How does an oil change reminder work?

Last May I put 12,000 miles on my bike, driving about 10 hours a day averaging 3200 rpm. That would have be about

I waited till I got home to change oil, but all the Harleys along on the trip got one or two oil changes. If you are right, there is a lot of good oil being dumped out.

I think the penalty factors likely drag that number down significantly though. You wouldn't see near that amount of time expire between oil changes unless you only drove it on very long trips.

I believe they also say not to leave it over 6 months regardless of what the light does.

Again, some yes, some no. It depends on the vehicle.

BMW varies the Oil Service and Inspection Indicator lamp system that uses Mileage, Engine Temperature, and Engine Speed to calculate 'Estimated Mileage' that triggers the lights depending on these factors.

Older fords and Cadillacs used something similar.

I can't remember the last time I saw one that was triggered just with mileage (but I'm sure it was a model before 87).

GM has a web page describing their system, based on engine run time (total and per start), coolant temp, rpms, and maybe ambient temp as well. I think I remember being told that to clear the light you turn the key on but don't crank the engine, then floor and release the gas pedal three times.

-- Regards, Carl Ijames snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net

All Hondas are mileage only.

My wife's 97 Buick GenII 3800 just triggered the change oil light at 2600 miles since last change.

I intend to take over the changes now. Does this feature automatically reset, or do you have to manually reset it?

It has to be manually reset. Check the manual.

In article , snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net mentioned...

Interesting. I've been reading a book on Ford Electronic Engine Control EEC-IV ("eek four"). They call that WOT, wide open throttle. It's significant in some tests, etc.

I've been getting a check engine light and the MIL (malfunction indicator light) code is 332, insufficient EGR pressure. The crate drives normally, so it's not a problem. Yet.

This morning I pulled the EEC unit out and opened it up, kind of neat how they built it with a decent amount of thought towards making it reliable. The PCB is coated with this soft thick plastic, so I would have to do some work to get that off before I could do anything, if I had to. Fortunately the VREF voltage is right on 5.00VDC so I know that that's okay. Some of the sensors are supplied with it, and one I measured looked like it was zero. But now I think I was not measuring the right pins. In any case, I did some checks to one vacuum solenoid, and it's ok, but the other sensor has eluded me, I've looked for it and came up with nothing.

The book is a general book ($30 at barnes and noble) and doesn't get into specific models, so I may have to get the ford factory manual to find out what's going on. Meanwhile when I unplugged the EEC module, I reset the memory, so if the check engine light comes back on, if it comes back on, I'll just keep on looking for more info.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.

If she does a lot of very short trip driving, you might do well to heed the light and change the oil. The parameters it monitors to trigger the light sound valid. You have to manually reset it, the method varies with make and model.