14 replies to this topic

[Grease_monkey1986]

after driving for a while then i stop and let the car idle sometimes the oil pressure warning light below the temp gauge on the dash dimly flickers. can anyone tell me what could be causing this?

[minislapper]

Whats causing it is low oil pressure!!!

First thing to try is change the oil and filter and fill it with a good quality 20W/50.

Also sniff the disptick *yes I said that right* and if it smells of fuel then the diaphragm on your fuel pump may have split and allowing fuel into the crankcase.

[Bungle]

also worth trying is the pressure relief valve

the cup gets scored and can stick

[Dan]

You sure it's not the no charge lamp? What colour is it? The oil pressure lamp can't really flicker dimly, it's either on or off. It just has a basic switch driving it rather than a resistance and to be dim it would need to be flicking on and off very quickly, which it can't really do.

[Grease_monkey1986]

ok ill give her an oil and filter change and see whats happens. ive smelt the oil and it smells fine. also something else is buging me, coming off the inlet manifold is a 3/4 inch rubber pipe, with a recess on the oppsite side the same as the one as the pipe back this one is pipeless. however the pipe doesnt go anywhere its just sitting across the rocker cover like a numpty.

[Grease_monkey1986]

You sure it's not the no charge lamp? What colour is it? The oil pressure lamp can't really flicker dimly, it's either on or off. It just has a basic switch driving it rather than a resistance and to be dim it would need to be flicking on and off very quickly, which it can't really do.

its an orange light.

[cowboy]

ok ill give her an oil and filter change and see whats happens. ive smelt the oil and it smells fine. also something else is buging me, coming off the inlet manifold is a 3/4 inch rubber pipe, with a recess on the oppsite side the same as the one as the pipe back this one is pipeless. however the pipe doesnt go anywhere its just sitting across the rocker cover like a numpty.

does this pipe go to the manifold or the carb, if it goes to the carb, then its the breather pipe and it should be connected to the breather at the back of the engine.

[Grease_monkey1986]

its def off the manifold, really confused.

[cowboy]

can you post up a pic or email me a pic

cheers cowboy

[Dan]

Later cars have an emissions manifold bolted along the top of the inlet manifold. This is a pipe system that all the breather, emission and vacuum hoses should be connected to in order to route them to the proper destinations. It's a couple of pieces of black painted steel pipe basically, bolted above the inlet. Could that be what you're describing?

As you suspect, amber is oil pressure. It could be that the pressure is right exactly on the limit of the switch which is 7 psi as standard and not good, even at idle. Needs investigating as said above.

[Grease_monkey1986]

ok ive quickly taken some pics with some quick labels.

 Image016_copy.jpg   625.7K   5 downloads

also i have two extra cables which are not connected and are just lying there.

 Image017_copy.jpg   509.57K   14 downloads

[Big_Adam]

the "Random pipes" off the side are connected to the water heater system (for in the car) most people don't plumb them in but they help for winter running.

The pipe with the screw blocking it off in the 2nd pick is used for a vac gauge or similar. Gauge is avalible from mini spares or you can leave it off.

by the way i THINK its a metro manifold. I'll look it up.

edit

if them "random pipe" are not connected then you can always get a meter or two of heater pipe to rig them up. You splice it in with the heater circut. So inbertween the heater tap (or take off on the cylinder head) and the heater or the heater and the bottom house.

edit

yeah, looking in the vizard book I'd put money on it being a MG metro manifold. or at least a copy.

Edited by Big_Adam, 08 January 2007 - 01:02 AM.

[Grease_monkey1986]

cheers for that things are starting to make more sense. ive been reading through the wod of paperword with the mini and i found a little scrap of paper saying its had a new engine. and i assume the other cables are ones left from the old engine and wernt needed. so in fact it could be a metro engine, how can i tell. the block is yellow if that helps lol.

Edited by Grease_monkey1986, 08 January 2007 - 01:18 AM.

[Big_Adam]

best bet would be to get the block/engine number (have no idea if their the same thing), block number is just under the water temp sender on the head, stamped onto the block......well is on my El Gordo.

Also engine colour doesn't really mean much...well don't think it does as El Gordo's is yellow.

As for the manifold it could have just come off a metro to be put onto your mini as they fit and are suppost to be the best flowing that BMC made or somthing to that effect.

[Dan]

As Adam says, the pipe that runs through the inlet manifold from the rubber hose to the unused pipe stub is for heating the inlet manifold. Connecting it up is a very good idea, it stabilises the inlet temperature meaning the car stays much more accurately tuned regardless of weather conditions. And the plugged pipe is indeed a vacuum souce that you can use for whatever you llike.

The two things you have marked as cables appear to be the heater control cable (the cable running accross the rocker box) which should be connected to the heater control valve and the vacuum advance hose (the pipe running front to back) which should be connected from the vacuum outlet on the carb (not the manifold union which is plugged) to the vacuum advance on the dizzy. If this is just flapping about it will allow the mixture to lean out as the carb port will be allowing extra air in.

If it's original paint then yellow means it's an A+ 998. Or it could be anything that's been painted yellow by someone.