Flickering oil light / low idle
Apr 27, 2011, 09:21 AM
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Flickering oil light / low idle
For anyone who replies, thanks in advance. I recently purchased a 03 Lancer Oz Rally and am somewhat scared with what is going on... The car runs great, but yesterday after driving 25 minutes to work (about 20 miles) my oil light started flickering at idle, and a few times it lit up bright shut off and back on instantly. I have read it could be too thin of oil, bad oil pressure switch, or worse the oil pump. When I start the car, the RPMs are between 700-800 but when it gets to operating temperature the RPMs fall to 500-600 and sometimes 400 when I come to a stop and the oil light starts flickering. I am praying I do not have costly repairs ahead of me. I don't know if this would matter but the previous owner installed a ricer muffler and there is a leaking gasket behind the cat which is getting replaced soon, just thought I'd include that. I have listened to the the motor from the top and underneath while the oil light is going crazy and don't hear knocking, sounds like a motor should when nearly new.
Once again, any responses would be greatly appreciated that might help solve this problem
Once again, any responses would be greatly appreciated that might help solve this problem
Last edited by robertnorman06; Apr 27, 2011 at 09:24 AM. Reason: additional information
Apr 27, 2011, 01:19 PM
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if it was me i would start with the cheapest way first and replace the oil pressure switch and maybe the wire connected to it. what oil is in it, that usually dont matter but these lancers can be picky at time. im not sure how low the oil has to be to trigger that light but before i replaced my engine i got 2 qts low and it didnt come on unless it doesnt work.
Apr 28, 2011, 05:47 AM
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if it was me i would start with the cheapest way first and replace the oil pressure switch and maybe the wire connected to it. what oil is in it, that usually dont matter but these lancers can be picky at time. im not sure how low the oil has to be to trigger that light but before i replaced my engine i got 2 qts low and it didnt come on unless it doesnt work.
Thanks again to everyone posting
Apr 28, 2011, 06:07 AM
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well i can tell u its hard to find parts for these lancers at any parts store, if anything they will have to order it. thank god i got a parts car lol. u dont really need any special tools for these cars, i just replaced the engine and didnt need any of em they said i would. i would go conventional oil 10w30 but it depends on the climate ur in. u can put some lucas oil stabilizer in it. lucas is the only additive i ever use in my engines, but everybody has their opinion.
Apr 28, 2011, 06:13 AM
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oh and about the idle issue the throttle cable has alot to do with that. start by cleaning the tb out and the most i would do is adjust the gold cable adjuster on the intake, u wanna stay between 700-800 rpm at idle. theres a couple guys on here that has alot of info on these cars....03lances and senate6268,they might get on here and help also.
Apr 28, 2011, 06:22 AM
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Also, does anyone know of any good mufflers that will make the car stock quiet... I like them as quiet as possible and like I said there is a loud muffler on it now... 2500-3000 rpm and highway speeds, omg kill me. Maybe it is stoock, but the silencers are toast. I called the "good" muffler man and they told me they don't have a muffler made for my car but they could figure something out and it would be 100-150 installed... opinions? Does anyone have pictures of a stock muffler, mine looks like the Kool Vue Muffler ( kv150102) on autopartswarehouse.com but has the bent and dipped pipe that bolts directly to the main exhaust
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Apr 28, 2011, 06:32 AM
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I appreciate all the posts you've submitted lil jeff, really thanks. This weekend looks like it is gonna be fun. I may have misread but i thought the idle is set electronically, but it is a throttle cable setup and I was thinking what you were saying... Too bad they don't make a Chilton or Haynes manual which is easier for me to comprehend than the dealership service manual. My last car was an Audi TT and my oil guage after a while would bounce around or pin at 0 but everyone said it's the sending unit, and when I removed the cable, cleaned it, and put it back it was fine for a few days but then kept f-ing up... If u post more I'll respond, but after the switch is replaced I'll post the results. How hard is it to run a new wire from the switch to where it needs to go?
Apr 28, 2011, 06:44 AM
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it is electronic but if the car is runnin just grab the cable somewhere by the air box or infront of the valve cover and and pull on it watch the idle go crazy. yea it would be nice to have a haynes but luckily i have the service manual as well.if nothing else put a aftermarket oil pressure gauge in ur ride thats what im fixin to do on mine i trust em more. i like to see what pressure im runnin not just worry when the light comes on by then it might be to late. the wire should be good but if its corroded then just replace it from the harness to the sensor.
Apr 28, 2011, 10:04 AM
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Yeah Mine has done the same thing for over a year. i have a new oil pressure sensor. but havent put it on. It seems like it's a pretty common thing and that this almost always fixes it. The only time i didnt have this light. was when one of my spark plugs got striped out. and i didnt know it.. that was a another mess..It still ran for a long time with the plug just hanging there..then finally it burnt through my wire..and then i knew it was messed up. but after it messed up. and was still running my oil light never came on. and after i fixed it. it came right back on. It's when the car is warmed up. and at an idle. it flickers or stays on.
should be fine though. Don't stress out about it.
should be fine though. Don't stress out about it.
Apr 28, 2011, 10:10 AM
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i'm surprised autozone carries the switch( part#ps123 $6.99) they dont even carry the parts to change my rear brakes without special ordering them,but yea just change that out and it should be good. finding parts for these cars around my area starts to really pi** me off sometimes lol
Apr 28, 2011, 12:02 PM
#14
Sounds suspiciously like you have an oil leak if its low and the oil looks fresh like someone just kept topping it off. Being at the second notch should not be enough to turn on the light. After I went turbo I noticed a leak in my oil return line and it was below that second notch but never had the light come on and my oil pressure gauge never indicated a problem with pressure. As Lil Jeff suggested cleaning out the TB really well should help your low idle, if you dont it might eventually start dying when coming to a stop as the idle drops too low. It certainly sounds like the oil switch is malfuntioning to me.
