oil light on at low RPM's after oil & filter change..... HELP

[bradshaw102]

I had a qualified mechanic do an oil and filter change on my 02 plate Cooper. Now the oil light comes on at idle and low revs..... this happened after I left his garage about 5 miles up the road. Not driven it for obvious reasons.... about to have it towed to a BMW dealership (tail between!) Has anyone else experienced this problem and do you have any thoughts what it could be? Many thanks!

[Chilli]

Hi

Have you checked the oil levels since it was done?
Sounds like it's to low,

Have you noticed it leaking? Cause it could be the sump plug hasn't been done up properly and is leaking oil.

[bradshaw102]

Yep, we had just put in just short of 5 litres of Magnatec Oil and put in new spark plugs..... oil light didnt come on for about first 5 miles....

[Chilli]

so wheres the oil level now? have you checked to see if the sump plugs tight? a corsa i no had a similar problem and it just turned out to be low oil level, but due to its hard to read dipstick it was hard to tell!!!!
if everything else is ok, the only other thing i can think of is that its a faulty oil sensor.

have you asked the mechanic who did it for you his opinion? i take it it was fine before the oil change and filter were done?

[G. P. Burdell]

It's easy to nick or kink the O-ring on the filter cap as you screw it into the oil filter housing. Check for leaks.

[MINIGURU]

I've seen this before. Usually it is because when the filter was removed the plastic center part of the cartridge housing is now missing. Sometimes it gets stuck in the old filter and discarded. The plastic peice has a spring that presses the filter down and makes a seal in the housing. Without that seal there is a loss of oil pressure and that causes the light to come on. Easy to check just take the filter out and see if the plastic center shaft is there.