EF99

I was fishing around in the VCDS software and I think I found the parameters that relate to the oil level sensor reading. Version 11.11.1 is the latest version of VCDS (dated Dec 9, 2011).

If anyone with a vag-com cable is willing to check a few values on your car, please post your results for the following parameters, which you access by doing this:

1) Click [select] from the main VCDS screen
2) Click [01-Engine] from the installed controllers tab on the next screen
3) Click [Adv. Meas. Values] from the "safe" functions in the 01-engine, open controller screen

After you click that, a main (monitoring) window and a second pop-up window will open (with a long list of values you can monitor).

In the pop-up listing window, click the checkbox next to the following 7 values (#244 thru 250), and they will then show up in the main window:

244 ESI (EXTENDED SERVICE INTERVALS) OIL WARNING THRESHOLD
245 LOIL_DYN
246 LOIL_DYN_TMP
247 LOIL_MAX_SRV_INTL
248 LOIL_MIN_SRV_INTL
249 ESI (EXTENDED SERVICE INTERVALS) OIL LEVEL
250 LOIL_SUM_SRV_INTL
(Late edit: also add parameter #547, Oil temperature)

Here's a screen capture of my values (along with one other value for the hood sensor; =1 while hood is open, 0 if closed):



My best guess at this point of what these mean:

244 is the level where the low oil warning goes off. I assume it is set by the factory and will be the same for everyone.
245 is the dynamic (current) oil level
246 not sure. Seeing what other people have here might help.
247 is the maximum oil level recorded during the current oil service interval
248 is the minimum oil level recorded during the current oil service interval
(I think 247 and 248 would get reset when you have your oil changed and reset the MMI service interval tracker)
249 not sure. Seeing what other people have here might help.
250 not sure. My value here fluctuated between 0 and 6040mm

It might turn out that #245 is the only value to monitor, but knowing the others could help set the range limits.

What would be most useful is if anyone is about to change their own oil (especially if you have a siphon to pull the oil out thru the dipstick tube in measurable amounts), and to monitor these values in real time as you drain the oil. If my guess is right, #245 should change in proportion to the amount of oil you remove.

Any info you gather and post would be appreciated.

We should be able to figure out how to make these readings useful with more data on how they act.

Knowing your current oil level relative to the max/min range in quarts would be useful, but I'm most interested in being able to monitor the amount of oil lost per 1000 miles, and see how that varies during the engine break-in period and beyond.

NWS4Guy

Good stuff! If I had to wager I would say that 246 is dynamic either when warm (the TMP is likely temperature or temprorary) or perhaps it's a saved rolling value so that it can compare to the last time it was sampled to see if there is rapid consuption.

EF99

That's a good point. My engine was essentially cold when I took these readings. My oil temperature was 47*C = 117*F (you can also display this value along with the others mentioned above, by checking parameter #547 Oil Temperature in the list window).

That might be why mine showed zero. Might need to be 140*F or more for this value to be non-zero.

EF99

Some updated values with the engine hot:



As NWS4guy thought, #246 is affected by the oil temperature. The reading with the engine still hot (taken about 15 minutes after parking) for #246 was 16.8125mm instead of the previous 0.00 mm with the engine cold.

#244 (oil warning threshold) must not be a fixed factory value, since I got a different value this time.

#247 (LOIL_MAX_SRV_INTL) was a larger value by 1.25 mm, but that's under a sixteenth of an inch and might just be because I was parked at a slightly different slope.

My MMI display, for what it's worth, still shows full.

EF99

A couple other oil-related parameters from [01-engine]>[Adv meas. values]:

293 LV_LOIL_L_WARN
294 LV_LOIL_L_WARN_ACT
295 LV_LOIL_L_WARN_TMP
302 LV_POIL_SWI_H
303 LV_POIL_SWI_L
486 T_COOL_LOIL
496 T_TEMP_SIG_LOIL

The first 3 (#293-295) sound like they may relate to the low oil warning displayed in the MMI. Knowing these values before and after the MMI warning would be useful.

302 and 303 are probably related to oil pressure (I'm guessing that's what the P stands for)

uberwgn

The oil level monitoring system is far more complex than most of us realize. The system does Dynamic and Static measurements. Lots of measurements taking place when the vehicle is in motion:

EF99

Thanks. "Complex" is a relative term. In any case, here's the full document that flow chart came from, in case you only have that one page:
http://152.66.93.29/audi/download/au...%20A4%20A5.pdf (Edit to add: This is for the 2010 A4, A5 so may not completely apply for S4, but it's useful info all the same).

zulujams

Ok EF, here are a couple of shots. I saved the shots in Paint as JPGs and put them in my profile in an album. I asssume I have to keep them there forever or they will get removed from this thread. If there's a better way to post pics, please advise.

I found that you can only log 12 parameters at a time, and my location numbers don't line up with yours even after upgrading to 11.11, no idea why this is. I had to hunt around for the parameters and there is some overlap between the pics. Notes: I took the readings a few min after getting home with the car outside in high 30F temps, and my mileage is at 15K a few days afer service at the dealer.





I found that you can easily clear what you've logged and start over by just going back to a previous menu rather than srolling around and unclicking what you've logged so you can grab new ones. Still learning my way around the software. I hope this helps. I'll gladly help more if I can, just let me know. I try to keep up with the threads but a PM will definitely get through to me.

EF99

Thanks for posting your numbers zulujams.

Since you just had service, I would guess our oil levels would be pretty similar, and they seem to be for the most part. A couple mm difference probably doesn't translate to much difference in ounces but I'd like to eventually figure that out.

For the 2 sets of data I posted, one was with the car faced forward in the garage, and the other was with the car reversed. Two of the values differed by a couple mm so that's probably just due to the slight slope of garage floors (required by code to have a slight slope so water drains, I believe).

Surprising that your LOIL_DYN_TMP was zero. I had zero in that with a cold engine but had about 17mm with the engine hot, so I thought having the engine hot was a gating factor for that value (apparently not).

Your LOIL_MIN_SRV_INTL is quite a bit lower than mine (8.63mm vs 17mm). From the name, this has something to do with the minimum oil level during the service interval. Mine was very close to the MAX so I would have expected something similar on yours since you just had the oil changed (i.e. max and min level would be about the same). Not sure what to make of that (unless maybe the dealer didn't reset the service interval reminder in the MMI?).

What would help in figuring out this puzzle is if someone gets a low oil warning (and had saved your "full" values after your latest oil change) and could log the numbers before and after adding a quart.

zulujams

I'm no longer getting a service reminder in the car, so it must have been reset by the dealer. Getting a log from someone with a low oil warning would be helpful. I had a high level warning from the dealer after they put too much oil in, but I didn't grab a log of that unfortunately. I'll keep an eye on the oil level and can grab a log once the level drops by a half quart as I'm sure it will again over time.