Hey there,

I am really hoping I can get some help/information about this problem I am having with my Crossfire. Typically only had this car about 6 months after finally saving up enough to buy one! The car has been perfect since have had and no issues at all but recently in the last few weeks the oil light started coming on, so I put more oil in and the oil light went off but then a week or 2 later the oil light came back on....this has happened a few times now and there is no way it could be needing that much oil.

Anyway that to the side....now on to the more concerning issues, because of the continued problems with the oil light coming on I thought either the sensor was faulty or maybe it needed just resetting (had thought could be oil leak but don't see any signs of that) so after doing a little look on google I come across something which told me how to reset the oil light. I followed what it said and it seemed to work (as I heard the beep etc) but only thing that I found odd is at the end of resetting it says it should say "7,000" on the panel.
Mine doesn't say that and instead says something odd such as "-469" so I am not sure if I have reset it properly or not. I tried resetting it again a few times but it does the exact same thing....I therefore left it at that and carried on my journey to see if it had worked and the oil light didn't come back on.

Unfortunately that didn't last long and the oil light came back on within 2 or 3 minutes, then another few mins later (and this is what has worried me the most) almost all the lighst came on at the same time on the panel and when I pressed the accelerator, I could tell something wasn't right.
The engine was still running but it was almost like it was stuck in gear, it basically just wouldn't accelerate! I therefore put my hazards on and then I tried turning the engine on/then turned it back on and all the lights atleast weren't on this time, if I tried to drive everything was completely normal and no issues with accelerator at all. It also seemed to drive fine with no issues for about 5 minutes but then the same thing happened again....so I stopped and repeated what I did earlier by turning engine on/off and I was good to go again.

Therefore totally confused and rather worried what could be wrong, I would really appreciate anyone's input that has knowledge about these things as to what could be causing these issues!

Thanks,
Justin

 

recently in the last few weeks the oil light started coming on, so I put more oil in and the oil light went off but then a week or 2 later the oil light came back on....this has happened a few times now and there is no way it could be needing that much oil.

Why did you add oil? Because of the light? Open the hood, use the dip stick and check your oil level. You either have a leak or possibly have too much oil in the pan. The negative number means you have run 469 miles beyond the recommended oil change interval, but that should reset when you follow the procedures correctly. It can learn you how in the owners manual. CHECK YOUR OIL WITH THE DIP STICK.

 

Like he said, if your using oil it is possible to burn it and the cats can deal with a bit for a while, not so much.

What did you add total, how is the level?

The engine going into limp may be problem number 2 and independent. Limp can be caused many ways, use a code reader to see if it is trying to talk to you. Could be the engine sensor that so many have had to replace at the top back of the engine, there are links in the search file, go get em.

Woody

 

My car has a oil leak around oil sending sensor, and light is on most of the time but oil level is fine. If you have not removed your underside cover, leaks are hard to see. When i remove the cover it had oil residue on it , but not enough to run off cover to ground. Just a thought

 

I did check oil with dip stick and its showed low once or twice which is why I said I topped it up but like I stated it just seemed to be coming on more than it should.

My main concern really is why it was playing up with all the lights coming on/going limb. Really unsure what could have caused that and was hoping someone here might know what it could be. Just wondering if the the "reset" thing I did for the oil light could have caused it to do this if I had done it wrong....here are the direction I followed that I got online on how to reset the oil light -

Resetting Service Indicator
Turn key to ON/ RUN position.
Within one second press the **** / button twice.
The present status for days or distance is displayed. Within 10 seconds turn the key to OFF / LOCK.
Press and hold the **** / button, while turning the key to ON/RUN again. The present status for days or distance is displayed once more. Continue to hold the **** / button.
After approximately 10 seconds, a signal sounds and the display shows 7,000 miles (11,000 km) for approximately 10 seconds.
Release the **** / button.

Weird thing like I stated in original post is that it came up with -469 and not 7,000 when I tried resetting it myself. Again no idea if this had anything to do with the limp/all the warning lights coming on but obviously as it only started playing up since I started resetting am wondering if it could be connected.

 

OK I was concerned you may have over filled with oil, but by checking with the dip stick you are assured of the correct oil level. I can't see how your attempt to reset the FFS oil interval setting could cause the car to go into limp mode. Your instructions are almost word for word from the owners manual. So you should be able to reset the interval like it says. The recommended oil change interval is 7,000 miles.
waldig is very experienced with these cars. His advice to check for codes is your next step and texas t also gave you a very good tip concerning an oil leak. If it is there you wont see it on the ground, but it will be dripping oil onto the plastic underside engine cover. Remove that cover and take a look there for any fresh oil.

 

I don't believe there is a "reset" for the oil indicator light. The sensor that triggers that light is looking at oil level and oil pressure and is located in your oil pan. Mine has been on since I bought the car, but I have no indication that I am using oil (leaking, burning, etc) so I am assuming it's a bad sensor. I'll replace it eventually, just not a priority right now. The "reset" you are doing is for the FSS and like what was said before, it looks like you're doing it correctly and shouldn't affect anything else. The suggestion to check for codes should be your next step - that will tell you (and us) more of what we need to know.

RL

 

Just an UPDATE....

I have had my car in a local electrics garage and they have looked at it, said engine, brakes etc all seem fine. They put it on the machine but loads of codes came up, they think this is because no one has wiped them from memory when previous work has been done in the past.

They advised to wipe all the codes, then drive it till the issues I have been having re-occured and then they can read what those fault codes are. I have therefore gone ahead and done this and the error code that comes up (a cheap scanner I bought off online arrived this morning) so I used that one tonight and the error code is - P0720. I believe this code stands for speed sensor circuit malfunction....let me know what you think and advice regarding this!

I am going to ring same garage again tomorrow and tell them about what I found and see what they think and hopefully take it down and get issue resolved. Not that sure thou, if this is likely to be the fault (assuming it is) and if its a simple thing to fix or not. I have looked a little online and seems the sensor is just a small thing to replace but again I personally don't know enough about these things.

 

P0720 can be :
1. transmission connector or conductor plate in the transmission.
2. Bad TCM module.
3. Intermittent wiring.
4. a host of other things ( download the service manual )

#1 THING TO CHECK IS THE BATTERY !!!

I have a $5 cigarette lighter plugin that shows the voltage, but you can use a meter also.
You want to see 12.1 to 12.5 with engine not running and key in accessory position.
You want 13.8 to 14.2 volts with the engine running.
If the voltage fluctuates, double check the battery ground cable connection at the body bolt.

If the battery is old, replace it.