Questions and Answers

Pontiac Sunfire Oil Light Q. Hello Vincent Ciulla, This problem really bothered me a lot these days. I have a 1995 Pontiac Sunfire with a 2.2 liter engine, automatic, 75,000 mileage. I used to change oil myself at every 3,000 miles. And I use Pennzoil 10W-30 and Fram oil filter. I lived in Virginia before June so I didn't think I need 5W-30, which is recommended by GM.

Before I moved to Maryland I flushed the cooling system using water. Then after I moved here I found some coolant leaking from engine valve cover. I know it's because of head gasket. So I found a guy who worked in a garage to repair it for me. I chose him because he asked for little money.

I think he is a good mechanic and did a good job. But last time when I drove from I-95 to a small town and stopped before a light my car's check oil pressure light came on. I did check the oil and it was almost full. And I just changed it two or three weeks before. So I wanted to drive to a gas station to see what happened. After it began going the light went away. From then the light will come when I drive very slow and stop, but not so often.

I didn't hear any unusual noise in the engine. One day when I stopped the car, left for a while and came back I found the light was on and the engine temperature was a little high than when I drove. The temperature went down and the light went off after I began driving. This is a really wired problem. I thought to change oil filter next time when I change oil. But I can't make sure what the problem is.

Do you have any idea about this problem or give me any suggestion to resolve it? I really appreciate it. Sorry to bother you.

Thanks,
Lewis

A. There is a oil pressure sending unit that tells that light to come on. It could be giving a false reading OR the engine may have low oil pressure. I would take the sender out and install a mechanical oil pressure guage and drive it to see what the oil pressure actually is. It should not drop below 10 psi at idle. The results of this reading can lead you to a couple of different areas, so it is important to know what the pressure is first.