Electronic dipstick giving spurious readings ?

**XPorker** · 19-10-2008, 07:48 PM

Hi all, new CSL owner here.

Had my new toy delivered just over two weeks ago and took it on an extended roadtest the day after.
My test route took in the south of France and a bit of Italy and covered some 3000 miles over ten days

Totally in

with the car now and seriously wondering why I've spent the last seven years driving Stuttgarts finest . . . . .

One small issue with the car was the oil level.

After a few hard miles in France I used the electronic dipstick function to check the oil level.

It showed + .9 litres. I duly purchased a litre of Castrols finest and put it in.

The display then showed the level as +.1 litres.

On the final day of my "extended test drive I checked the level electronically again. This time it showed +1.1 litres.

I take it this means the engine requires 1.1 litres and not that I've overfilled it by 1.1 litres ? ! !

I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and thus put another litre in. After this the display STILL showed +1.1 litres.

Am I being a total f*ckwit or is the electronic dipstick not functioning correctly ? (I believe there are known issues with the system ?)

Thanks in advance.

cslbecks · 19-10-2008, 08:07 PM

The engine is burning or losing a hell of a lot of oil over a short space of time if it is!!!!

Jaw_F430 · 19-10-2008, 08:09 PM

Couldn't you have just used the normal way to check the oil and use the dipstick?

cslbecks · 19-10-2008, 08:12 PM

The dipstick on the CSL is underneath the carbon airbox - and so you need to remove the airbox to manually check the oil - not something i would personally want to do!!!

Jaw_F430 · 19-10-2008, 08:44 PM

Guess I will find that out when I find one and buy it lol

**Andyk** · 19-10-2008, 08:54 PM

Should read 1.1.......also if you don't do many miles it may read -.- everytime you start it up. It's nothing to worry about because it takes arounds 25 mins to get a reading. If you don't get a reading after a long run then you will need to top it up.

**Mark CSL** · 19-10-2008, 08:58 PM

XPorker

You will have over filled it if you put 1lt in when it read .9

The min is 0.1 and the max i 1.1 it wont show you if you over fill it

Get the car to normal running temp then on level ground
turn the car off / then turn the ingnition to ingniton 2
get the display to show oil level then hold the sport button in

it will show --- then give you a reading if all this does not help
you have to remove the front of the carbon air box
then the dipstick is below it it is red and near the back.

I MUST MAKE A VIDEO

cslbecks · 19-10-2008, 09:42 PM

Mark (or whoever else knows) - for the newbies and complete techno-phobes like me - could you give us an exact step by step to correctly check the engine oil? Would really help as i still cant really work out how to check it properly and know for sure that i have an exact proper reading. Thanks!!

**Mark CSL** · 19-10-2008, 10:08 PM

It is in the csl manuel that came with the car

**XPorker** · 19-10-2008, 10:15 PM

Blimey, fantastic responses on here ! !
Thankyou for that indepth description Mark. It's much appreciated.
I'd been carrying out the check incorrectly. . . .

I'd caned the car mercilessly so thought it quite possible that it may have burned a litre in 3000 miles.
I'll run a proper check when I use it again (it's not my daily driver)

Sorry to be a nuisance, I have a further question

The car is currently running on Michelin Pilot Sport 2s (with incorrectly sized 275 section tyres on the rear)

3000 miles of hard driving in France have all but finished them off.
I visited the lads at Simpson Motorsport last week and asked what tyres they recomended fitting. they were vocal in their criticism of the MPS2s saying they'd had handling issues with a couple of cars they'd been fitted to.

I don't use the car on track (I know, I know) and I'm unsure about fitting the original equipment Michelin Cup tyres. I had them on a 997 GT3 and drove it in sub zero conditions with the roads damp and covered in grit/salt.

Personally I thought they were "ok" and a rise in temperature saw them improve drastically. BUT, I never drove that car on wet roads or in heavy rain.

The press and Mr Clarkson made a big deal about the Cups shortcoming in the wet (and the car does seem lacking in rear end grip compared with either my previous 996 or 997 GT3s) I'm thus worried about putting the Cups on as the weather gets colder and wetter . . .

What are peoples thoughts ?

19-10-2008, 07:48 PM	#1
XPorker S3 - On the open road Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: West Midlands Posts: 84 Casino cash: $497	Electronic dipstick giving spurious readings ? Hi all, new CSL owner here. Had my new toy delivered just over two weeks ago and took it on an extended roadtest the day after. My test route took in the south of France and a bit of Italy and covered some 3000 miles over ten days Totally in with the car now and seriously wondering why I've spent the last seven years driving Stuttgarts finest . . . . . One small issue with the car was the oil level. After a few hard miles in France I used the electronic dipstick function to check the oil level. It showed + .9 litres. I duly purchased a litre of Castrols finest and put it in. The display then showed the level as +.1 litres. On the final day of my "extended test drive I checked the level electronically again. This time it showed +1.1 litres. I take it this means the engine requires 1.1 litres and not that I've overfilled it by 1.1 litres ? ! ! I decided that it was better to be safe than sorry and thus put another litre in. After this the display STILL showed +1.1 litres. Am I being a total f*ckwit or is the electronic dipstick not functioning correctly ? (I believe there are known issues with the system ?) Thanks in advance.

19-10-2008, 08:07 PM	#2
cslbecks S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: London, Essex Posts: 178 Casino cash: $250	The engine is burning or losing a hell of a lot of oil over a short space of time if it is!!!!

19-10-2008, 08:09 PM	#3
Jaw_F430 S5 - Full Throttle Power Driver Champion! Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 451 Casino cash: $2634	Couldn't you have just used the normal way to check the oil and use the dipstick?

19-10-2008, 08:12 PM	#4
cslbecks S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: London, Essex Posts: 178 Casino cash: $250	The dipstick on the CSL is underneath the carbon airbox - and so you need to remove the airbox to manually check the oil - not something i would personally want to do!!!

19-10-2008, 08:44 PM	#5
Jaw_F430 S5 - Full Throttle Power Driver Champion! Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 451 Casino cash: $2634	Guess I will find that out when I find one and buy it lol

19-10-2008, 08:54 PM	#6
Andyk Driving it like I nicked it Space Invaders Champion! Join Date: May 2008 Location: Chepstow Posts: 2,506 Casino cash: $3997	Should read 1.1.......also if you don't do many miles it may read -.- everytime you start it up. It's nothing to worry about because it takes arounds 25 mins to get a reading. If you don't get a reading after a long run then you will need to top it up.

19-10-2008, 08:58 PM	#7
Mark CSL CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 8,777 Casino cash: $42229	XPorker You will have over filled it if you put 1lt in when it read .9 The min is 0.1 and the max i 1.1 it wont show you if you over fill it Get the car to normal running temp then on level ground turn the car off / then turn the ingnition to ingniton 2 get the display to show oil level then hold the sport button in it will show --- then give you a reading if all this does not help you have to remove the front of the carbon air box then the dipstick is below it it is red and near the back. I MUST MAKE A VIDEO

19-10-2008, 09:42 PM	#8
cslbecks S4 - Getting the hang of it Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: London, Essex Posts: 178 Casino cash: $250	Mark (or whoever else knows) - for the newbies and complete techno-phobes like me - could you give us an exact step by step to correctly check the engine oil? Would really help as i still cant really work out how to check it properly and know for sure that i have an exact proper reading. Thanks!!

19-10-2008, 10:08 PM	#9
Mark CSL CSL Register Uber-poster! Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Scotland Posts: 8,777 Casino cash: $42229	It is in the csl manuel that came with the car

19-10-2008, 10:15 PM	#10
XPorker S3 - On the open road Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: West Midlands Posts: 84 Casino cash: $497	Blimey, fantastic responses on here ! ! Thankyou for that indepth description Mark. It's much appreciated. I'd been carrying out the check incorrectly. . . . I'd caned the car mercilessly so thought it quite possible that it may have burned a litre in 3000 miles. I'll run a proper check when I use it again (it's not my daily driver) Sorry to be a nuisance, I have a further question The car is currently running on Michelin Pilot Sport 2s (with incorrectly sized 275 section tyres on the rear) 3000 miles of hard driving in France have all but finished them off. I visited the lads at Simpson Motorsport last week and asked what tyres they recomended fitting. they were vocal in their criticism of the MPS2s saying they'd had handling issues with a couple of cars they'd been fitted to. I don't use the car on track (I know, I know) and I'm unsure about fitting the original equipment Michelin Cup tyres. I had them on a 997 GT3 and drove it in sub zero conditions with the roads damp and covered in grit/salt. Personally I thought they were "ok" and a rise in temperature saw them improve drastically. BUT, I never drove that car on wet roads or in heavy rain. The press and Mr Clarkson made a big deal about the Cups shortcoming in the wet (and the car does seem lacking in rear end grip compared with either my previous 996 or 997 GT3s) I'm thus worried about putting the Cups on as the weather gets colder and wetter . . . What are peoples thoughts ?