So. My oil light is on. There's plenty of oil in the car. Only other possible causes I can think of would be something with the filter, or something with the sender unit.

Also, it's got 134k miles on it.

Any ideas?

-Mike

 

Sender or oil pump.

 

The oil pressure switch completes a ground for the oil pressure lamp. This switch is normally closed from low/no oil pressure. So when you start your car up in the morning, this light should be on as there is no oil pressure yet.

What could be wrong: Well, first and foremost, you could potentially have a low oil pressure problem, so that needs to be checked out (this could include a bad oil pump and/or clogged oil filter). Next up, the switch could be faulty. Does the light ever go out for you, or just constantly stay on? You did not mention this in your initial post. It could also be that you have a short somewhere in the wiring leading to the switch....as in, theres a short to ground somehwere in this circuit...which would mean that the light would never go out regardless of switch operation. So again...does the light go out?


[Modified by EE_Chris, 12:34 PM 3/14/2002]

 

More info: The light is off for about the first minute when I start the car. Then it comes on intermittently, and then it stays on. The car also starts making unpleasant noises.

Last night: went to work with my friend to pick up my NSX (since I had driven the civic home). On the way there, I notice a slight weird noise at VERY light throttle (like 5-10%). I figure it's just a weird rattle. Get to work to listen more, and it's definitely from inside the motor. Anyway, so I check the oil, and it there's just a little tiny dab on the tip of the dipstick. So of course I'm thinking "Oh ****". But what was weird was that when I left work earlier in the day, I checked it (car had been sitting) and it was on the low mark, so I dumped in a quart.

Now, because of the badness, I just parked the civic at work overnight and drove the NSX home. When I get to work this morning, I check the oil.... And it's like a half inch OVER FULL. So the question is, where the hell is the oil going? Cuz it's not in the pan after it's run. And there's supposedly plenty in the engine. And the oil filter isn't big enough to hold 1.5-2 quarts (the difference between the tip of the stick and where it was this morning, if my info is correct).

I'm inclined to the think the switch/light is working properly, cuz the oil level behavior is definitely strange and unlike anything I've seen before.

I'm also not gonna embark on anything expensive to fix it, either. Anything over like $300, and it makes more sense to me to just go ahead and put in a B16 or B18B.

-Mike

 

Spoke with my mechanic on the phone. He said it's most likely a clogged up screen in the oil pan over the oil pickup line, and that if the motor is making noises, it's not good.

*sigh* I guess I'll pull the oil pan and clean out the screen and front the cash for a couple new gaskets, and hope for the best.

-Mike