If you have already checked your oil pressure switch or sensor and it seems okay, but your oil pressure light is illuminated, it may be an engine condition that requires immediate repair.
There are a number of reasons why the oil gauge may read incorrectly, and why the engine oil pressure warning light comes on or blinks. Here is a list of the most common reasons.
What Does the Oil Pressure Light Mean?
The Oil Pressure Light activates when the system registers a flag for your vehicle’s oil pressure. If the oil pressure is too low, the oil won’t flow through the engine properly, and continued lubrication will not be provided to the engine.
Your car engine relies on continuous lubrication, and low oil pressure could cause serious damage, including the risk of an engine seizing completely.
This is a warning light, you should take it seriously. If you ignore it, it could lead to costly repairs to your engine, or if you drive your engine without sufficient oil for an extended period, you may ultimately have to buy an entirely new engine.
Common Causes of Why Your Oil Pressure Warning Light is On
#1. Faulty Oil Pump.
Oil is sent through the engine by the oil pump at a certain pressure to lubricate engine components so they can move more freely.
Should there be any oil pump issues, this oil pressure decreases and causes the oil pressure warning light of the vehicle to illuminate.
And since there is weak oil pressure, the oil can’t move through the engine and lubricate the components.
This causes more friction between components, which increases temperatures in the engine and ultimately causes costly damage.
#2. Clogged Oil Filter.
An engine depends on an oil filter to save it from abrasions and wear. The oil filter’s work is to filter out solid contaminants and stop them from getting inside the engine.
The contaminants we typically refer to are shiny metallic particles, carbon, and dirt. If these particles get inside the engine, they could begin to damage its cylinder walls, journal, and bearing.
So, the more solid contaminant particles get filtered out, the healthier your engine will be. Sadly, oil filters do clog after a while, and contaminants build up, especially when an oil filter is never replaced during an oil change.
Once it has clogged, the oil pressure in your vehicle will decline and illuminate the oil pressure light in your engine.
Your car will then experience complications due to the loss of oil pressure, and you will have to replace your oil filter immediately before things get much worse.
#3. Clogged Oil Passages in the Engine.
The oil pan or crankcase holds the engine oil. Most engines have an oil capacity of four to six quarts.
This is the job of the engine oil pump to pressurize and circulate the oil. After the oil leaves the pump, it goes to the oil filter, and the filter removes any contaminants.
Once clean, oil will pass through the filter and a series of passages until it reaches the crankshaft.
The oil can flow to provide oil for the bearing surfaces of the engine due to the oil passages in the crankshaft.
If the passages become blocked, oil will not flow on the bearing surfaces, and the oil pressure light will come on your dashboard.
Either low or high oil pressure could result. If you don’t address this issue, you could suffer major engine damage.
#4. Low Engine Oil.
Oil keeps the car engine lubricated against wear. As time goes on, the oil level may go down due to a small leak. You could even be losing oil without a direct leak. Just based on its age alone, the vehicle could have an oil leak or two.
Common areas of oil leaks are the valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, rear main seal, or even the drain plug. It may seem obvious, but the engine can lose oil from a missing oil cap or from being under-tightened.
Or, it could merely just burn away in the engine operation. After the oil drops to a certain level, you may also see the oil pressure warning light come on. Check your engine oil level as soon as possible.