Oil Pressure Light Acting Oldly
When I'm driving for about 15 minutes, the Oil Pressure light comes on, usually starts beeping at me when I'm idling around 800 RPM. As I accelerate, it goes off, as it should. As I continue to drive, the RPM needed to keep the oil light off (and therefore the beeps) slowly climbs. However, when I stop, and turn off the car for about 45 seconds, I can restart the car and drive the car without the light coming on again until I turn the car back off. It is inconsistent when it does turn on. I have driven the car for weeks without it ever turning on and there have also been days where it beeps at me every 5 seconds (as the light turns on and off) while I'm idling at a traffic light.
The oil level in the engine block is a tad above the full line, so there's plenty of oil in the engine, but is was also doing this when the oil level was a little above the 'empty' line on the dipstick. It isn't a predictably repeatable occurrence as taking the same path at the same speeds and hitting the same bumps doesn't cause the light to come back on.
What do you think the problem is? Sludge in the oil causing the oil pump to partially clog, bad oil pressure switch, or a bad pump? I can't take it in, since Murphy's law is supreme... The mechanics don't see the oil pressure light when it is in the shop and when the light does turn on, I'm either at the other end of town from the shop I trust, its after hours, or I have to get back to work... So they can't test to see if the oil pressure is too low.
You didn't mention how many miles were on the vehicle, but from what you say I would just install a new oil pressure transducer. They are inexpensive and fairly easy to install. Ideally when you take the old one out run a pressure check to see if you have pressure within specs.
It's got 90k on it, but thank you. I will install that first.
ok what happens when you let it idle for 15min with the dummy light flashing? does the engine start knocking? if yes you have oil pressure problems, if no don`t get too worried about it. My 1966 plymouth when stuck in traffic idleing will show the dummy light and shortly after will start to knock, I do have oil pressure issues so insted of running 10w30 I use 20w50. In your case I wouldn`t use 20w50 because it could be the oil pump and new engines have tighter bearing clearances, and don`t like thick oils.
I'm generally driving to places when it is triggering, so I'm not letting it idle for 15. However, I have had it idle for a couple minutes at a time (waiting at lights) with it triggering and I haven't heard any knocking. I didn't think 20w50 could handle my temperature ranges (-30°F to +90°F).
When you get time I would physically check your oil pressure and put that new sending unit on. You don't want to be driving it that much if your low on oil pressure. If its coming on while driving I would bet that the actual oil pressure is good. I say this because if you have low pressure at higher RPMs you would have consistently low oil pressure at low RPMs. Also note that if the light flickers at all at steady RPM once again sending unit. If your in -30 degree temps I would go with synthetic especially if your doing a lot of cold starts. At 90,000 miles I would still go with manufactures recommendations on the oil including Syn oils.
I have a 2004 jeep liberty 3.7 lifer with about 130000 miles on it. The oil light comes on only when I stop, no other weird noises and it started the day before I got my oil changed. We did put is synthetic 5 30 since I cant always change it at the 3000 mile mark.
Why do people ask for number of miles on an old vehicle??? Who cares, it's going to be a lot every time. Same with asking how many cylinders on a car when getting wiper blades!! Irritating.
NO MORE OIL WARNING !!!!!!!!! I just had exact problem. Annoying warning sound when I stop at red light. 2000 grand voyager with 150k miles original engine and oil pump. I drive 80-90 MPH with this issue for a week with no issue. So I know nothing wrong with my pump or bearings. All I did was clean the wire, connector and the pressure switch using break cleaner. I didn't even remove any of them. Just sprayed to clean all oil and dirt as much as possible. NO MORE OIL WARNING.
I have a PT Cruiser at 89,000 miles, the attached pic is the light that comes up periodically. I don't need any oil, oil level is fine. What could this light be? would appreciate
The light in the picture is temperature warning. Not oil pressure warning light discussed here. Temperature warning means your engine is running too hot. First let your engine cool down aND check coolant level. 1. Check level of your engine coolant in reservoir. It is a plastic tank with 2 level markers. It should be above lower marker when engine is cold. 2. Open radiator cap. Engine better be at embiant temperature. Coolant should be full. Check radiator cap for tear and ware on rubber seal. Top up coolant if necessary. 3. Check the front of radiator for trash/debris/dirt and clean if necessary. If the temperature light keep coming on try this: When the temperature light comes on, turn on heater in side you car full with windows down. If this makes your temperature light to go off, your radiator is not cooling sufficiently. Repeat this a few times to confirm it goes off consistently when you turn on heater. If this is the case you would try changing and flushing the coolant first. If that still not working replace radiator and thermostat both.
I have a PT cruiser as well with 94k on it and I do have the red oil can light on. It came on last night and it chimes continuously as I drive but just stays illuminated when I stop and doesn't make any chiming sounds. I don't hear any knocking and its driving as normal what could that be?
PT CRUISER>> FIX FOR ENGINE OIL LIGHT COMING ON AT IDLE >>>> IT TOOK A YEAR OF TESTING AND MAKING CHANGES AND REPLACING PARTS,first step would be to install a mechanical oil pressure gauge to determine if you have low oil pressure at a idle when hot, if you do and there is no engine bearing noises then this fix would most likely be right for you too>>FIX been having a oil light intermittent problem, come on at an idle,go out when giving it throttle, first thing I did,was install a mechanical oil pressure gauge under the hood,also removed oil galley plug from head under the camshaft position sensor and relocated & installed the new oil pressure switch, filled it with 5w-30 Pennzoil and a puralator filter then fired up, the oil pressure was the same and the oil light still had same problem, it has (when hot) in 93 degree Florida heat, 2 lbs of oil pressure at a idle and 48 at 3000 RPM, so I pulled the engine and removed the crank, took to a machine shop and had it inspected and had the crank journals checked and they were standard and right on specs,so had the crank cleaned and polished and installed new bearings, new oil pump, new oil pressure switch.. fired it up and the oil pressure was the same,only 2lbs at idle when hot, but remembered when cold,oil pressure is great at a idle. so I added a Hayden external oil cooler to the front of the a/c condenser, now when running the air,the coolant fan runs which cools the oil cooler, this not only give;s me 7 lbs of pressure at a idle now on a hot day but it brought the engine temp down one full notch too, the temp used to run in the center all the time,which I had no problem with, my thoughts are,the cooler the oil,the thicker the oil, and cooler oil means less engine temp, now oil light and gauge are great, Im going to service the engine this week end and use 10w-30 this time which I believe will boost idle oil pressure even more, if anyone is thinking of going to a hi volume oil pump on their PT, thats ok,as long as you add a oil restrictor in the head under the rear cam cap in the head,a 3/16 hole is perfect, the hi volume oil pumps will suck the oil out of the pan and it does not drain back fast enough to the oil pan, the restrictor will fix this, also the 2003 to 2010 pt's have a higher volume oil pump from the factory,turbo & non turbo, wish I knew if one would fit the 2001 & 2002 pt's non turbo's,I have seen a lot of PT owners complaining bout the intermittent oil light problems, on many PT forums and internet when surfing for a fix, hope this helps the people who have this same problem,if your engine has no noise, and less than 4lbs of oil pressure when hot is found, then add a oil cooler and a mechanical oil pressure gauge, I found no place in the PT to place one inside the car that would not be in the way, so I mounted mine on the bracket for PCM, you may get a small 1-1/2 - 2 inch gauge inside,but my eyes are not that good anymore.. have a great day and God Bless
O3 PT Cruiser oil light comes on when starting the car. Has 148,000 miles on it. When I turn the car off then on again the light goes off and stays off but it’s chugging.
I have a 2005 pt cruiser and when I turn it on the oil light will come on and stay on until I turn off the car and turn it back on then the light will turn off why does it do that
I have a 2008 PT Cruiser, Touring. When going up hill my oil light comes on, then when going down hill it goes off. The oil isn't low and it isn't using any oil. I have over 100,000 miles on it. Could it be that I need a new oil pump?
Could a low oil sensor going bad shut the engine down ? My oil light is on but plenty of oil, the car is not throwing codes but every now and then it stalls and will turn over but not fire , if the engine light comes on it only shows an O2 code... 2004 pt cruiser 84,000 miles , thanks
a quick cheap & easy try is to just replace the oil sending unit with a new one, the oil sending units are a weak link on Fiat Chrysler products,if it does the same afterwards, then you will need to put a mechanical oil pressure gauge on it to see what the actual output is.. it takes roughly 3 lbs of oil pressure to put the light and chimes off.
The PT Cruiser and other Chrysler’s that use a similar oil pressure sensor made the connector to the oil pressure sensor with a design flaw. Which is this: the connector has only one wire going to it but it has two wire slots; the second slot is plugged wth a small plastic dart/pin because it is not being used. What this does is allows the connector to build up air pressure which causes it to give a false reading so PULL THAT PIN OUT WITH YOUR HANDS OR NEEDLE-NOSE PLIERS... it comes out easy. That will probably fix the issue, if it is what you described. I got this from a Chrysler tech on YouTube. The major obstacle would be just getting to the connector, depends which car you drive. The problem is the connector gives a false reading that trips the oil pressure light to come on, usually only at idle, because air pressure builds up in the connector due to that plastic dart/pin that covers the unused wire slot. On an unrelated note, the oil pressure sensor itself over time can leak a bit too so if it is, than a good tip would be to remove the actual sensor itself and clean up the threads and put a little Teflon tape on the threads and screw it back in, tight enough so it doesn’t leak.
yep mine does the same. crank it and oillight is on. restart and its off. the issue is the new oil pressure sw is saturated with oil from head gasket. runs fine. Will fix next week
finally found the problem and repaired it. turns out when engine gets up to temp the oil gets thinner & the clearances get bigger, the problem was the balance shaft assembly had excessive clearances in the shafts to body. replaced the balance shaft assembly with one from a 2010 pt with low miles and that took care of the problem, balance shaft assembly was leaking oil pressure back to the pan
Wow ...Thats pretty involved, going that deep.. I hope my issue is corrected when I replace the head gasket that is leaking oil rather badly down on to the oil pressure sensoe and the ground. About a Qt enery 200 miles. Pretty messy. Mine is a 2005 with 91K miles. Thanks for the response
Mine is a 2009 PT CRUISSER with 21,747 ORIGINAL MILES, we do not use the car often only for trips and we bought it new.....change the oil pressure bulb and I have the same problem....When I start the car the oil light does not turn off, only if I turn off the car and re start again, then the light does not come back again....
