Morris Minor Owners Club

Anyone out there know what the orange light on the left in the speedo cluster is and what the warning means mine is on all the time. I have looked in my Haynes manual and can't find any mention of them.

Regards Crazy

I think that is the oil filter warning light (don't quote me mines not got one)

If it is, it just means the oil filter is clagged up and needs changing.

If it is the oil pressure light that is just been put in the speedo on the wrong side its much more serious.

I'd look into it soon as ~I don't think later cars had a filter light

I think the light might be on all speedos, but not all filter housings have the sender - At least all the speedos I've seen scattered around have 2 orange lights (well, lenses), but few of the engines do - Given the speedos probably came from the same cars as the engines that's what I've worked out anyway

And I seem to recall the wiring for both pressure and filter is green/ yellow, so it's quite possible someone fitted the lights the wrong way round.

Still needs checking asap though!

If it is, it just means the oil filter is clagged up and needs changing.

If it is the oil pressure light that is just been put in the speedo on the wrong side its much more serious

If the oil filter is blocked, it doesn't matter if you have pressure or not - the pressure will all be lost in the filter and the engine will be starved of oil!! Usually driving a car with the filter blocked will mean the engine is dead within a few days, but I guess that depends on your daily mileage.

Sounds like I should check it out quite quickly, the car belongs to my missus and its a 1969 2 door saloon. She is the second owner so I should imagine the engine and speedo match.

Many thanks for all your replies

Oliver

The filter warning light was discontinued in late 1969 so your car is likely to
have had it fitted. You will see the Lucar push on terminal on top of the filter
and it is indeed Green/Yellow. Try taking the lead off and,if the light is still
lit then it is nothing to do with oil pressure but if it does go out then you had
better inspect that filter pronto!

If I recall my filter assembly (1966 - 1098cc), there's a bug spring in the filter housing - that *should* allow some of the oil to by-pass the fliter, so you won't have total oil starvation....

It's worth taking the filer holder off and making sure that:-

a) it's the correct filter
b) all the bits are in the right order
c) the oil sender unit isn't shorting out somewhere

If you have the old "bolt-on" filter, you don't need to drain the sump to inspect the filter. You will need to re-fill the filter before replacing it - usually my least favourite job!

Colin

For what it is worth, I was interested in fitting the filter housing with the sender sitch to my 1971 Traveller (the light is all there in teh speedo, and I don't like having a light fitted but not connected to anything), but Charles Ware's advised against it, saying they were notoriously unreliable, giving false positive indication, so they usually disconnect them (!).
Your light may welll be a case in point.

As a matter of interest, is the filter warning switch a "break" switch on the output side of the filter? i.e. it is held off by the oil pressure until the filter doesn't let enough through to keep it open? (Both orange lights would then be on with ignition on and engine stopped), or is it a "make" swith on the input side of the filter, only coming on when the input side pressure rises because filter is blocked? (in that case the left light would be off with ignition on and engine stopped)?

The filter blocked light would come on while the engine is running if the filter
was blocked therefore it would be 'on' (shorted to chassis) only when there was no oil pressure or, as you say, the ignition was on without the engine
running.

Hi has your engine got a 'bolt on' filter if it has swap the wire from the filter to the engine pressure switch and see if it goes out. My own moggy has both wires connected to the engine pressure switch as it has a 'spin off' filter so that both orange lights come on if pressure drops, also fitted a pressure gauge as back up. If the filter is blocked provided it is not solid oil should by-pass the filter, at sometime the sump will fill with sludge as my rebuilt PO Van engine proved. It had been used for banger racing and the rocker shaft broke but the big ends were still as new. Of course it may just be the switch is stuck 'on' remove it and check it works by putting a meter across it then pressurise it with a foot pump. ps big bruv drove a moggy pick up for four years with the light on until one day the bulb broke no more worries!