Its ridiculous but when you see that red oil light the damage is already done. if you want to protect your Honda take the 2 minuites to check the oil when you fill the gas.

My Story.

Leased my 2000 civic, didn't check the oil till 2500 kms. . . ... was down 1.5 litres . . . . got an oil change @ 5000k . . . . . . by 8500k the dummy light came on . . . @ 12000 kms the engine started smoking . . . .

moral . . . if that light comes on you better start saving.

take the 2 min to check the oil.

 

My y8 spun a rod bearing years ago, light never came on, but I was definitely low. Had obvious oil leaks and I hadn't been checking the oil weekly like I should have.

Maybe that royal purple oil at the time wasn't as good as some other oils. I remember switching to that soon before.

Low oil+bad oil=guaranteed to fail? Maybe some other oils have better lubricating properties/thresholds when low, I don't know...

 

why wouldn't you check your oil, and thats not oil level,it's pressure, the standard idiot light comes on around 4 psi, you can get idiot light senders that come on at higher pressure, why Honda doesnt use one, I have no idea, You'll probably need an adapter, most Honda pressure sender threads are 1/8 bsp, I believe Pegasus sells senders with the 1/8 bsp thread, I changed mine to 20 psi years ago, by the Time an overhead cam engine gets to 4 psi, the cam and cam journals are already damaged, Honda uses high pressure oil at the cam to act as the cam bearing, thats why the aluminum cap isnt destroyed

 

This is why these sensor metrics aren't good enough. They are meant for the casual driver and not to give detailed readings on things like this. This is an excellent reason to install aftermarket measures like an oil pressure gauge, and a coolant temp gauge. I try to stay mindful of my oil level at all times and note/monitor any leaks I notice.

 

not trying to push pegasus, they just have the oddball metric hose ends that no one else seems to have, they have 1/8 bsp hose ends for both -3 and -4 hose, so you can make up a braided hose for your gauge without needing adapters

 

One thing I loved about my f22 accord. It was my work car and there were several times the dummy light came on while traveling. Had a large oil leak i never fixed. Of coarse I stopped immediately and got more oil at what ever gas station was around. That motor lasted 1/4 million miles before a ring let loose.

 

the light is a useful addition to the gauge, sometimes you dont notice a gauge, but the sender has to be replaced with something that comes on at a useful PSI, not right before your engine locks up

 

What is the standard operating oil pressure for one of these? Or, for instance, a d16z6? I think one of my next investments will be an oil pressure gauge along with UEGO wideband.

 

Ouch, yeah its important to regulary check the oil.

 

@ lostforawhile - Why didn't I check my oil? Im not sure why . . . . got a leased car that was owned by a mechanic . . . . assumed it was good. . . bad assumption . . . busy . . . I dunno just didn't check it...

All Im saying is that the reason that oil light comes on is that your oil level is low and the oil pump is sucking air. Hence the drop in pressure to trigger the light.

I didn't ask any questions in this thread I was just bringing up a point.

When that light comes on the damage is already done and you wont know it for a month or two.

If I can encourage one person to check their oil more often and save someone, anyone the trouble I have experienced then I can sleep better knowing. I know this mistake . . . its a dummy mistake . . .

 

My next investments are an oil pressure gauge and an air fuel gauge !!!! or should I just say **** it and get the 5 inch Tach with shift ligh HAHAHHAHA

 

who the hell needs a 5" tach? you normally need reading glasses when you drive?

the rule of thumb is 10psi per 1000 rpms. so if your engine is about to take a ****, your pressure gauge should tell you. The normal idiot lights on the dash are for, well, idiots.

IDK why car makers dont put an oil pressure gauge as OEM. Prob cuz the soccer moms wouldnt know wtf it means ayways.

 

Learned this lesson the hard way. Now I'm paraniod and check the oil at least once a week.

 

I was going down an off ramp one time turning sharply and the light came on and I didnt notice it until I turned the wheel and the light was visible. No damage ever happened.

 

Sure damage happened you just don't know it.

 

not really. sometimes if you are low on oil and make a super hard turn the light will flicker on once.

seen it before but luckily not on my car...was damage done, well no, could it have, yes.



i keep a oil pressure gauge in all my hondas