Oil level 206 1.4

Hi, I have a 05 plate 1.4 206 SW with 16k on it and today decided to
give it an oil and filter change.

All went well until I refilled the oil and was looking at the dashboard
gauge to see if I had put enough in.

Only 4 lights were on so I kept on filling and started getting worried
when the whole 5 litres (Total 10-40) was almost gone. I had run the
engine to spread the new oil about but still only 4 lights were on.

I then checked the dipstick and found that there was too much oil.

Driving the car round the block the next time I started the engine
all lights were on correctly.

I've drained the oil off (I'll call it a flush to justify wasting the
oil and put more new oil in)and refilled it by the dipstick and now both
dipstick and lights read properly.

When all else fails I read the handbook which advises 3.2L and checking
EITHER the dipstick or the lights so have I got a fault, does anything
need resetting or is this normal? Can anyone say in simple terms how the
dashboard gauge works?

The car now seems fine.

TIA

 

First of all, these electronic gauges are only an indication and
cannot be a substitute for the dipstick, so never use them during an
oil change. Becuase they go through the BSI to indicate on the dash,
they dont always read the correct level after an oil change until the
ignition has been off for 5 minutes and then on for about the same
time (with the engine running).
So after a change using the dipstick run the engine, adjust the level
on the dipstick, switch off and take the key out for at least 5
minutes, drive the car for a short while, then switch off again. The
indication should then be correct.

 

Many thanks for that, Nigel. It explains a trick my 807 likes to play - it
waits until I have returned from walking the dog on a remote part of
Dartmoor or somewhere similarly off the map as far as mobile phones are
concerned and then tells me it is completely out of oil when I go to start
it. The first time it did it I checked the dipstick (full), the second time
I looked underneath to see if there was a pool of oil (no). Ever since I
have taken no notice, but I wonder why a company with the experience that
Peugeot have should fit a warning device whose only contribution is to focus
on its own unreliablity.

Ron Robinson

 

Hi,

Errr... The other brands were doing it, already. This is the mystery of
marketing / business intelligence : they say "we have to do such a thing".
I've heard of more reliable sensors available at Peugeot's...
Anyway, whatever we're talking about older cars like 405s (where it was fit)
or more modern models, everyone (with a mean intelligence) knows that the
simplest tool is the more reliable... therefore I always trust the dipstick.
I noticed that my '02 206 tends to show minimal level when parked bowing on
the right side.

And I know a worst kind of electronic oil level indicator : the one fit to
Renaults only shows "Oil OK" until it goes under the min level. The "squares
& dots" display can be obtained if the user presses a button. Stupid, eh !

Regards,

 

I'm not sure but doesn't the gauge only sample the oil level once per switch
on?

--
Malc
R1100RS old and tatty

You laugh at me because I am different
I laugh at you because you are all the same

 

Hi,

That's possible. It's only intended for "occasional" control, and doesn't
replace the good old dipstick check, hence the unneeded (unwanted ?)
reliability.

Regards,

 

You are right that you can't argue with the dipstick, but that doesn't mean
that the gauge need not be reliable. If it is fitted it should work.
Anything less is an insult to the customer who has had to pay for it as well
as being bad for the reputation of the makers.

Ron Robinson

 

I must admit that I can't think of a more awkward way than the OP was using.
You're pouring oil into an engine. Next to you is a dip stick, a few paces
away, through a door, on the dashboard is a gauge. Which do you pick?

--
Malc
R1100RS old and tatty

You laugh at me because I am different
I laugh at you because you are all the same

 

It is a THOROUGH oil change which includes checking ALL sensors
and instruments are working properly? In the OP's case this
was indeed done by him, double checked and a problem he encountered
put right before he used the car. I'd rather have an amatuer like that
change my oil than a main dealer anyday.

 

Maybe, but if you want to check the oil level sensor all you have to do is
see what it says when the sump is empty and again when the dipstick says the
sump is full. But that doesn't mean the gauge will tell you the truth next
time. . .

Ron Robinson