!!!!!???oil light???!!!!

Oil pick up could need cleaning could have sludge blocking it when under brakes. But hey i'm no mechanic either but i have just had same problem with a car doing that.

 

check the dip stick for the oil. if it's low, all the oil is prolly going to the front of the sump when you brake.
Peter.

 

Oil Pressure Switch?

Over my many years driving, I have had a number of these. It has always been a defective oil pressure switch.

Worth a check. Bit cheaper than dismantling an engine as a first check.

 

The oil pressure switch will play up if the engine has been pressure cleaned - water enters the unit and shorts it out. The switch is next to the oil filter and faces forward.

 

Dude, the EXACT thing happened to me! I checked the oil, and there was NONE on the dipstick. Turned out the sump gasket was stuffed and oil was spitting out everywhere from it. So definately make sure your oil level is ok!

 

hey i found this on a website:

Oil light - The oil sender unit on a VS commodore is responsible for the oil light, and an oil pressure signal to the ECM. Moisture contamination can cause the oil warning lamp to stay on until the moisture has dispersed. The oil sender units can also leak oil when fatigued, which causes a similar problem.

hope this helps.

 

If you recently washed the engine, moisture will get into the switch and cause the engine light to come on. If you stand at the front of the car, right in the middle and look down the bottom of the engine, just under the belt there is a vertial connector with 3 wires going into it. Thats the connector. To remove it simply unclip the locking panel with your finger and lift it off. If you have access to compressed air, use that to clean the connector and where you plug it into.

Hope that helps.

 

If its coming on consistently only when you brake and the oil is full (this is usually caused by low oil level since braking takes the oil away from the pickup in the sump ) you need to probably change the switch first and if it still happens connect a gauge to the sender hole and try to bring it on when you are driving. Sometimes the relief valve in the pump can stick also causing this or a broken pick up pipe sucking air when the level drops under brakes....a clogged one would cause it to happen at other times so I don't think it could be that.

 

went to repco the other day and it only cost me $15.70 for another oil switch

 

How easy/hard is it to replace?

Clacks

 

Not hard at all, all you need is a shifter and just unplug the wire and unscrew it and screw the new one back in and thats it. it will drip a bit a oil when u do this but just have a rag there.

 

If I break hard my oil light flickers on and off...My assumption is that its the oil moving away from the sensor, as its basic physics.

 

i would be cleaning the oil pick up, i break hard most of the time and don't have that prob

 

Basic physics in this case means that when you brake hard, oil in your sump will move towards the front of the sump...which is where the oil pickup, oilpump and oil pressure sensor are all located. If anything, there should be less chance of oil starvation under severe braking. As Markover has mentioned, faults such as this point to a suspect oil pressure sensor. This is a lot cheaper and simpler than pulling the sump.

 

Fair enough. I ahve very little knowledge of the locations of these sensors, parts, ect... Im not exactly mechanically minded. I just assumed that it was at the back, as it provided a logical explanation to the problem.

Either way, you recon i should check out the oil pressure sensor, eh?

 

Replacing the oil pressure sensor would make good sense - though first I'd remove the connector and make sure it is making good contact....maybe under braking the wiring/connector moves and breaks contact causing the oil light to come on. Always go for the simpler options first.
Most cars do have the oil-pickup at the rear of the sump and can have problems with oil surge however not the Commodore V6.