So I got my tester.
From the instructions:
Quote:
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The Lubricheck primarily reacts to the increase in acidity of the oil (the TBN number)
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I went and tested the oil in my Fiat first, it's 12 months old but only covered 2,000miles, most people (and the service manual) will tell you to change at 12 months regardless of mileage.
It takes around 10 drops of oil to fill the sensor dish, so it's unfortunately a case of dipping the dipstick multiple times which can make a bit of a mess.
This oil scored '1' (out of ten)- new oil. So there's the Lubricheck paid for immediately.
I cleaned the sensor to try another vehicle, but you not only have to get the sensor truly clean, you'll have to wait for all traces of solvents to disappear. I used kerosene to clean the sensor followed by dry paper towels, but it still wouldn't initialise. After leaving it to dry for the day it worked again.
My Lubricheck unfortunately arrived just after I replaced all the fluids in the Jeep, they would have been interesting to test. I'll try the Prius next as thats the next oldest oil I have.