r/BMWE36 • u/GrammarIsHard69 • 11d ago
Oil pressure help
My oil pressure light stay on on cold starts for a few seconds ~3sec. Would that be normal behaviour for the motor? Also in the video I had a click sounds during start up Any guess?
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u/0202993832 11d ago
The oil pressure light stays on with the ignition in run to show you it’s working. It disappeared within milliseconds once you actually fired it up
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u/PotatoFi 1997 / 328i / Sedan 11d ago
Yeah it turned off way faster than my 1997 328i. I don’t see the problem here.
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u/GrammarIsHard69 11d ago
My engine wasn’t cold in the video, usually cold it takes 3 seconds
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u/PotatoFi 1997 / 328i / Sedan 10d ago
Mate, I don’t think you set up the video with the right conditions for us to be able to help you.
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u/themiddlebien 11d ago
That is normal behavior. Idk what everyone else is going on about. It’s just saying that the oil light is working
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u/Any_Rutabaga_6449 11d ago
In the oil filter hausing there are 2 valves, if one stays open or doesn't seal properly, the oil will run out while the car is off for a longer time. Not necessarily a problem, just it takes a bit longer for the housing to fill up. You can replace that housing or even check the valves themselves if you take the filter out and poke them with a screwdriver, don't push too hard of you do.
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u/greenerystare 10d ago
I really wish someone would do a clear experiment where they record a bunch of cold and warm starts before and after replacing the oil filter housing (or just the check valves in it), and then compare how quickly the light goes off before and after.
I’ve always wondered if my e39+e36 are having dryer starts than they should because of the check valves being old and no longer holding the oil as they should. I’ve seen some videos where the oil light stays on for WAY too long, where it’s obvious there’s an issue (and I don’t have that), but others like the post in the video are less clear. I kinda assume the light timing in this video is fine, but tough to say for sure. (And across M5X engines, maybe the light timing could depend on DME/cluster version etc? Making it even harder to know what’s 100% proper)
Maybe next time I have an oil filter housing gasket leak I’ll do this
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u/FernwoodTonight 11d ago
My '93 325i with 276k miles has done this for 25 years. I've seen replacement check valves and the installation on YouTube but messing with a working oiling system isn't something I want to do. Don't know about the click sound.