[LGDickens]

Hi all, I've got a 2009 e92 320i. Bought it with low oil pressure issues, stripped it down to find the chain was intact but guides had broken down blocking up the oil pick up. New chain, guides and a thorough clean out of the sump and pick up and put her back together. New oil, filter etc and the car ran fine. Took it out today to go and get its safety check that you need here in the UK and boom, red oil pressure light. Killing me! Car still runs fine, got plenty of oil and no leaks. Only thing I can think of immediately is the oil pressure switch as i swapped the BMW one out for an aftermarket so need to check that...Engine is still too hot to strip it down.

I thought in the mean time I'd ask if anyone had any other thoughts around something I might have missed. These cars seem soooo sensitive. Ideally, I don't want to have to take the sump off again to pull the oil pump so hoping it could be something a bit more simple.

Thanks heaps in advance.

[lookalikehuuh]

IMHO It's not really that these cars are so sensitive, its that aftermarket parts are just absolute junk!. Start by replacing the oil pressure sensor with an OE one, and maybe even using a manual pressure gauge to confirm the actual oil pressure being seen at the engine.

[LGDickens]

Yeah, I agree. I should've known better. I stripped everything out, swapped the pressure sensor back to the original BMW one, cleaned the vanos solenoids and the oil pressure control solenoid then got it all back together. Let it idle for a good 20 minutes until hot, test drove (Just a short one as still need to get a roadworthy and its illegal with out one) and no red oil light....yet.

Hoping that that was the issue but guess I have to wait and see. It's one of those annoying things, it won't pass the roadworthy with an oil pressure issue but I can't give it a proper run until i get the roadworthy. I will report back.

[LGDickens]

So an update. I replaced the oil pressure sensor with the original BMW one and threw away the after market and hey presto! The red oil pressure light went away. Drove the car for a few weeks, not a lot but on long enough trips that if there were still an issue, especially an actual oil pressure one, the light would show itself....And it didn't until, as always, i sold the car.

The new owner took it for a good test drive, no issue, no light. Bought the car, drove it off and an hour later I got a call. Red light had come on. Kills me! What are the chances?!

I went over to there house to check the car over, no visible issues. I topped the oil and we took it on a good drive, careful at first then he gave it some and took the revs a bit higher. Ran perfectly. No light. We pulled up on his drive, and literally, as we did and we sat at idle, the light came on.

With all I have done to the car I can't work it out. I checked the codes again and the 30C1 was back. The guy really likes the car and has asked if I would be able to try and fix it but at this stage I am stumped. I am thinking first thing to do will be check the actual pressure with a manual gauge. I was thinking though, as the light only comes on at standstill so idle, could it be as simple as the oil. I am using 5w-30. I have heard that it is better to use 5w-40.

Just looking for any guidance as don't want to have sold him a lemon and would love to get it sorted so he can confidently drive it. I have also considered replacing the sensor itself.

Thanks for any help.

[NZE90]

Have you put a manual pressure gauge on it yet to check if the pressure is actually low?

[GoRomeo]

[QUOTE=LGDickens;32111889]So an update. I replaced the oil pressure sensor with the original BMW one and threw away the after market and hey presto! The red oil pressure light went away. Drove the car for a few weeks, not a lot but on long enough trips that if there were still an issue, especially an actual oil pressure one, the light would show itself....And it didn't until, as always, i sold the car.

The new owner took it for a good test drive, no issue, no light. Bought the car, drove it off and an hour later I got a call. Red light had come on. Kills me! What are the chances?!

I went over to there house to check the car over, no visible issues. I topped the oil and we took it on a good drive, careful at first then he gave it some and took the revs a bit higher. Ran perfectly. No light. We pulled up on his drive, and literally, as we did and we sat at idle, the light came on.

With all I have done to the car I can't work it out. I checked the codes again and the 30C1 was back. The guy really likes the car and has asked if I would be able to try and fix it but at this stage I am stumped. I am thinking first thing to do will be check the actual pressure with a manual gauge. I was thinking though, as the light only comes on at standstill so idle, could it be as simple as the oil. I am using 5w-30. I have heard that it is better to use 5w-40.

Just looking for any guidance as don't want to have sold him a lemon and would love to get it sorted so he can confidently drive it. I have also considered replacing the sensor itself.

Thanks for any help.

Have you replaced your oil and filter? Make sure you have a Mann filter or something in that nature. Make sure is not am junk.

Could be a clogged or old oil filter?

[LGDickens]

I am going to do a manual oil pressure check this weekend to see if it actually has pressure.

I had replaced the oil filter and that is nearly new. It is not a Mann though, its a Bosch. I have read that that could also be the issue as some don't flow well enough.

[Mike K]

Did you inspect the oil filter cage and the little o ring too?