Red Oil Light On (Solid)

Hey everyone,



This afternoon, I started my 2001 330i sedan and saw the RED oil-can light on the dash.



Even though it's known to cause a flickering warning light, I am going to replace the oil pressure switch soon and post results.



Here's what I know:



- It's 10 degrees F

- This light indicates low oil pressure

- I have never seen it before, flickering or otherwise (I've owned the car over 1 year)

- The oil level is fine (checked w/ dipstick)

- I turned off and restarted the car, no luck

- I unplugged/replugged/wiggled the oil pressure switch (back of O.F. Housing) and restarted the car, no luck

- I'm unsure if the engine sounds different than normal



The important part of my situation is that I'm trapped 2 hours away from home with only very basic tools. I know that if it isn't the pressure switch, it's likely that some aspect of the oil pump has failed - be it a sheared shaft, nut coming loose, etc.



Some questions I have are:



- How safe is it to run the engine for a few seconds at a time for tests/moving around the driveway?

- Is there a reliable way to discern if this is a 'false positive' vs. if I actually have an oil pressure issue without an oil pressure gauge

- If I got a hold of a gauge and checked the oil pressure, what exactly should I look for?

- If I did in fact have low or no oil pressure, what would the engine sound like when running?

- It's a long shot, but is there an "easy" way to check the oil pump and its nut?



Thanks all.