Replaced Oil Pressure Switch; experience

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Interesting experience yesterday, but I don't know what to make of it:

A 'problem' possibly resulting from replacement of the Oil Pressure Switch(1992 Civic VX, 1.5L) occurred. The car had seen 3 short trips that day, of 2-3 miles one way each trip, before the 'last' trip when the 'problem' happened.

On the way back home(yes another 3-4 mile trip one way only, if relevant), I punched it to WOT in 2nd gear and then drove with relatively 'moderate' throttle in 3rd up to an intersection where I would need to make a left turn.

While approaching the turn and upon entering the turning lane, I down shifted back into 2nd and then came back into Neutral as a full stop was being made.

While coming to a complete stop, the Oil Light starts to flicker on/off!

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Well, not exactly 'turned on', but scary enough for me(my only vehicle personally). It doesn't fully 'illuminate', but sort of just 'slightly flickers' as though it wants to turn on but only for a brief period of time(a few seconds, a moment or so).

What's up? The light doesn't fully turn on at any point. I stopped the car immediately anyway and checked the oil. Can't really tell anything abnormal visually(of course lol). I know the car has enough oil.

So, two things to me could be the culprit:

Faulty replacement OPS(its just a dummy light on this 92 Civic).

OR could it be related to the oil filter?

So, I replaced the 'replacement' OPS with a dealer part. I chose to remove the oil filter to replace the OPS this time, anyway.

The replacement OPS was on for just 10 days. The original was leaking oil over time internally(from what I could gather though not sure, I went ahead and replaced it for that reason, it still functioned just fine to my knowledge). So, I hope this isn't a case of breaking something that was fixed(
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).

The first 'replacement' I purchased 10 days ago was from AAP. I tried to buy the Beck Arnley brand, and I did!...but in box only, not actual B/A compared to pictures online(AAP site nor BA catalog). Apparently, it was a returned Duralast, from what I have gathered.

So, I have to think it's 'possible' it was a used item already, returned previously by someone else; perhaps for the same claim of 'flickering?'.

Of course, AutoZone claims this Duralast is for the VX(Im serious when I say I dont trust which part most auto stores 'claim' fits this VX when it is SO picky compared to the other Civics, another story another time, I figured OPS wasnt different), but the replacement part was much different from the OE one I removed. I didn't want to take any more chances so I just purchased one from the dealership after 'settling' originally on the 'off' Duralast part( realized it wasnt the B/A but used it anyway).

...but if the possibility of a 'capacity reached' oil filter had somehow happened, I wasn't going to leave that unchanged. The thought occurred that 'perhaps' the oil filter had began going into bypass itself so I didn't bother remounting it(an Amsoil EaO20, ran for only 4,600 miles). I replaced it with a spare P1 14459 I had on hand for such an 'event'.

Now the 'dealer' part seems to work fine, though the 'Duralast' part did as well at first initially.

When I start the car now, especially when cold, it comes on like usual for 2-3 seconds...turns off...and then comes back on for another 2 seconds before turning off for good.
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Not only that, but now it feels like the car is driving normal again. Before, I had more issues with making power for some reason. Would an OPS 'flaking' out cause drive-ability problems in this app? How about a 'full capacity' oil filter?

So, I'm trying to sort if this was an actual problem vs 'perceived' problem. I do plan on cutting the oil filter open. Someone 'recommended' during my last posted UOA about removing this Amsoil by 5,000 for the reason of avoiding filtration to capacity. My insoluble % had risen from my first UOA to the last one, in question, in part due to 'cleanup' efforts with MMO + HDEO as an 'experiment'. Insols bumped up slightly, anyway.

So, it's probable that more crud was in the oil this time and filtered to max. Outside of just the concern of an OPS being faulty or leaky.

Thoughts?
 
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I suppose it's possible the pickup is dirty, I just hope that isn't the case. That's probably a worst case scenario.

The replacement P1 oil filter and 'dealer' part for the OPS has things working again, but we'll see if the light starts playing tricks again. The old connector at the OPS had oil on it before I started working on this area. I don't know if removal of the wire(its a 1-wire plug) being it's age etc, may have affected the wiring there. It wasn't super brittle, though. I like in Georgia, so it's not cold right now. Cold weather wouldn't be the culprit here. More like, thicker oil vs thinner oil and if the oil filter I removed someone was catching some crud.

Of course, if the bottom of the pan has some gunk it'd certainly be worth trying to remove the pan or perform a soak with parts cleaner Chemtool etc, just enough in the sump to cover the pickup screen; for about 24 hours. Drain...fill, rinse time idle with fresh oil...drain and fill with fresh for next OCI.
 
You need to buy or borrow a mechanical oil pressure gauge and see what is really going on. Typically the oil idiot light comes on when there is less than 5 PSI. Very low. HF sells a gauge kit with a few adapters, unsure if the included adapters will fit your vehicle.

In 2007 I had some real odd things happen with my 94 Camry and the oil idiot light. I first bought the HF kit in 2007 and it did not have enough adapters so I bought a used SnapOn kit on EBAY and it had many more adapters. The HF kit sold today has more than the one they sold in 2007. However you do it, you need to measure the oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. Once I had the gauge hooked up, I could see a problem so I replaced the Amsoil Ea filter and my problems went away. I thought, why so, the filter should have gone into bypass if it was full. Sent filter to Amsoil, they said it was full but there were no defects.

The oil pump also has a pressure regulator of its own, sending excess oil back to the pan so as to not let the oil pressure get too high. Its possible that there was enough back pressure in my case to cause the oil pump to go into bypass and that there was maybe a weak spring in the bypass section.

I never did figure out my problem, other than a new filter did immediately solve my problem. I also did an AutoRx cleaning in case there was enough sludge in places where the oil was not returning to the pan fast enough. I sold the Camry some 50K miles more and it never had a problem again. I did for a long time carry the oil pressure gauge and the right wrench, but never installed it again.
 
I agree with The Donald. This could be either an oil pressure problem or an electrical problem that's making your idiot-light malfunction.

You need to install a mechanical gauge and see what the oil pressure actually is- they sell cheap ones for $20 or so at most auto parts stores. If oil pressure is normal, then I'd be looking for bad connectors, rubbed-through wires, loose pins, etc.

If the problem actually IS oi pressure, it could be one of several things: bad oil pump, bad regulator valve, damaged bearings, loose/cracked pickup tube, crud clogging the pickup tube and/or drain-back holes, etc.

Not knowing your car's history or even its model year, it's hard to guess. I'm leaning towards an electrical problem, but I'd definitely try the mechanical oil pressure gauge first.
 
^I did mention it was a 1992 Civic VX. I feel like my experience is similar to Donald's. I don't believe I want to run EP oil filters for a while or for too long. If this happens again, I'll update on this thread.

It just seems as though since I never had an oil light come on while driving, that the replacement was probably a lame duck(I replaced the original since it was leaking, not because of the light malfunctioning etc). The replacement part, the first one, was on the vehicle for 10 days before the events which happened 2 days ago now. Replacing the oil filter probably helped the most. The car drives much better. I believe I had a full oil filter.

Unless, somehow, an OPS flaking out would cause the vehicle to retard the timing. *Remember, it didn't even come on and stay on. It 'flickered' extremely dimly, not even coming on for a full second or fully illuminating.

If the oil filter has been getting full, I believe it could have been an issue of the bypass components in some way not working optimally. Unless, of course, the car running it bypass more frequently would shear the oil or cause pressure issues. It 'may' have stressed the original oil pump too much, perhaps?
 
BTW - when I saw a mechanical oil pressure gauge, I mean a gauge with 2-3 feet of hose and a few adapters for various engines.

I am not sure how replacing the oil filter would make the car run better. If it did, you have big problems in that the oil filter was restricting the flow so much that the engine was not getting the proper lubrication. I have a hard time buying that.

I went around in circles trying to figure out what could be wrong with my Toyota. The mechanical gauge spotted the symptom immediately. Low oil pressure. Change filter, restart car, normal oil pressure.

My thinking is its probably not a single thing. Probably a combo of a worn oil pump & pressure relief and full filter.

Consider changing the filter as soon as you can after the oil light comes on next, but cut open the filter.

When did you start using Amsoil filters?
 
I'm with onion.
And if your bearings are worn or relief valve is cruddy, then even the bypass opening may not give enough pressure downstream at idle because the downstream (from the filter) pressure will be about whatever the oil pump/relief are pressure is, minus the bypass setting PSI. If the filter is pluggy and the bearings are leaking down too fast, the pump might not be able to keep up.

You could temporarily put in 10W-40. If the filter is the problem, the OP light problem will probably get worse as it won't pass the thicker oil as well. If it gets better, the problem is likely elsewhere in the engine.
 
If I could afford it, I'd drop the pan and replace the bearings, clean up the bottom end, and replace the oil pump.

This was the very first OCI using an Amsoil EaO oil filter. The car runs great currently, no oil pressure light coming on or even beginning to aside from the startup light.

So, is it not possible the first replacement Oil Pressure Switch was flaky in of itself?
 
Your speculating and only a mechanical gauge will give you a clue. Its not a bad thing to have anyway.

Replacing the oil pump on an old V8 was easy as it was driven by a shaft that went into the dist. that was driven off the cam (Ford 289).

But with your engine and a timing belt I assume, it could be way different.

You could pull the valve cover and see if there is a lot of sludge. Maybe an Auto-Rx cleaning is in order. With that many miles its probably got sludge.
 
So, I have no experience installing an aftermarket gauge. I'll read up online and watch some youtube videos.

I wonder if this summer has just been really harsh on this current fill? I did try Lubro-Moly MoS2 for the first time in this app.

I had the VCG replaced when I paid a shop to adjust the valves for me. I could ask them how the valve-train looked at the time. If there was any sludge, etc.

I do have another concern. I noticed the weep hole at the bottom of the Timing Belt Cover(Lower part) below the water pump had a 'drip' present. I paid for a complete Timing Belt service(belts, seals, tensioner, water pump etc) and I'd be a shame if a seal is leaking anti-freeze. I have lost some this summer and will be performing another UOA to check for coolant when I drop this fill.

So far, almost at 5,000 miles into the OCI, but looks like I'll have to scrap it. I don't seem to be an extended OCI qualifying app, just yet. At least, from a peace of mind standpoint. I don't have a great feel yet, but the clutch I have on it's way out is not helping matters as far as feel-related points to research, etc. I am not a mechanic and I know it. If I only had the setup to get clean access to do some of these jobs safely, I'd still at least be able to rent tools from AutoZone etc. ugh!
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Thanks for all the tips.
 
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