Damned Oil Light

[livelife46290]

I recently bought a 92' Honda Accord Ex for myself, i just turned 16 and i wanted a car that was mine and well, I havent done any upgrades yet, and im not quite planning on it either. Anyways, whenever I start the car from when it has been not running or "cold" the oil light will turn on, so i will turn the car off then try and start it again, and it has problems starting again, so i let it sit for a moment and it starts, when its not in gear for some reason, (manual by the way) All I want to know is why is the oil light flashing, there is enough oil in it but i do not know if the pressure is to low or not, I know that im not burning any oil because my dad and I drove, he drove behind me in his Subaru WRX and the exhaust was clear, no oil burning...Do you folks know what the problem is and maybe help me fix it....thanks in advance for all of your help!

[wild.irish]

if it's flashing, it means the level of oil is low. but if you say there's enough oil, then it must be oil pressure.

[95GSRB18C]

check the oil pressure sending unit in the back of the block.

[servion]

Don't drive it. Your oil pump could be bad, and if that's the case, you'll toast your motor in a bad way if you drive it at all.

Just to be safe, replace the oil pump.

When the oil light comes on, the oil pressure is REALLY low... so if it comes on, there's definitely something wrong, and you need to turn it off asap.

[livelife46290]

See the thing is, if the oil pressure was low, oil would be being burned, and i have been driving it for a while while the light has been blinking and the engine is not dead yet, nor is it showing signs of wear...no weird noises or anything of that sort, i think either the sensor is going dead, i checked the oil earlier and there wasnt much oil, so maybe there wasnt enough oil, i havent seen the oil light today since i put more oil in yesterday, maybe that was the problem, i will keep you all udpated on if the oil light comes back on!

[doctorstupid]

See the thing is, if the oil pressure was low, oil would be being burned, and i have been driving it for a while while the light has been blinking and the engine is not dead yet, nor is it showing signs of wear...no weird noises or anything of that sort, i think either the sensor is going dead, i checked the oil earlier and there wasnt much oil, so maybe there wasnt enough oil, i havent seen the oil light today since i put more oil in yesterday, maybe that was the problem, i will keep you all udpated on if the oil light comes back on!
low oil pressure has nothing to do with burning oil. and how do you know it's not showing signs of wear? inspected the bearings, did we? ;)

i'm just giving you shit, but for future reference, the oil light means STOP DRIVING RIGHT AWAY. most oil lights come on around 5psi, and that's barely enough for an engine to survive.

:)

[Skaterkid]

Agreed, if you have an oil light that stays on and the oil level is good, get it to a shop to get checked out.

But having a real oil guage kicks more ass than can be imagined, saved my motor from catastrophe before.

[livelife46290]

how can i hook up the stock oil light sensor and a normal old analog gauge that can tell me what is going on, and how much is a gauge and where can i get one?

[doctorstupid]

you need to get a mechanical gauge on there, nothing to do with the stock system.

any mechanic should be able to do it.

[livelife46290]

Okay so since i put maybe a quart of oil in it, cuz it was kinda low, the light hasnt show up once, so maybe it isnt low oil pressure, but I still think im going to take it to someone to get it checked out for my piece of mind!

[wild.irish]

your engine needs 4 quarts. just do a fresh oil change and see if you have this problem.

[ricewizard]

Okay so since i put maybe a quart of oil in it, cuz it was kinda low, the light hasnt show up once, so maybe it isnt low oil pressure, but I still think im going to take it to someone to get it checked out for my piece of mind!
i can hook up my manual gauge for 30.00 and tell you exactly what going on. and do a oil change with honda filter and valvoline for another 20.00 bucks let me know.

[livelife46290]

Well, bad news, it came back, so i def. need it checked out, ricewizard thanks much for the offer, check your pm's, i sent ya one!

[doctorstupid]

good to see you're taking care of it, hope it's nothing terminal :)

[livelife46290]

you and me both doctor!

[myshtern]

:rolleyes:

Who could have thought adding oil would solve the problem...

[STIBungy]

He originally said that there's enough oil so everyone assumed he checked it. Fawkin' n00b.

[livelife46290]

Hey give me a break, this is my first car, and the oil light is still coming on if you didnt read that on the first page... :ring:

[STIBungy]

I'm just messin'.

[servion]

The oil level can still be good (i.e., not burning) and the oil light can kick on if you oil pump is not providing the oil flow/pressure that the motor requires.

[HONDA GHANDI]

The oil level can still be good (i.e., not burning) and the oil light can kick on if you oil pump is not providing the oil flow/pressure that the motor requires.


On the older accords its never the pump causing the problem. It is either a bad switch (I have replaced 100s of them) or a loose, tired engine causing pressure loss.

How many miles on the accord in ?

[livelife46290]

126,000 miles, still has problems starting every so often...

[HONDA GHANDI]

The starting problem is probably something else. Maybe a fuel pump relay. They go bad a lot too. But most likely the oil light is caused by a failing sending unit.

[livelife46290]

oh....thanks a lot Ghandi, that gives me an idea of what im dealing with, so its still safe to drive my car, or should i take it to you to take a look at it?

[HONDA GHANDI]

Unless you verify the problem I wouldnt drive it.

[livelife46290]

Okay so, ghandi do you think you could take a look at it? If you could, when could you?

[doctorstupid]

Unless you verify the problem I wouldnt drive it.
:werd:

[HONDA GHANDI]

Okay so, ghandi do you think you could take a look at it? If you could, when could you?


Im booked for the next two weeks so Im sure you need the car before then. I suggest someone close to you or Honnda stuff, Talk to ricewizard or ryanman about checking it out.

[livelife46290]

I called up englewood repairs and body work i think thats the name, they are located on broadway, past arapahoe but i think before littleton blvd...anyways they are going to do it for 65 bucks...and if its the sensor they will replace that for just the part, no labor charges!

[livelife46290]

I got luck...75 bucks later and that damned light is gone, the tech that was working on my car said that the pressure was about 80 pounds, pretty good... The light did come on last night...only after i stalled it...i was like wtf! Then it wouldnt start again, this isnt the first time it has happened. So I popped the hood and took the oil cap off put it back on, closed the hood and it started right up! Weird right, I dunno, it hasnt done it since, I have been driving it everywhere today and same with last night. 'burnout: