Oil light came on

as i was pulling into my complex tonight my oil light came on. it came on for a second, flickered, went off. 30 seconds later it came on and seemingly stayed on. i cut the engine at that point as I was backed into my garage by then. i know, i know i should have cut it right when it came on but i was less than 100 yards from my garage when it first popped on.

about 6 months ago, give or take, i replaced the sensor that tells the dash light to come on when the oil pressure drops. the old one had snapped off at some point. i used one from napa or o'reilies for the replacement. i was told here on tw that would be fine.

the truck didn't act funny, no difference in the engine when it started coming on. no cel either.

 

Is there any way to see if your oil is pumping with decent pressure? if there is, I feel like new tool is involved

 

around lunch time there should be more people viewing the forum to answer you.

you could connect to the oil pressure sending unit location to get a pressure reading that way and decide if its a bad sensor or you have oil pressure issues.

have you smelled the oil to see if it has a gas smell? if gas mixes with the oil, then the pressures wont be right

 

I'll go out and have a look in a few. I was a little less than a quart low but I wouldn't think that would trigger the light.

 

Checked the oil. It was right at the full mark. Started the engine and no light. I'll wait to see if it returns when I'm up to operating temp.

 

Update: once the truck is up to operating temps from driving it, the light only comes on when I come to s complete stop in drive. Pop it into neutral or park, light goes off. Back into drive and the light is back on.

 

Is the engine idled down really low? My 4runner would do that when the idle would drop below 700rpm. It would flicker for moment then go out. There is a statement from Toyota somewhere that explains that this as normal if the idle drops below a certain rpm. I'll have to find it.

 

Quote:
This is very interesting, I found this in my official Toyota 1998 4runner Owners Manual, Chapter 1-5 p.69:

"(d) Low Oil Pressure Warning Light

This light warns that the engine oil pressure is too low. If it flickers or stays on while you are driving, pull off the road to a safe place and stop the engine immediately. Call a Toyota dealer or qualified repair shop for assistance.

The light may occasionally flicker when the engine is idling or it may come on briefly after a hard stop. There is no cause for concern if it then goes out when the engine is accelerated slightly.

The light may come on when the oil level is extremely low. It is not designed to indicate low oil level, and the oil level must be checked using the level dipstick."

 

Thanks all. Trx that's exactly how mind acted but the oil wasn't low. I put a new sending unit in from autozone ($18-19) and it hasn't come back on. I have a 16 mile drive to work so I'll see if it comes back on again.

 

Idled and felt normal

 

I have been experiencing a related issue with my 96 Tacoma (3RZ, manual trans), so did some research and came across your thread.

Mine is basically doing this (pasted from your comment from the owner's manual above): The light may occasionally flicker when the engine is idling or it may come on briefly after a hard stop. There is no cause for concern if it then goes out when the engine is accelerated slightly.

So, sounds like this should be an oil sending unit issue? If so...is that part just a sensor, or actually part of what keeps oil pressure up?