Oil Pressure Light

Without oil pressure the engine can t lubricate itself and the result is self destruction meaning you have to do some seriously expensive internal engine repairs.

Oil pressure light. This can cause the most damage in the fastest way and kill the engine. If the pump were dying you d see low pressure at high engine speeds as well. On many older vehicles an oil pressure gauge in the instrument cluster gave a visual indication of actual oil pressure usually topping out at 50 to 60 psi. The oil pressure light should light up with the ignition on and does normally goes off after 1 2 seconds after the engine is started.

When your oil pressure light comes on you can bet that there is a reason. The oil light comes on when your engine suffers a drop in oil pressure. The problem is most likely somewhere else read the trouble codes with an obd2 scanner and check for any problems. Since the light comes on at low engine speeds and then shuts off the oil pump is probably fine.

Most modern vehicles though have done away with the oil pressure gauge replacing it with a simple low oil pressure warning light which illuminates when oil pressure drops below 5 to 7 psi. The most likely. Never assume however that an oil light coming on is because of a clogged sensor. The low oil pressure light on your dashboard like the rest of your on board diagnostic system is direct communication from your car s computer about what s going on with your vehicle when this light comes on however similar to a flashing check engine light you ll need to stop driving turn off the engine and once cool check the oil level.

Start the engine to see if the pump is generating adequate pressure. If pressure is normal about 10 psi for every 1000 rpms of engine speed the. You can check the following for wear and leaks. If the oil pressure gauge reading remains low or the oil pressure warning light remains on remove the oil pressure sending unit on the engine and connect a pressure gauge directly to the engine.

The trouble is you don t know whether the problem is serious or no big deal so your best course of action is to pull over immediately and turn off your engine. The oil pressure sensor itself may sometimes become clogged with sludge from the engine especially if the engine has not been properly maintained. Oil pan front and rear crankshaft oil seals valve covers or gaskets. A clogged oil sensor can give a false reading of low oil pressure which will illuminate your oil light.

So this sounds fully normal.