yellow oil light flickering...

[DavidT]

well, I sold my 90 sho to an in-law.
He called me yesterday and asked if I knew anything about the said light.
I NEVER once saw that light illumine the 2 years I owned it. shrug
He said it flickers if he slows down, like at a stop sign.
The oil level is FULL.
The oil level sending unit was replaced a year ago.
The car sat in my garage for about a month... while I did a compression test and other things. I did a comp. test on a cold engine. Is there anything that could've happened during the test that screwed something up?
Is the car ok to drive... is there something else that could trigger THAT light other than low oil levels, something internally that could be messed up?
Thanks in advance.

 

[projectSHO89]

It's just a simple fluid level switch. When the fluid level is low, it grounds the low side of a relay coil that, when energized, grounds the low side of the yellow indicator lamp.

There is nothing inside of the engine except low fluid level that would cause the light to go on.

You can try disconnecting the switch from the oil pan and see if that makes a difference. If it doesn't there is probably a wiring fault (intermittent short to ground). If the light stays off with the switch disconnected, then the sending switch is bad.

Steve

 

[DavidT]

thanks.
So with the dipstick reading FULL, is there ANY way that the oil level COULD be low where the sending unit is located?
This doesn't sound possible, but I haven't a clue...
edit
oh yeah, I forgot to mention that...
right after the compression testing, actually BETWEEN the testing and putting everything back together, I checked the oil level, and the dipstick looked very weird... as if oil was splattered on it... I didn't see a LEVEL line of oil.
After starting the car, the oil level finally "came back" shrug
Thats why I asked the question... I wonder if something could be in the oil pan???

<small>[ December 29, 2003, 06:16 PM: Message edited by: DavidT ]</small>

 

[SolidState]

try unplugging the coolant level sensor.

my 91 had the same problem. When I recieved the car, the coolant level sensor was unplugged. I plugged it back in, and both the low oil and low coolant light illuminated.

unplugged it again, and all was good.

 

[93EmeraldMTX]

i didnt even know we had a yellow one? only a red.

 

[Electricat]

93EmeraldMTX:
i didnt even know we had a yellow one? only a red.

There is a yellow light for Oil Level, and a red light for Oil Pressure. Don't want to see either of them! wink

 

[Electricat]

DAVIDT: Considering the light, plus your suspicions that something strange is going on with the oil, it would be a good idea to change the oil.

That way you can KNOW exactly how much oil is in the car, instead of relying on the dipstick. Also, you can inspect the old oil closely for anything abnormal about it (smell, colour, consistency, etc.)