Hi all. I was hoping someone has a clue what is going on with our Limited 99 T/C van. It has 101,000 on it. Recently the oil lamp would come on and ding occasionally. Now it comes on when ever you stop or brake. I have checked for connections or loose fuses. I took it to the dealer and they had no clue. The oil lamp goes out when you accelerate and only comes on with braking, so I think there is a short, but can not locate it. The dealer in his wisdom said, "I would start with changing the oil sending unit. It cost about $100 bucks, and if that is not it, well I don't know." They have never been much help and are real dirt bags. I'm a better mechanic than they are, and that ain't saying much. So if you have a clue, much appreciate it. dedas
Engine is idling when braking (oil pressure is at its lowest), engine is sped up when accelerating (more pressure would trigger a marginal, out of cal. switch to extinguish the light). Either they are right - the pressure switch (technically a sender unit drives a gage, a pressure switch drives an idiot light, but people, including the dealers, have gotten sloppy with their terminology) is bad - or the oil pressure is low/marginal due to engine and/or pump wear. The pressure switches do go bad and get out of calibration *MUCH* more often than a genuine low pressure situation develops. I doubt you have an intermittent short from what you describe.
If you can replace it yourself, the unit is probably around $20 so it would be worth a try replacing it. It might be wise to have someone stick a real gage on there temporarily to see what the pressure is under various conditions - i.e., engine warm at 2000 rpm, and engine warm at idle - and compare to the minimum specs. called out in the FSM. If you are going to go to the expense of paying someone to check the pressure out with a real gage, you might as well have them put a new pressure switch on at the same time, since there's no more labor involved - i.e., they should charge you a price of measuring the pressure (labor), and for the part, but no additional labor for putting the switch on since they would have to remove and re-install the old switch in the process anyway. If you don't like your dealer, take it to a trustworthy independent - this problem is not rocket science, and you'll probably end up paying less.
If you replace the pressure switch and have the pressure checked, and the problem was only a bad sender, you fixed the problem and have assurance that you're not ruining your engine with low pressure. If you find you have low pressure too, then you have bigger problems to worry about and can possibly avoid even greater expense from having that knowledge.
I suspect that you will find your pressure OK (i.e., all you need is a new switch) - but you need to verify that - call it insurance.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
...oh - and if you are a gambler, just replace the switch (without measuring the pressure), and don't look back if the warning light problem is then fixed - there is some risk in doing that (i.e., that there really is a pressure problem), but the odds will be in your favor.
You will have minimized your costs, with slight increase in risk of greater problems in the future (if pressure really is low - but the light would probably not go out if that were the case).
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
Better mechanic? If they did an oil pressure check and the oil pressure was good the next step would be to replace the oil sending unit!!! If you declined the $100 check out and they just gave you an educated guess how would you expect them to fix your vehicle? If the sending unit has any signs of leakage thats an automatic replacement of the sending unit along with cleaning out the connector that is full of oil. so dirt bag, why dont you replace the sending unit your self (if you know where it is at) and tell us that it is fixed.
Yeah, it's normal when the owner doesn't want to pay anything but expects you to tell him what's wrong with his car. You know damn well he didn't pay anything. He'd never miss an opportunity to whine about that too.
I brought the car in for dealer recall and asked him to look into it. He didn't show much enthusiasm, and said they would do their usual routine check and let me know. He said "everything looked okay. There was no leak around the oil gauge. He did not offer to have the mechanic look into it, and said his best guess was change the sending unit and if that doesn't work, don't know." I would expect a little more thought and help from a dealer. Doesn't give you much confidence in their interest or abilities.
You say you are a better mechanic then they are. Why do you take the vehicle to the dealer to have the brakes adjusted if you are a better mechanic then they are?
"This is suppose to be a help souce, not a place to be critical of people asking for helpful thought. Go put your head in a hole. Thanks"
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