Red oil light

[Beigenoahb]

Today while sitting in the drive thru at idle my red oil light came on. I shut the car off and restarted it and the light came on for its bulb check then went off so i thought it was just a fault in the light. Later today i started the car and it did not come on. After going to the store and starting the car after shopping the light came on again while driving. It shut off as i came to a stop then when i started moving again it would come on. The light is also very dim like its not lit up all the way. Im just guessing there is a faulty sensor. I checked oil level and its not low.

[Timm]

Yes, faulty oil pressure sensor is the normal cause - but make sure you replace it and check again - low oil pressure will kill your engine very quickly!

[CPHES]

To get a real understanding of what is going on, I would look at all wiring connections - but also, drop the lower oil pan. It says you have a 97 - Check the oil pump to see if the pickup screen is clogged. If so, the sensor is telling the truth. Also see this:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...sue-on-the-M62 - I'd stop driving this car until you get that investigation done.

[SergeBMW]

The oil light can come up for multiple reasons

- Low oil
- Clogged oil pump screen
- Oil pump bolts loose
- Failing pressure sensor

These cars suffered from loose oil pump housing bolts which led to ACTUAL low oil pressure issues. IF this is the case you need to take care of it fast as it can cause wear. This would occur even with normal oil level on the dipstick.

[Beigenoahb]

Turned out that my battery voltage was low causing the light to flicker off and on. Charged the battery and nows it off

[Timm]

No, that's not it - battery voltage has nothing to do with oil pressure - keep looking!

[jclausen]

We had higher mileage 540 oil light came on at idle it was just below the threshold which is 7 psi, but when we ran the rpms up the oil pressure would go up to like 80 psi the quickly drop to 70 or so, so we felt the oil pressure relief valve in the oil pump was sticking. We ran the engine with the lubimoly engine flush then change to oil from 5w30 to 5w40 the oil pressure light has been off ever since originally we did try the new oil pressure switch

[Beigenoahb]

The light was never fully on it would always flicker at a dim pace. After i charged the battery the light has not been on since. So if it comes back on then we know its something else

[MrChrysler]

My oil light comes on under hard braking to a full stop. Few seconds later it is okay. It happens in two of my e38. Also faulty sensor?

[CPHES]

We can't tell from the info you provided. You could have a real low pressure situation - hard braking could be pulling oil away from the pickup - and the pickup could be clogged. you might have a faulty sensor, but this is a 22 year old car ( 97 in sig )