Warning lights....

[TizzyD]

I have the following warning lights on from the moment I start the car.

1) STOP lamp
2) Hydraulic pressure and level lamp
3) Coolant level lamp
4) Engine oil pressure lamp

See below - ignore the battery light, this is only on as the key is turned to the first position/accessories.




When I start the car the engine oil level gauge comes on and then goes off like normal but the needle doesn't move and hasn't since I bought the car four and a half years ago.

The car isn't losing oil, there are no drips after parking up and there is oil reading on the dip stick just fine.

I can't see any LHM leaks and when the car is in high the level reads right on the glass dome.

Coolant level is also correct. There is no back pressure/hissing on the header tank when you take the cap off after letting the car cool after its been driven.

The only thing that has changed is the turbo noise is more noticeable now than it was.

Ive done a bit of searching on here and not found much with these symptoms other than it might be a dud diode on the instrument cluster, which would be these. (This is a spare cluster I have so could be raided for replacement diodes)




Does anyone know if anything else could cause this issue ? Could it be that the oil pressure sensor has finally failed ? If so how can I check and where would it be on a TZD Turbo ?

[rutter123]

Did all the warning lights come on at the same time? On the same day?

[TizzyD]

Yep, all together and now won't go off. Even though all the levels are fine.

[Defender110]

I wouldn't take the glass dome LHM reading as gospel and double check it top up the LHM first before digging deeper.

[Dragon Man]

interesting diodes they use.. very easy to get. you could even upgrade them to ones that would survive a higher current.
from what i have played with on my BX, it does not look like a car that would get earthing issues.. but, i'd still investigate that. bad earthing can cause some pretty fun things to go off on dashboards and electrical items.

we had a ford Granada where when the fuel light came on, it would wind down the passenger window it ended up being an earthing fault.
when i got my first panda 4x4 sisley, the fuel tank level indicator could only earth through the interior light.. when the light as on full brightness i had no fuel.

for what it takes, check the earthing points just above the steering column. you never know, a wire may have come out over time. i managed to pull the connector apart quite easy on mine.

i am use to basic fiat panda wiring.. but i cant wait to have the challenge of the BX. its full of wires. (i love auto electronics)
sadly i dont know enough about the BX's wiring to give a good answer.. yet anyway.

[rutter123]

Just next to the radiator on i think the offside is a black box with a 4 pin plug, its mounted just below the slam panel, this was the connector that caused my warning lights to come on-moreso the low water and STOP light, a quick clean of the pins and all was well, its a bit open to the elements and the connector pins can become quite corroded, worth a check .

[Kaapelimies]

As I wrote before:

Motor oil pressure switch makes all the warning lights come on at once. Check the oil level, if OK then proceed with the connector on the oil pressure sensor and the wire loom. Clean all connectors, grease lightly and put back.

Oil pressure sensor is in front of the lump, just left from starter (when viewed from front). If there's two, the bigger is for oil pressure gauge and smaller is a switch for the light.

[TizzyD]

Gave the black box on the OS a clean, found two corroded 2 pins out of 5, still got lamps on.

Found sender on front of engine and changed for a new spade connecter and stripped the original wire back and made fresh connections, lamps still on.

[RobC]

If all the lights are coming on with the engine running (which means the oil pressure sensor has been triggered), and you say that you have plenty of oil in the motor, then I'd be worried about whether your oil pump was working correctly. Having plenty of oil does not then mean that oil is getting up to pressure correctly!

Anything else (coolant, LHM) is a red herring because they only activate their own light + STOP: it's oil pressure that causes all of the lights to come on. So it's either an oil pressure fault, oil pressure sensor fault, or wiring fault.

[TizzyD]

If all the lights are coming on with the engine running (which means the oil pressure sensor has been triggered), and you say that you have plenty of oil in the motor, then I'd be worried about whether your oil pump was working correctly. Having plenty of oil does not then mean that oil is getting up to pressure correctly!

Anything else (coolant, LHM) is a red herring because they only activate their own light + STOP: it's oil pressure that causes all of the lights to come on. So it's either an oil pressure fault, oil pressure sensor fault, or wiring fault.

Ok, I'll take the sump off and see if I can work out what's going on. How close to the bottom of the sump does the oil pickup sit ? I know the sump has taken a few knocks from country roads over the years but I've never had an issue with oil pressure so I'm wondering if something is clogging up the pickup.

[Dragon Man]

if its due an oil change, run some engine flush in it.. it will make the oil very thin and should make it more easy for the pump to push around, plus the added bonus of helping clear any sludge and carbon deposits. one issue the Fiat Fire engines get is if they have the wrong oil filter, that can trigger the oil pressure light to come on as not enough volume of oil can pass through the filter.

[TizzyD]

Oil change was done last October but then the car stood for 12 months and only turned over or 2 minutes spin round the block every few weeks.

[RobC]

Before going to th trouble of taking off the sump, double check the wiring works ok and there's not just an earth fault somewhere.

Therefore

1. remove the wire from the oil pressure sensor. the light should go out.

2. Short the wire to earth. The light should come on.

If these tests work out then consider actual oil pressure problems (eg pump or wrong filter, grade of oil, etc)

[TizzyD]

Ok will give it a try tomorrow.

[TizzyD]

Before going to th trouble of taking off the sump, double check the wiring works ok and there's not just an earth fault somewhere.

Therefore

1. remove the wire from the oil pressure sensor. the light should go out.

2. Short the wire to earth. The light should come on.

If these tests work out then consider actual oil pressure problems (eg pump or wrong filter, grade of oil, etc)

Just been out to test the car and - with the engine running and the sensor disconnected the lamps go out. Then when the wire that would be connected to the sender is earthed it brings on all the lamps again just like it would if it was connected to the sensor.

Ordered 6L of oil, new sump gasket and oil filter so will get the front end up on jacks and drain the car, take the sump off and look up and see if I can see anything wrong with the oil pump.....