what rpms are you idling at? sometimes when my car decides not to idle surge and actually stay at idle, my light will come one...i chalk it up to not enough rpms so i just rev it a little

well i'm not recirculating right now even though i should be, but i'm idling abuot 600 rpms...think it's a little low, but what does that light mean? low pressure or low oil amount ? and is this somethin i should start lookin into?
jc

It means low pressure.

mine flickers on/off when the idle is running a little low as well, approx 600rpms, as long as it doesnt come on when your above idle, id say theres little worry.

could be a cross short....giving it ground and power during certain vibrations...

or if ur idle real low maybe not enough oil pressure.

more dsm's oil light flikers at idle then dont.

dave99gst said:

more dsm's oil light flikers at idle then dont.

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so how bout finding out why? if mine did i know id be out there figuring it out.

My 95 gst was doing the same thing, but then it was stalling out to. I found out it was because I was running my bov atmosphere, so I said goodbye to the loudest pssssh I ever heard and hello to my car running right. Hope this helps

Assuming the sensor is still good, the light coming on means you have something like less than 12 psi oil pressure. I can tell you in the 13 years I've owned mine that light has never come on except during the startup bulb test. If it did, I'd get it checked and fixed ASAP.

Steve

jasoncitrano said:

I'm not sure exactly when the light comes on...is it when the oil pressure is low or when the acutal oil level is low

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Very few cars made have oil level gauges. The idiot light comes on when there's not enough pressure to keep the sensor switched- either from too low an idle, or -just as likely- a worn-out switch. In your case, your idle's way too low.

gstpst said:

My 95 gst was doing the same thing, but then it was stalling out to. I found out it was because I was running my bov atmosphere, so I said goodbye to the loudest pssssh I ever heard and hello to my car running right.

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Poor guy, now you actually have to run your car the way it's supposed to be ran. No more PsHsHshShShShShxx0r f0r j00.

Your oil pump will only work as fast as the crank is turning. If your idling low, adjust the idle screw on the throttle body and raise the idle speed a bit. Mine used to idle around 600rpm's when I got it. Never flashed the low pres. light, but I didnt feel comfortable with my pres. sitting that low at idle. I prefer my idle set around 800-900rpm's.

GSTSleeper said:

so how bout finding out why? if mine did i know id be out there figuring it out.

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DSM's have notoriously crappy oil pumps.. hows that for why ? If the only issue you have if a flickering light but still have good pressure @ WOT/cruise i sure isnt worth the effort to replace the pump.

I think this should still be relevent even though I'm n/a. My car has had the same problem for the past 2 or 3 months, finally I got sick of it and hiked the idle up to about 1000. I still get the light when I start getting low on oil though.

thanks alot you guys this helped alot

yeah man.....i got the same problem as well on my 95 tsi awd. It only happen when idle....i guess i should bump the idle up a little?

hkdl said:

I still get the light when I start getting low on oil though.

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It's supposed to do that. Keep the oil level up to where it should be.

Dieselboy said:

It's supposed to do that.

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With all due respect sir, it's not supposed to do that, it's a side effect of losing pressure when your oil level is low.
The only thing it supposed to do is warn you of a critical drop in oil pressure.

Steve

i agree with steve. my light has never once even flickered.

steve said:

With all due respect sir, it's not supposed to do that, it's a side effect of losing pressure when your oil level is low.

Steve

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Thats what I was stating. Due to oil level being low, there is a very good possibility of causing that light to come on. I am well aware that the light, in all actuality, has nothing to due with the oil level (like some people believe). Maybe I should've been more clear about stating why it will do that .