So tonight, while I was idling at the parking lot at Wal Mart, my oil light came on. It came on and off the whole way home. When it was on it would be solid, not flickering. My engine sounded like it was running fine, no knocking or pinging. I didn't take it on the freeway, but I did make it home, and the engine ran and sounded fine the whole way. When I got back, I checked the oil after the car cooled down, and it showed almost at the max line, so i'm definatly not low on oil. I'm assuming that it is likely the oil pressure sending unit. My question is, where is the oil pressure sending unit located on the 2.2 engine (2000 Cavy)? I'm also going to be changing the oil and filter tomorrow (which is kinda ironic because I was at Wal Mart to buy Mobil 1 and a new filter, and then the light came on there lol).
Also, if it's not the sending unit, what else could be causing the light to come on? My engine sounds fine, the pressure seems to be fine (i'm assuming that as the engine is running the same as always). Just curious so I know what to look for next.
lalalala
its on the back of the motor close to the filter
IT's actually on the backside near the knock sensor and crank sensor. More on the driver side near the bung where a distributor would be.
Is the light on constantly or only when idling?
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The light came on while idling, and then would come on when I was going between 35-40mph. It would go off when I took off from a stopped light. Also, when I moved my car again last night, it didn't come back on at all.
Would autozone carry the sender unit or do I have to go to the dealership to get it?
lalalala
if i was you, i would check the oil pressure.... could be early signs of the pump going bad.....
Well, I changed my oil and filter today (I put Mobil 1 in it) and it seems to be running great. No oil light at all. If it comes back on again I'll defiantly be taking it somewhere to get the pressure checked out. I don't have any gauge to check the pressure with, and most of the oil lines seem like their impossible to get to. I did find the sending unit, but it would be almost impossible to get to.
lalalala
Also, how hard would it be to hook up an aftermarket oil pressure gauge? Would it be a difficult task?
lalalala
Sorry to bring back an old thread, but I have questions about the oil sending unit on my 99 2.2L cavalier. From what I can tell its slightly up and towards the drivers side of the oil filter on the block. What exactly is the easiest way to get to this thing though? I thought it would be simple from underneath the car but I can just barely touch it because my arm gets stuck at the transmission. I'm going to go get another oil filter because it seems removing the filter may possibly give just enough room to get to it. Other than that the only thing I can think of is to pull the intake manifold again (which I do not want to do again). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Only way I've ever been able to do anything with it is to rip off the intake. I can pull the intake in about ten min. now lol
Dang I was really hoping not to pull that thing off again. I cant do it anywhere near that fast lol. I may try to just pull the oil filter off today and see if I can barely manage it. Its only 4$ down the drain if I cant make it work. Worst part is I had the intake off replacing the manifold gasket just a week before this thing started a slow leak. Only reason I'm even concerned with it is because the oil light flickered on 3 times a few days ago. Thanks for the reply though.
If the light stays off after the oil change then I wouldn't worry about it. It was probably just a little low on oil and when you changed the oil you topped it off.
Its actually only been 2 weeks or so since I changed it. It does have a slow leak and was 1/2quart low which isnt low enough to trigger it. I did remove the oil filter but could still just barely get my finger on the sensor, not enough to actually remove it. If it doesnt flicker on anymore I suppose I wont worry about it to much. If it does, I guess Im stuck pulling that manifold off again.
