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Cheap vs. expensive testing Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Tue, 2 Dec 2003 09:31:18
In Reply to: oil light in dash flashes, Chris, Mon, 1 Dec 2003 16:48:05 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
The cheap test is to stick a pressure gauge on to see what the problem is. The expensive test is to keep driving. That test is expensive because if the problem is just a bad wire or bad sender, you'll know because after a week of driving, the engine will still run. That's free. However, if the engine siezes after a few days of driving, you'll know it wasn't a sender problem, but actual low oil pressure. That's very, very expensive. On average, merely expensive. Depends if you're feeling lucky.
Ignoring the oil pressure light is an option, but I don't recommend it. How is the light flashing, and when? The oil light is just 12 volts to a light bulb and the other side of the bulb runs to a pressure switch to ground. If the pressure is below about 8-10 psi, the switch is closed, and the low side of the bulb grounded, lighting the light.
If the light flashing is related to the car moving, then I'd look to see if the wire to the oil pressure sender has worn insulation, and the wire shorts against chassis with car movement.
However, if the light tends to come on more at low engine RPM, and really doesn't have much to do with vehicle movement, then I'd look at low oil pressure.
Either way, I'd get on it immediately. I've had the oil pressure light come on a few times in various cars. Most of the time it was a bad sensor, but I shut the car down immediately and had the pressure checked before I drove any farther. The one time it wasn't a sensor, a bolt had holed the oil pan, and the bottom bearings burned in a matter of seconds.
posted by 192.249....
, Tue, 2 Dec 2003 09:31:18 <-- Viewing This Message, Mon, 1 Dec 2003 20:44:45
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