Oil light on


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Old 07-18-06, 06:06 PM
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Oil light on

98 Plymluth Breeze 64k miles 2.0L SOHC

As the car was stopping (because of oncoming traffic in the hborhood), the engine died. Oil light came on. (Manual says low oil pressure)

Started the engine again, and drove home. No oil light.

Connected a cheap OBD2 reader. No code. Turned the engine on. No oil light.

Question: Was the oil light turned on because the engine died?

Thanks.

PS: By the way, the engined died once before at stop light, months ago. I suspected the idling control motor but it was difficult to reach and I have been putting off cleaning.
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:15 PM
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The low oil pressure light will come on anytime the oil pressure is low. Most of the time you turn off the engine yourself so it does not shine because the power was turned off before it had a chance to come on.

If an engine dies, for whatever reason, and the key is still in the run position, the oil light will come on. Since you have not had another incident of the light coming on except when the engine died, I would suspect it is not a problem but obviously there is one somewhere.
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:26 PM
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check your oil level on a flat level surface after the engine has cooled
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:27 PM
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Thanks. I am not trying to philosophize this little oil light, but the difference between knowing (what you just explained to me) and not knowing is the waste of time and money to take a few hours off from work tomorrow and take it to a repair ship.
Thanks.
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:28 PM
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I forgot to mention that I already checked oil level. Full. Thanks.
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:32 PM
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Originally Posted by nap
If an engine dies, for whatever reason, and the key is still in the run position, the oil light will come on.
More elaborating on this when the key is on and the engine is not running there is no oil pressure so the light would be on if the system is working correctly.
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:43 PM
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The oil light came on because your engine died
 
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Old 07-18-06, 06:59 PM
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Talking

But why would it come on if the engine died?

***addition**

Anyone read 2 posts above. If system is reading correctly engine is off and no oil pressure so the light would be on if the systm was working correctly
 

Last edited by snuckers99; 07-19-06 at 08:10 PM.
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Old 07-18-06, 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by snuckers99
But why would it come on if the engine died?
The key was in the ignition, RUN position, when the engine died.

Thanks. It makes sense. Now I can focus on idling control motor.

PS: This car is a maintenance nightmare. Things are so well packed that replacement of "consumables" cost so much. Timing belt/water pump job cost me $700. $400 + $300 timing belt idle pulley replacement. Dodge changed design and I had to buy the whole kit (with new belt cover). I will laugh when I get rid of this car. Or I may save money by taking it to a junk yard now.
 
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Old 07-19-06, 07:16 PM
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Update on this car.

I drove it today. Engine didn't die at traffic light stops. But at one traffic light, I shifted to Neutral so that I could get my foot off and rest. As I shifted back to Drive, the engine died.

Hot engine rpm about 750 with and without AC in Drive.
Hot engine rpm about 650 without AC in Park
Hot engine rpm about 750 with AC in Park.

As the car stops at traffic light, it shudders a little. By the way, IAC on this car was replaced about 2 years ago.

I want to be able to increase idling rpm a little bit. Is there a way to adjust it (and fool the computer)? Thanks.
 
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Old 07-19-06, 08:06 PM
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Actually you won't be fooling the computer, you will just be telling it to run the idle at a different speed.

I do not know how to do it but there are others on the site that do. I suspect it takes some specialized tools and/or computer programs to set the idle though.

The idle needs to be set at the correct speed (whatever that is) and whatever is causing the vibration needs to be taken care of.
 
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Old 07-19-06, 08:22 PM
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The vibration (shudder) appears to be too low an rpm. As I step on the gas to 800, it disappears.

Those who know how to set idling rpm at the computer, please let me know. Thanks.
 
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Old 07-20-06, 10:52 AM
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You may simply need to clean the throttle body and idle control motor. It's relatively easy and costs nothing.
 
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Old 07-20-06, 01:31 PM
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cleaning around the throttle plate if needed will generaly bring back up a low idle speed on modern cars.
guess you havent had to replace that oil leaking head gasket yet you will really love this car when you need to do that repair.
 
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Old 07-20-06, 08:04 PM
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Plymouth's specifications for your idle speed are anywhere from 600 to 1,300 rpm. The test to determine whether you are within those specifications is involved though. I suggest you clean the throttle body and remove the idle air control motor and clean it too. Both can get dirty and cause problems with the idle.

Also, what's the maintenance history of this vehicle? I have also seen vehicles shut off at stoplights that simply needed new spark plugs/wires/cap/rotor. When was the last time you changed them?
 
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Old 07-21-06, 10:38 AM
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Thank you for the replies. I will answer all in this post.

98 Plymouth Breeze 4 cyl 2.0L SOHC 64K miles.
The engine was flooded and cracked, and was replaced with the current one (2000 engine with same mileage - if junk yard is to be trusted). It was after head gasket was replaced on the 98 engine.

Timing belt, water pump just replaced. Engine oil replaced every 5000 miles. No, I haven't replaced spark plugs and wires for this engine. I thought I did but got mixed up with the cracked engine. I don't know if the spark plugs/wires came with the engine or transferred from the cracked engine.

Idling motor was replaced when the current engine was put in. It had idling problem. Throttle plate was sprayed with a throttle body spray can.

By the way, I also noticed cruise control started not working around the same time. No dashboard light when cc button is pressed. Related?
Thanks.
 
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Old 07-21-06, 11:58 AM
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It takes more than spray to clean the throttle body. The deposits can get very tenacious. You may have to revisit this job and clean out the deposits with a toothbrush until absolutely clean. The most important areas are the surfaces on the edge of the butterfly and the bore immediately adjacent to the butterfly. With time the deposits build up and choke off the flow of air during idle until the engine stalls out. The idle control motor can only compensate for so much restriction.

Another problem may be the egr valve. If the poppet valve doesn't seat properly, you can get a poor idle.
 
 

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