The oil pressure gauge warning light on your dashboard is used to tell you that there is a problem with the oil pressure in your car. Many people mistakenly believe that this warning light actually keeps an eye on the level of the oil in the car but this is not true. (The pressure is a function of the amount of oil and the volume of area it has to feel inside the engine.)
However, low oil pressure is not the only reason why this warning light may be illuminated and oil pressure gauges cannot always be relied upon. It can also indicate a problem with the oil pressure sending unit or with the oil pump or even a fault with a warning light itself. Because of this it is a good idea not to rely on the warning light on its own to remind you to check your oil level. Instead you should perform this check every three or four weeks manually to make sure that if there is a malfunction of the warning light you will not be caught out.
One thing is for sure, you do not want to take any risks when this light comes on no matter what the cause. The consequences of being so can be extremely expensive. There are a few quicker ways of turning a working engine into scrap metal than running it without enough oil. Because oil is used to lubricate the engine it prevents moving parts such as the pistons, the bearings in the camshaft and connecting rods to work smoothly without damaging each other. The smooth running also increases efficiently and the movement of oil around the engine help with cooling too. If you car doesn’t have an autometer oil pressure gauge it probably not worth installing one, just remember to check the oil regularly.
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When the oil pressure lamp comes on most people make the mistake of thinking that it is indicating their engine is running low on oil. While this might be true (a reduced level could be the cause of the lamp coming on) the actual reason is because the reduced level of oil has caused a drop in the pressure of the oil. But why does the oil pressure matter?
The fundamental purpose of engine oil is to lubricate the mechanical parts inside an engine. In simple terms power is generated from an engine by a series of controlled explosions. Each explosion forces pistons to move up and down inside the cylinders. The piston rods are connected to the crankshaft and power from the explosion is transmitted through the crankshaft bearings to generate rotational motion which is then used to turn the wheels.
Imagine the forces being exerted on these parts. If the metal components came into direct contact with each other, tough though they may be, they would quickly damage themselves – or even become welded together. This can happen much quicker than you might expect. To prevent this, a cushion of oil is used to stop them coming into direct contact.
To understand how this works imagine pouring some water on the workbench and then standing a glass on top. The water is easily displaced by the glass being pushed away out from under the glass allowing it to touch the workbench. However if the water was pressurised and couldn’t escape away to the sides from under the glass, then it would take a lot more force to make the glass touch the table. Pressurised oil works the same way to keep components apart. Without pressurisation the oil would just get pushed away by the components it is meant to protect. When this happens the engine rapidly becomes damaged beyond repair.
Once we understand this we can see why it is so important to maintain the oil levels in our car and to make sure that we use a good quality motor oil. It is generally not a good idea to opt for a cheap oil change, in the long term it can be more expensive.
There are many websites dedicated to explaining how oil works inside your car’s engine one of them is called the oil pressure gauge guide, you might find it worth a visit if you are interested in learning more about this subject.
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