2004 Mazda MPV, 150k miles, Mobil 1 5w30. 3.0 ford duratec V6
The other day my wife mentioned that the oil light was flickering. I went and checked the level, it was very, very low, so low I was worried about oil consumption. I found a broken pcv hose and replaced that and the pcv valve. No luck, same oil light flickering at hot idle.
After some more research, I replaced the oil pressure switch (napa/echlin), went from a purolator pureone to a wix filter, and this time used castrol gtx 5w30. I noticed that the oil pressure switch connector had oil inside of it, indicating the switch was in fact bad. Cleaned it out with contact cleaner. No change....., oil light flickering at hot idle.
Any suggestions? I guess my next step is going to be buying an oil pressure gauge try and get an accurate reading, however the light only comes on at hot idle. And there is NO WAY to attach a pressure gauge to the port while the motor is anything but stone cold.
In the back of my mind I'm wondering if running it low on oil has caused this. I would guess it was a good 2 quarts low, maybe more.
The other day my wife mentioned that the oil light was flickering. I went and checked the level, it was very, very low, so low I was worried about oil consumption. I found a broken pcv hose and replaced that and the pcv valve. No luck, same oil light flickering at hot idle.
After some more research, I replaced the oil pressure switch (napa/echlin), went from a purolator pureone to a wix filter, and this time used castrol gtx 5w30. I noticed that the oil pressure switch connector had oil inside of it, indicating the switch was in fact bad. Cleaned it out with contact cleaner. No change....., oil light flickering at hot idle.
Any suggestions? I guess my next step is going to be buying an oil pressure gauge try and get an accurate reading, however the light only comes on at hot idle. And there is NO WAY to attach a pressure gauge to the port while the motor is anything but stone cold.
In the back of my mind I'm wondering if running it low on oil has caused this. I would guess it was a good 2 quarts low, maybe more.