oil light came on , wont go off?

drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
in Engine & Drivetrain
i checked the level and it is fine , light was flickerin then stayed on , no leaks any where , i did "search" and nothing came up on oil light , thanx for any help fellas!
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Comments

  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    check the oil pressure with a manual gauge if you have one! This is exactly what pebbleswagon did right before #2 rod came thru the block. I'm guessing it was an oil pump failure, the pickup screen wasn't clogged.

    I did change the oil pressure sender first, and the light went away- for a few days.
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    i dont have a gauge , and i would nt know where to hook it up , lol , if i can make it to work and back tomorrow , i'll have the weekend to look more into it
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    you can buy one at advance or the like for ~$20, tee it in where the idiot light sender is (right above the oil filter)

    good luck with the commute, but if you have another ride available I'd take it...
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    thank you soooooooooooooooooo much for your help , kinda off topic but not really........is it a possibility that my cluster is actin up? since i got the car my S4 light randonly comes on then off , some days it does ,others it doesnt , i just gave my car a fresh oil change less than 200 miles and now when i check it , it kinda reads way above the 2 hole mark :?
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    you must have put way too much oil in. that can jack up your motor hardcore. drain the access out RIGHT NOW, also thats why your light would be on.
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    i only put in 4 qts
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    its only supposed to take 3.5

    when you drain it also its not going to go completely dry, so you always have more oil.

    either way your dipstick is reading too much so adjust the levels before you kill your headgasket
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    i changed it on my drive way (car facing garage) it has a slight up hill pitch , i figured it would drain a lil more that way
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    that's EXCESS. How much did you put in? I routinely use a full gallon, though I know it's a bit much. My heap burns about a half-quart per tank of gas, so a little extra don't hurt.

    I'm not so sure that would cause the light. The sender is a rudimentary pressure switch, held open by oil pressure. Pressure drops below whatever the threshold, switch makes contact, light comes on. It doesn't know or care if you're overfull. The only scenario I can think of where too much oil could cause low pressure would be if it was soo full that oil was aerated by the crank/pistons etc., but that's farfetched... and you'd be puking oil everywhere.
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    drunkscotsman wrote:
    i changed it on my drive way (car facing garage) it has a slight up hill pitch , i figured it would drain a lil more that way

    yeah i do that too, but still the oil remains in the actual oil lines and passage ways. not a ton, but i mean enough.

    my oil light came on in my hatchback when the oil level was low, so i dont see why it wouldnt come on if it was too high.
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    lol , no puking
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    [quote="wagodizzle

    my oil light came on in my hatchback when the oil level was low, so i dont see why it wouldnt come on if it was too high.[/quote]


    because it's an oil PRESSURE light, not an oil LEVEL light.
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    but if the oil is too high wouldnt it change the pressure also?
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    i would think so
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    either way its best if you take a little oil out ;)
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    will do asap , but i'm a li confused on why it would take a week for the light to come on
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    just checked my level , it is about an 1/8 of an inch over the 2nd hole , gonna drail a lil and fir her back up , wish me luck
  • drunkscotsmandrunkscotsman Band Wagon
    prob solved , i emptied a qt out , and the light went off
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    okay.... but a half-quart ain't gonna do it.
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    drunkscotsman wrote:
    prob solved , i emptied a qt out , and the light went off

    good :mrgreen:
  • RevmaynardRevmaynard Council Member
    bam-bam wrote:
    okay.... but a half-quart ain't gonna do it.


    Yea, I'd still try to spend some time this weekend looking into it.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    that little bit of extra oil did NOT cause your oil light to come on. listen carefully for the sound of the other shoe... :roll:
  • quartersquarters Council Member
    bam-bam wrote:
    that little bit of extra oil did NOT cause your oil light to come on. listen carefully for the sound of the other shoe... :roll:


    3.5... 4... makes no difference. everyone is over reacting. put in 5, ya you might have problems.
  • lucskywalkerlucskywalker Wagonist
    yea, putting to much in doesnt do it, pressure switch is most likly on its way out they will come on and go out randomly, its a cheap try it out for kicks trick anyway, i always put a new one when i buy a new ride, cost is 45-80 bucks depending on where you get one. but pressure is pressure and if you install a oil psi gage they are cheap as the sensor these days, and you know if the pump went out or not! good luck!
  • HandofBoBHandofBoB New Wagonist
    Mine did this forever! Perfect oil level and everything. Turned out my oil pickup was clogged and not delivering oil to the motor. Glad I found out early. Maybe had 3 miles on it with no oil getting to motor. Just a thought incase anyone has any problems in the future.

    - Mike
  • 671wagon671wagon Band Wagon
    I drive my wagon for about 20 mins. and the light starts to flicker after a few more minutes it stays on and then when I turn off the car and start it again the light is off and then slickers again.

    I suspect a oil pressure sending unit. Is it hard to replace this? I will also have the oil changed. Do you think I should remove the oil pan and clean the oil pickup strainer?

    Thanks,
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    The sender is easy to replace, it just screws into the block just above the oil filter. Cleaning the strainer isn't a bad idea either, but I'd get a manual gauge reading first for a before and after comparison.
  • White&NerdyWhite&Nerdy Senior Wagonist
    As for the S4 light sometimes coming on and sometimes not - my car does this, too. The LOW light with it. I figure it's just some loose connection somewhere. The transmission functions fine, meaning I can always get S4 and LOW when I want it - I just don't always get the dash lights to confirm it.

    Not that it has anything to do with oil. :) In fact, that's my point - completely different issue. One I wish I could solve, though (I admit I haven't really looked into it)
  • 671wagon671wagon Band Wagon
    bam-bam wrote:
    The sender is easy to replace, it just screws into the block just above the oil filter. Cleaning the strainer isn't a bad idea either, but I'd get a manual gauge reading first for a before and after comparison.


    Any suggestions where I can buy the sending unit and the tee fitting so I can install a mechanical oil pressure gauge.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    just a 1/8"NPT street tee will work.
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