Jetta Oil Warning Ghost
SAS...@vm.sas.com
been discussed previously.
'87 Jetta GL (AT) oil idiot-light and warning buzzer come on at
exactly 2100rpm after approx 15 minutes of driving. It stops when
revved past 2100rpm.
Have replaced sending unit & warning light assembly to no avail.
Oil change fixed it once, but next oil change un-fixed it.
I've run into 3 other people with the same problem ('85&'87Jetta,
'84Scirroco) but they didn't have any answers.
H E L P ! ! !
Chris Rogers e-mail: SAS...@VM.SAS.COM
SAS Institute, Inc. phone: 512.258.5171
Austin, Texas x3214
Kevin Kiel
>'87 Jetta GL (AT) oil idiot-light and warning buzzer come on at
>exactly 2100rpm after approx 15 minutes of driving. It stops when
>revved past 2100rpm.
>Have replaced sending unit & warning light assembly to no avail.
>Oil change fixed it once, but next oil change un-fixed it.
>I've run into 3 other people with the same problem ('85&'87Jetta,
>'84Scirroco) but they didn't have any answers.
>H E L P ! ! !
>Chris Rogers e-mail: SAS...@VM.SAS.COM
Well, I had a similar problem on my `82 Rabbit. I examined everything.
Is your oil pressure switch dirty? I remember checking my oil pressure switch,
oil pump, oil, wiring short circuiting, and then my sanity before I finally
disconnected the dang light. I did this at 82K miles, now I have 135K miles
and no oil related problems! Hey, you must make your own decisins if you
choose to do this, because if you suddenly loose your oil pressure for real,
you will have no way of knowing!
Kevin Kiel ki...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu
mer...@scivax.stsci.edu
> I'm new to the network so please forgive if this subject has
> been discussed previously.
>
> '87 Jetta GL (AT) oil idiot-light and warning buzzer come on at
> exactly 2100rpm after approx 15 minutes of driving. It stops when
> revved past 2100rpm.
>
> Have replaced sending unit & warning light assembly to no avail.
> Oil change fixed it once, but next oil change un-fixed it.
>
> I've run into 3 other people with the same problem ('85&'87Jetta,
> '84Scirroco) but they didn't have any answers.
>
> H E L P ! ! !
>
last time, with a few additions.
The first thing I would do would be to buy a mechanical oil pressure
guage. That way you can monitor what your oil pressure really is and ignore
the light.
When I had the problem in my 82 Rabbit it was not mechanical.
My problem was in a relay with the part number 813 919 082. This relay
has 6 connectors in it. 5 regular sized and one small connecter. I picked
one up in a junk yard for $5. This is after I spent about $125 for new
sensors and a new oil pump. None of that fixed the problem. The problem
got much worse. In fact 1 time the light stayed on for an hour straight.
Lucky for me I had my oil pressure guage!
This part is called the oil pressure control unit. It is relay much like
a flasher relay on 82, 83, and 84 rabbit and pickup trucks. In the following
German built cars it is part of the instrument cluster: 82, 83, and 84
Sciroccos, 63 and 84 Jettas and convertables. The Bentley manual has a
procedure for replacing it on 1983 German built models. The only models I
checked for were the 80-84 Gasoline models. If you have different model
check in the Bentley manual in the electrical diagram. That will tell you
where the relay is. I would be willing to bet that no earlier models have
this relay.
Here is how the relay works:
There are two oil pressure switches on these VW engines. One on the side
of engine has nothing to do with the relay. It is used to signal that the
oil pressure is above 3psi. It is all that is on the pre 82 rabbits.
On the 82 Rabbit, the other oil pressure switch is on the mounting for the
oil filter. To test to see if your relay works, disconnect the switch and
rev your engine above 2000 rpm. The dummy light should come on. The
Second switch is used for high RPMs. I do not what the pressure setting is
to switch it on. The only model I have hands on experience with, is the 82
Rabbit. Even if it passes this test, the relay can still be bad. If you
disconnect the relay, you will still have an oil pressure light that will
work for complete oil failure only.
The relay on rabbits and pickups is next to the fuse box. the three that I
have seen have all been black. I do not know where it would be on any other
model.
Some other suggestions I saw on the net were to check the connections to your
oil pressure switches. It might also be one of the switches. If you have a
tach, check to see if it only happens over 2000 rpm. Then it is either the
switch that controls over 2000 RPM or the control unit.
But the best suggestion I can give you is to get a mechanical oil pressure
guage until you have the light and buzzer fixed! That way you will know
you are not hurting your engine. Also the wiring diagram out of the Bentley
manual will be VERY helpful. I could not of figured it out without that.
Good luck
Clark B. Merrill
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, Maryland
mer...@stsci.edu
Eiji Iki
>In article <92048.181...@vm.sas.com> SAS...@vm.sas.com writes:
>>'87 Jetta GL (AT) oil idiot-light and warning buzzer come on at
>>exactly 2100rpm after approx 15 minutes of driving. It stops when
>>revved past 2100rpm.
>>Have replaced sending unit & warning light assembly to no avail.
>>Oil change fixed it once, but next oil change un-fixed it.
>>I've run into 3 other people with the same problem ('85&'87Jetta,
>>'84Scirroco) but they didn't have any answers.
>>H E L P ! ! !
>>Chris Rogers e-mail: SAS...@VM.SAS.COM
>
> Well, I had a similar problem on my `82 Rabbit. I examined everything.
>Is your oil pressure switch dirty? I remember checking my oil pressure switch,
>oil pump, oil, wiring short circuiting, and then my sanity before I finally
>disconnected the dang light. I did this at 82K miles, now I have 135K miles
>and no oil related problems!
I had same problem on my 85 Golf.
Buzzer come on at around 2krpm after oil warms up.
My case it was the oilpump. The gears inside the pump was significantly
smaller compared to one from 86 GTi which I installed and solved the problem.
Someone told me that they recalled oilpumps on mid 80s cars but I don't
know for sure.
My suggestion is go get a good oil pressure gauge, such as vdo or autometer,
and see if it's really too low.
Good luck.
Derek J. Pietro
I also had similar problems with my 84 GTI. However in my case
the culprit was a poor ground connection from the battery to the body.
The grounding circuits were good enough that the starter could turn over
the engine, but vibrations (usually at higer rpm) caused the ground to
the body to get 'poor' and made the hi rpm light/buzzer come on.
It took a while to find, but my first step, too, was to put a mechanical
gauge in tandem with the idiot lights so I could verify I wasnt frying
my engine.
Robbie Felix
Me,too '85 Cabriolet. First I changed the oil pump. That fixed it for
1 month. Then I changed a sensor ( didn't help a bit).
Finally I had the mechanic change the PCboard that operated the
sensing system and the "filament" ( whatever that is).
Mine always flashed at 1200 RPMs and after 20 minutes of operation.
It works after the last "fix" and has for about a month. I got the
mechanic's name off this newsgroup and am happy as hell to have
finally found someone good.
Good luck! I thought this was gonna drive me crazy!
rf
Andrew Nguyen
(v107...@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Eiji Iki) and der...@gvl.unisys.com
(Derek J. Pietro)).
I would like to add one to mine and have a few questions:
a. What brand is your gauge?
b. Where do you put the gauge?
c. Where do you put the sensor?
Thanx. Email if you like, I'll summarize.
--
Andy Nguyen / Team Paranoid
(212) 267-7722 ...!uunet!panix!aqn OR a...@panix.com
Jeffrey M. Mayzurk
>I see a coupla people talk about oil pressure gauge in VW's
>(v107...@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Eiji Iki) and der...@gvl.unisys.com
>(Derek J. Pietro)).
>I would like to add one to mine and have a few questions:
>a. What brand is your gauge?
>b. Where do you put the gauge?
>c. Where do you put the sensor?
a. VDO -- it's good enough for VW/Audi and Porsche, it's good enough for me.
Plus, they match the stock gauges exactly.
b. In my Scirocco, I have installed three gauges where the ashtray used to
be, in the center console. APS makes gauge faces for the Scirocco II,
Corrado, Fox, Golf/Jetta II, and Rabbit. They've got you covered.
c. You'll need a tee-fitting to connect the pressure sensor at the cylinder
head, at the same location as the sensor for the idiot light. You can
also get one sensor that has outputs for both the gauge and the idiot
light, eliminating the need for a tee and two seperate sensors.
(Hint: this sensor is stock on all Audi's with an oil pressure gauge...
check your local salvage yards. Some Audi models are also equipped with
a set of three VDO gauges in a nice little panel with all the necessary
wiring that makes for a very easy installation in a water-cooled VW.
This is the most cost effective way to go, if you can find a wrecked
Audi with the gauges.)
--
Jeffrey M. Mayzurk
silv...@ecs.umass.edu
went as far as having my oil pump cleaned to see if it needed replacement. But
there was no improvement.
It turns out, Jetta's have two oil pressure sensors. One for the low RPM and
one for the higher RPM. The one for the lower RPM is calibrated to send a
message if your pressure is less than like 25-28 psi (if I remember right).
This is actually a bit of a high constraint - meaning that if it is very hot
out (ie. thinner oil), or you are running too slow for the gear you are in, the
oil pressure may naturally drop to right around this level, thus sending you a
false signal.
The solution which my mechanic used was to replace that sensor with one which
has a threshold of around 15 psi before it flashes, so you now know that you
are definitely in trouble if the light comes on - no false alarms since then.
Hope that this helps. From the other postings I have seen, I feel that this is
most likely the cause of the problem in Jetta, Golf, and Scirrocco circa
1984-86.
Bob Silverstein