Title says it all. I was driving around the other night, engine temp at 90º. The oil light came on for 2 or 3 seconds,
Should I be checking something out? It hasn't happened since.
Just had an oil change last month, oil's at a good level.
Was it while you made a hard left?
2001 Olds Alero (LD9)
650 whp / 543 ft-lb
@turboalero
just coasting down the street
Seeing as all that light is for is for oil level and you have checked it and have oil would not worry. If it keeps happen might need new sensor.
FU Tuning
it is not for the oil level but rather the presure
it will come on when it drops dangerously low, like 5-7 psi, it may be a bad sensor, it may be bad wiring, but worse case if those work and you do have low oil presure you are in a world of hurting, remember the light will only come on when it is realy low, you could be running only 8-9 psi and never know it, there are gauges you can hook up to your motor instead of the sender unit, I'd check to see what exactly my oil presure is, I'd be happy if it is just a glitch, put a new sender unit in , check the wiring, otherwise it needs to be adressed before you blow that engine.
I believe that some of the earlier Quad-4 engines had an oil level sensor - was it the "low oil" light that came on, or the standard "oil" pressure light? If it's the pressure one, I'd look further into the cause - otherwise I would ignore it, since you know the level is fine.
It IS possible that worn bearings (or numerous other things) could cause the low oil pressure, but typically this will be most noticeable at idle - not just when coasting. If it only happened briefly once, I would take a close look at the wiring to see if any insulation's worn off somewhere. Most cars I've had would turn the light on if the wire was grounded out, so if it's rubbing on something it could be the cause.
Lets hope for a simple solution... it's one of the two potentially really expensive lights to see!
Also, if the oil pressure is getting low due to wear, often you can compensate my moving up one number in your oil viscosity (from 5W30 to 10W30, or 10W30 to 10W40). Only do this if the problem is verified as such, and it still seems to run well otherwise. Has the head gasket ever gone in that engine? Coolant mixing with the oil can wreak havoc on bearings in a very short time. Unfortunately I speak from experience on that one...
Good luck!
John
it was a picture of an oil can... I can't remember which one that is..
That one doesn't sound like the "good" one to me - but I don't have a '95 for reference. Anyone else familiar (or have a manual)?
I remember seeing a light on some Ford products from that era that actually said "LOW OIL" - but I'm not sure if GM was that straight-forward or not.
John
you mentioned you just had your oil changed, what are the ods they put the wrong kind in, shops do it all the time they throw whatever they have on hand, they may have used too thin of an oil.
my engine is supposed to have 5W30. Do auto shops even carry thinner oil than that?
So I haven't had a chance to take it anywhere to get it looked at, haven't had time to put in an oil pressure gauge either, but I've noticed a pattern.
-It happens more when the engine is at 1/4 to 1/2 on the coolant temp gauge (1/2 = 90)
-It happens when I'm braking
-Oil smell is present
-It goes away once I start accelerating again.
If I didn't have the Oil/Air seperation..... thing sealed off completely, is there any chance that would be promoting this?
I installed a catch can but only had 1/2" tubing so I had to just cut the sides of the tubing and stretch it over the nozzle of the Oil Air seperation box... thing (hack I know, I'll fix it I'll fix it
)
I'm barely driving it because I'm always at work lately but I definately want to get this figured.
Oil pressure gauge is probably going to give me the best idea of how serious it is, yes?
Our cars do not have a oil pressure light. 95 and 96 had a oil level light, sensor in the oil pan.
FU Tuning
Start simple being john above said u do not have a oil press light, prob just check oil prolly.I would check the sensor for that specifically.Could be just a loose connection! If the oil level is ok, and u check the sensor for oil and unplug and replug and problem persist I would just replace the sensor.Then if no change I would pursue it further.That is what I would do bc my old 85 has a two sensors one for oil, and one for pressure which would kick the light on (dummy light) to check the obvious.I have heard where peps had oil changes done and the oil sender was pulld loose and would kick up the idiot light for oil.Just a note.
I have a 96 chevy cavalier and it does the same thing except it only comes on when the motor is fully warmed up. I used to run 5w30 through it. I now run 10w30 and it comes on rarely. dont know if it is the sensor or not. havent had time to check. I change the oil myself but it still does it.
Changed the sensor; still did it
Changed the oil; still did it
It's now in the hands of an actual mechanic. Oil pump is the suspect.
For posterity, it was the oil pump. Got it replaced.
Good thing you got it replaced when u did. I had the same problem in my 2000. The light kept coming on, took it to a shop that put in new oil, 2 weeks later the engine blew. But if that didnt happen, i wouldnt have my s/c ecotec lol.
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