Oil light...

[toman]

A quick question; After finally fixing the majority of my electrical issues and getting the car running again, My oil light is on. It goes off occasionaly, and seems to flicker when I go over sharp bumps. It was never on before my electrical problem a few weeks ago, so I'm pretty sure it's electrical. Any ideas on where to look?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The oil pressure "idiot light" goes on when the pressure switch grounds the single wire going to it. So, if that wire gets shorted to ground anywhere, it will turn the light on.

Check the oil level first--just in case. Then check the sender; unplug the wire from it (see if the light goes out or not), then check to make sure the connector is grounded when the engine is not running. When the engine is at anything other than idle, there should be no connection from the sender to ground.

Then check the wire.

The problem is almost certainly in the sender or in the wire. There is a slight possibility that your engine doesn't have any oil pressure, which would indicate a pretty severe problem.

--DD