(no subject)

[randomdreams]

Update two:
I put my clothes away, hauled a fist-sized glob of hairy solids out of the shower drain, and am about done.
BUT! The mechanic called about my car.
All the previous cars I've worked on, the oil light on the dash is an oil pressure light. If the engine is on and the pressure is low, the light's on.
On this newer model of subaru, the oil light is not an oil pressure light. It's an oil system alarm light. So if the pressure goes low, even if it is refilled, the light stays on. If the oil level is too high, the light turns on. If the system thinks you're in need of replacing the oil filter, the oil light turns on. And it stays on until you get into the communication bus and clear the alarm.
Which is good to know.
This doesn't answer why the car was low enough on oil to trigger the original fault. They don't see any reason for it to lose oil. So, now that it's full, I have to rigorously check the oil level and characterize loss rate, which I can do.
I think I'm going to buy one of those obdII-bluetooth modules so I can separately monitor the oil pressure.

Comments

[sistawendy]

Mm, fist-sized globs of hairy solids in the shower drain. I did that too a few days ago.

Car engines speak Bluetooth these days? On the one hand, that's cool. On the other hand, if you need Bluetooth it isn't great for cost & reliabliity, and I sure hope it's read-only.

[randomdreams]

They don't. Fords speak one hardware protocol, GM's another, and most of the rest of the world a third, but thankfully for the last 10 years or so everything is required to speak CAN and provide full functionality via CAN. I'm getting a CAN-BT adapter, only because CAN-WiFi seem more power hungry.

[sistawendy]

I didn't know CAN was a thing! TIL!

[randomdreams]

I've had to repeatedly implement it (decode/encode) at work, so I know too much about it.

[darkoshi]

Had you checked if the oil was full when you bought the car? If not, then maybe it hadn't had regular maintenance & oil changes in a long time. When I bought the used car I had prior to my current one, I think the oil light came on while driving it home, and I had to fill it up. But beyond that, I don't remember it having any significant oil leaks until over a decade later. Although I may have had to add oil every once in a while, in between oil changes... I don't remember if that was the last car, or the one before it.

[randomdreams]

I didn't, and I should have.

[basefinder]

My 2011 Outback has started burning a slight bit of oil. Twice in the past year, close to 3,500 miles since the previous change, the light has come on and I've added half a quart to get it back between the lines. I'm old fashioned so I get it changed every 3,750 miles anyway.

[randomdreams]

I'm a 5000 mile changer unless I'm driving about in dusty climates. Apparently Subaru doesn't even consider it a problem until you're burning a quart every 3000 miles, which I think is a bit boggling. The Spitfire's engine is from the Nixon administration and it doesn't burn anywhere near a quart/3000 miles. More like a quart every 10,000 miles.

[ivy]

Eeeeew to hairy solids. Glad that's out of there, and that you have new information about how your car works. I, too, wonder if you know anything about the maintenance habits of the previous owner.

[randomdreams]

Unfortunately no. It was a hail-damage car the dealer bought and replaced all the smashed windows on, so there are zero maintenance records.

[altamira16]

Since "blah blah blah car nonsense," I am going to take it that you are feeling a little better?

[randomdreams]

I'm not sure. I suppose I must be: I'm actually thinking about stuff rather than just staring at the ceiling between coughing fits.

[amaebi]

That is the first recoveryish thing I've heard from you-- thanks!

[ranunculus]

I'm beginning to hate electronics. It means that I have to learn a whole new language and bow down to new gods of mechanics. Of course I can't abandon old gods because at the very center of all the electronics is reality.

Glad you are feeling a bit better.

[pr0ject_mayhem]

Fuuuuck, man, that reminds me - I gotta check the oil tomorrow. Damn Subie turbos- I gotta remember that they occasionally like to skim a little off the top of that oil they're supposed to be retaining.

[malterre]

Wow, as if my Subaru doesn't yell at me about enough things already! Good to know!
We did battle using a FlexiSnake Drain Millipede Hair Clog Tool for Drain Cleaning and was impressed.