'04 Aveo Oil Light

Ok, my oil light came on and started blinking and then it just stayed
on. The oil level is fine. Could this be caused by my oil sending unit
or my oil pump? What do you think?:banghead:


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soonersfan wrote:
> Ok, my oil light came on and started blinking and then it just stayed
> on. The oil level is fine. Could this be caused by my oil sending unit
> or my oil pump? What do you think?:banghead:
>

First order of business, connect a mechanical oil pressure gauge in
place of the old sender, then report back with what you find.

Are you hearing any tapping/clattering noises from the engine when the
light is on?

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
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soonersfan > wrote:
>
>Ok, my oil light came on and started blinking and then it just stayed
>on. The oil level is fine. Could this be caused by my oil sending unit
>or my oil pump? What do you think?:banghead:

Yes. If it's caused by the oil pump, your engine will soon seize up
and be only useful as scrap. If it's the oil sending unit, you can
safely ignore it.

Your goal is to find out what actually is causing the problem, which
probably will involve removing the sending unit and screwing in a
calibrated gauge, then seeing what the actual measured pressure at idle
is.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

> Ok, my oil light came on and started blinking and then it just stayed
> on. The oil level is fine. Could this be caused by my oil sending unit
> or my oil pump? What do you think?:banghead:
>

You have already gotten a few good responses from the group but I
wanted to emphasis that the oil light is not one to be playing with.
When that light comes on turn off the engine as quickly as you can
safely get to the side of the road and do not restart until the
problem is fixed.

Many people falsely assume that the oil light is like the low gas
light and they can safely make it to a more convenient spot to deal
with the issue but an engine with no oil pressure can be damaged
beyond repair in a matter of seconds with no oil pressure.

Steve B.

Steve B. ) writes:
>> Ok, my oil light came on and started blinking and then it just stayed
>> on. The oil level is fine. Could this be caused by my oil sending unit
>> or my oil pump? What do you think?:banghead:
>>
>
> You have already gotten a few good responses from the group but I
> wanted to emphasis that the oil light is not one to be playing with.
> When that light comes on turn off the engine as quickly as you can
> safely get to the side of the road and do not restart until the
> problem is fixed.
>
> Many people falsely assume that the oil light is like the low gas
> light and they can safely make it to a more convenient spot to deal
> with the issue but an engine with no oil pressure can be damaged
> beyond repair in a matter of seconds with no oil pressure.
>
> Steve B.


Steve's right. Not something to be messed with. I damaged the engine
in a 00 Protege after the drain plug fell out; the oil light was only
on for a few seconds.

Is the car still under warranty? If so, head to the dealer. While a
faulty sending unit is likely, you don't want to take the chance that
the sending unit is good, and oil pressure is low.

BTW, low oil pressure can also be caused by oil that has failed or
been contaminated by fuel.
Dan

(This account is not used for email.)

Dan Beaton wrote:
> Steve B. ) writes:
>>> Ok, my oil light came on and started blinking and then it just stayed
>>> on. The oil level is fine. Could this be caused by my oil sending unit
>>> or my oil pump? What do you think?:banghead:
>>>
>> You have already gotten a few good responses from the group but I
>> wanted to emphasis that the oil light is not one to be playing with.
>> When that light comes on turn off the engine as quickly as you can
>> safely get to the side of the road and do not restart until the
>> problem is fixed.
>>
>> Many people falsely assume that the oil light is like the low gas
>> light and they can safely make it to a more convenient spot to deal
>> with the issue but an engine with no oil pressure can be damaged
>> beyond repair in a matter of seconds with no oil pressure.
>>
>> Steve B.
>
>
> Steve's right. Not something to be messed with. I damaged the engine
> in a 00 Protege after the drain plug fell out; the oil light was only
> on for a few seconds.
>
> Is the car still under warranty? If so, head to the dealer. While a
> faulty sending unit is likely, you don't want to take the chance that
> the sending unit is good, and oil pressure is low.
>
> BTW, low oil pressure can also be caused by oil that has failed or
> been contaminated by fuel.
> Dan
>
> (This account is not used for email.)

I'll third that - if the oil pressure light is on, turn the engine OFF
until you know that it's a gauge problem.

The problem with the oil pressure lights is when they come on, the
pressure is almost zero... so if you're running anything more than idle,
you're gonna kill the engine in no time. (and by no time, I'm talking
seconds... not hours.)

On my buddy's 200,000 mile Celebrity, the light would come on dimly at
idle and flicker a bit when the engine was warmed up. Changing the oil
from 5w30 to 10w30 helped for a while, but worn bearings are worn
bearings. Eventually it started knocking...

I killed my race car bearings by running it low on oil - I shut it off
as soon as the pressure dropped, but the bearings were still melted and
the crank is BLACK. The irony here is my fancy oil pan worked - I had
good oil pressure until the sump was empty - there was a baffle that
broke free and made 4 spot weld size holes in the bottom... where the
oil drained out over 100 laps...

Next motor gets an accumulator... cheaper than yet another engine.

Ray

> Is the car still under warranty? If so, head to the dealer.

....and do NOT drive there!!!

> BTW, low oil pressure can also be caused by oil that has failed or
> been contaminated by fuel.

If the OIL light is on, that means that the sensor is bad - not a big deal -
or that the oil is NOT getting where it's needed - a VERY BIG deal.