99 T/C oil light problem

Hi all. I was hoping someone has a clue what is going on with our
Limited 99 T/C van. It has 101,000 on it. Recently the oil lamp would
come on and ding occasionally. Now it comes on when ever you stop or
brake. I have checked for connections or loose fuses. I took it to
the dealer and they had no clue. The oil lamp goes out when you
accelerate and only comes on with braking, so I think there is a short,
but can not locate it. The dealer in his wisdom said, "I would start
with changing the oil sending unit. It cost about $100 bucks, and if
that is not it, well I don't know." They have never been much help and
are real dirt bags. I'm a better mechanic than they are, and that
ain't saying much. So if you have a clue, much appreciate it.
dedas

 

When you say the dealer "had no clue" does that mean they tried to
diagnose it and couldn't, or did you go in asking them for "any
ideas?". How much did they charge you?

 

Engine is idling when braking (oil pressure is at its lowest), engine is
sped up when accelerating (more pressure would trigger a marginal, out
of cal. switch to extinguish the light). Either they are right - the
pressure switch (technically a sender unit drives a gage, a pressure
switch drives an idiot light, but people, including the dealers, have
gotten sloppy with their terminology) is bad - or the oil pressure is
low/marginal due to engine and/or pump wear. The pressure switches do
go bad and get out of calibration *MUCH* more often than a genuine low
pressure situation develops. I doubt you have an intermittent short
from what you describe.

If you can replace it yourself, the unit is probably around $20 so it
would be worth a try replacing it. It might be wise to have someone
stick a real gage on there temporarily to see what the pressure is under
various conditions - i.e., engine warm at 2000 rpm, and engine warm at
idle - and compare to the minimum specs. called out in the FSM. If you
are going to go to the expense of paying someone to check the pressure
out with a real gage, you might as well have them put a new pressure
switch on at the same time, since there's no more labor involved - i.e.,
they should charge you a price of measuring the pressure (labor), and
for the part, but no additional labor for putting the switch on since
they would have to remove and re-install the old switch in the process
anyway. If you don't like your dealer, take it to a trustworthy
independent - this problem is not rocket science, and you'll probably
end up paying less.

If you replace the pressure switch and have the pressure checked, and
the problem was only a bad sender, you fixed the problem and have
assurance that you're not ruining your engine with low pressure. If you
find you have low pressure too, then you have bigger problems to worry
about and can possibly avoid even greater expense from having that
knowledge.

I suspect that you will find your pressure OK (i.e., all you need is a
new switch) - but you need to verify that - call it insurance.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Bill Putney wrote:


....oh - and if you are a gambler, just replace the switch (without
measuring the pressure), and don't look back if the warning light
problem is then fixed - there is some risk in doing that (i.e., that
there really is a pressure problem), but the odds will be in your favor.

You will have minimized your costs, with slight increase in risk of
greater problems in the future (if pressure really is low - but the
light would probably not go out if that were the case).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
address with the letter 'x')

 

Better mechanic? If they did an oil pressure check and the oil pressure was
good the next step would be to replace the oil sending unit!!! If you
declined the $100 check out and they just gave you an educated guess how
would you expect them to fix your vehicle? If the sending unit has any
signs of leakage thats an automatic replacement of the sending unit along
with cleaning out the connector that is full of oil. so dirt bag, why
dont you replace the sending unit your self (if you know where it is at)
and tell us that it is fixed.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

the first thing that should have been done is a mechanical pressure gauge
put on the engine to see if the oil pressure is in spec and then if it is
go after the sending unit by checking for fault codes. i hope u did not
give the dealer any money because they did not FIX anything but thats
normal isn't it

 

Yeah, it's normal when the owner doesn't want to pay anything but
expects you to tell him what's wrong with his car. You know damn well
he didn't pay anything. He'd never miss an opportunity to whine about
that too.

 

I brought the car in for dealer recall and asked him to look
into it. He didn't show much enthusiasm, and said they would do their
usual routine check and let me know. He said "everything looked okay.
There was no leak around the oil gauge. He did not offer to have the
mechanic look into it, and said his best guess was change the sending
unit and if that doesn't work, don't know." I would expect a little
more thought and help from a dealer. Doesn't give you much confidence
in their interest or abilities.

 

Hey thanks for your thoughts recommendations. I'll try to change
the unit. Any thoughts in terms of location? . I will do so and let
you know.

 

Hey guy, since you do this for a living, where is the unit? Give
the public a hand in saving a few bucks on car repair. The inspection
did not show any leakage to suggest automatic replacement. What do you
think is the problem? The dealer did not show any interest in trying
to figure it out. What am I suppose to do, bag him to figure it out
when he isn't interested? Thanks for you imput though.

 

See my previous notes. How can you not whine about a dealer that
does dumb stuff like locking your brakes twice in 6 months when you
take it in for brake adjustment requiring them to replace the shoes and
turn the drums? Not once, but twice? How can I not whine about a
dealer that doesn't show enthusiasm to say, " hey, let us look into it
for you and consider doing this, and this or this? At least offer some
suggestions besides saying, do this and if that doesn't work, I don't
know. Don't leave commets if you can't leave any helpful information
other than crap comments. This is suppose to be a help souce, not a
place to be critical of people asking for helpful thought. Go put your
head in a hole. Thanks

 

You say you are a better mechanic then they are. Why do you take the
vehicle to the dealer to have the brakes adjusted if you are a better
mechanic then they are?

"This is suppose to be a help souce, not a
place to be critical of people asking for helpful thought. Go put your
head in a hole. Thanks"

.." They have never been much help
and
I guess your comment here is not being critical


Glenn

 

You brought the van in for a recall and had no interest in paying for
a diagnosis would be my guess for the dealer's lack of enthusiasm.

"He did not offer to have the mechanic look into it"

You tell him you want it diagnosed and I'm pretty sure he'll tell you
how much it'll cost.....But then we have a problem, don't we?

You didn't answer my questions, but don't bother... I know why.