to oil level or quality unless they are obviously wrong, What does the oil on the dipstick look / feel like?

[CitroJim]

Research confirms that it's human nature to assume that a monitoring system is at fault when it flags an abnormal condition. The correct thing to do is to believe that the oil pressure really is low until proven otherwise.

In such a critical area as this I totally agree...

Any decent garage should have a test oil pressure gauge they can fit in place of the pressure sender to check the oil pressure OK/otherwise...

It should be quick and easy to do and the only way to regain peace of mind...

I don't know if it is the same today but years ago oil pressure sensors used to switch at very low pressures indeed and were thus pretty useless really.. A proper test gauge is the only way to go with such a problem as this.

[begins]

Hi all,

Thank you very much to all for the input.

Mysteriously, the warning message doesn't appear after a night rest.
I've arrived at the workshop after a short drive of about 30km but they can't do much without knowing what exactly happened to the car.

Nothing wrong with the car is their verdict.

Regards,

[CitroJim]

That's good to hear but I'd still be tempted to find a garage who can fit a test pressure gauge just to be absolutely sure there is no problem...

[Stickyfinger]

I agree with Jim.....or get the Garage to put that in writing and cover you for free if it does go wrong ....that normally changes their mind about investigating correctly.

[begins]

Hi all,

Laughable...the warning came on half way through my journey home.

I back tracked and now with warning message clearly visible to all.

It was then discovered that when the oil pressure reached a certain level, oil will spray out from the Oil Pressure sensor (1131.C5, I suppose).

As usual, they don't have the stock and ended up sealing the leakage with epoxy glue. The warning message then go away.
I stayed around the area for a few hours and finally the warning came on again.

This time round, the oil leakage is much lesser. The mechanic said it should be fine to drive around, don't drive long distance and watch out for the oil level.

Hopefully, I can get hold of a sensor next week and to get it fixed. What a wasted Saturday but at least we now know the exact cause.

Regards,

[CitroJim]

All's well that ends well then at least you know the cause of the problem now...

[begins]

Dear all,

Finally gotten hold of a new sensor and it went on well. Problem resolved and no more warning!

Cheers!

Regards,

[CitroJim]

Begins, that's excellent news