Oil Light Flickers after Highway Drive
03-14-2012, 12:33 AM
#1
New Member
Thread Starter
Oil Light Flickers after Highway Drive
Hi, I have 1997 Ram 1500 2WD with the 5.2 Magnum; everything is stock in it. It runs great and have had no major issues with it except the pressure light. I've owned it for about seven months now and it's used in the city as a daily driver.
However after a highway drive, when I come up to a stop light with it still in gear, the oil pressure light will start to flicker. If I put it into neutral it will stop flickering and will stop flickering after driving for a while at in town speeds. There is no actual tac in the truck so I couldn't say what the rpms are at any given time but I haven't noticed any difference in the engine sound. Its had a couple oil changes since I've owned it (the last one was about 600 km ago) and while driving in town this isn't an issue. It did this after the first oil change when I first bought the truck and I asked a mechanic friend about it back then and he had told me not to worry about it though he wasn't sure what would be causing it. We didn't have time to do proper testing on it as I was moving to a different city at that time. Since then I have only done a couple short highway trips with it (and actually forgot about this issue since it hasn't come up). Since I have a longer trip coming up I took it out for a quick run to see if there were any issues and when I got back to town and at a stop light, there was the flicker again. But on the way home after another stop light the flicker was gone.
I've put in Motomaster Formula 1 10W30 oil (non-synthetic and I know I should do a better grade oil but budgets suck) and a Mobil 1 filter.
This has been a great truck for me and I would like to keep it that way. Has anyone else had this problem? If any more info is needed, please ask and I will do my best to answer. I am no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination but do know how to do my regular maintenance and I try to be very diligent about it.
However after a highway drive, when I come up to a stop light with it still in gear, the oil pressure light will start to flicker. If I put it into neutral it will stop flickering and will stop flickering after driving for a while at in town speeds. There is no actual tac in the truck so I couldn't say what the rpms are at any given time but I haven't noticed any difference in the engine sound. Its had a couple oil changes since I've owned it (the last one was about 600 km ago) and while driving in town this isn't an issue. It did this after the first oil change when I first bought the truck and I asked a mechanic friend about it back then and he had told me not to worry about it though he wasn't sure what would be causing it. We didn't have time to do proper testing on it as I was moving to a different city at that time. Since then I have only done a couple short highway trips with it (and actually forgot about this issue since it hasn't come up). Since I have a longer trip coming up I took it out for a quick run to see if there were any issues and when I got back to town and at a stop light, there was the flicker again. But on the way home after another stop light the flicker was gone.
I've put in Motomaster Formula 1 10W30 oil (non-synthetic and I know I should do a better grade oil but budgets suck) and a Mobil 1 filter.
This has been a great truck for me and I would like to keep it that way. Has anyone else had this problem? If any more info is needed, please ask and I will do my best to answer. I am no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination but do know how to do my regular maintenance and I try to be very diligent about it.
03-14-2012, 03:39 AM
#2
Oil sensor switch is on back on motor next to the dizzy threaded into block. Make sure it is connected correctly, not corroded and not socked in oil. The intake manifolds leak like crazy and fluids could be entering the electrical circuit.
Eliminate sending issues before you assume pressure loss..
Eliminate sending issues before you assume pressure loss..
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The Quiet Guy (03-14-2012)
03-14-2012, 02:12 PM
#3
How many miles on the truck ?
I would change the sending unit and if it still does it maybe go to a 10/40 oil, any conventional or synthetic is fine as long as it is clean.
Other wise the oil pickup may be starting to clog and you would need to drop the pan and replace the oil pump and the pickup
I would change the sending unit and if it still does it maybe go to a 10/40 oil, any conventional or synthetic is fine as long as it is clean.
Other wise the oil pickup may be starting to clog and you would need to drop the pan and replace the oil pump and the pickup
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The Quiet Guy (03-14-2012)
03-14-2012, 04:32 PM
#4
Last time I did a pan gasket I found that silver piece of flexible aluminum that comes on the top of a 5 quart oil container in the pickup. Apparently someone pushed it in to the jug instead of removing it.That would have been an expensive mistake..
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The Quiet Guy (03-14-2012)
03-14-2012, 04:37 PM
#5
Super Moderator
I am going to say install a mechanical oil pressure guage or try a test guage to check pressure. I hate to say that I think your mains or rod bearings are weak and your losing oil pressure at low rpm. How many miles are on the truck.
Last edited by bremereric; 03-14-2012 at 04:41 PM.
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The Quiet Guy (03-14-2012)
03-14-2012, 06:04 PM
#6
New Member
Thread Starter
First of all, thanks for the reply's 
It has 241K Kms on it and still seems to be running strong. As my brother in-law put it...it's just nicely broke in lol. On my next day off I'll check the sensor by the distributor to make sure that's clean and if I don't find anything there then I'll get a new sending unit to try that. It does have the mechanical gauge in the dash and it hasn't been dropping, just kind of sits in the usual place of under the 275 mark (half mark of the gauge) which is where it sits when running since I've owned it.
If a seal piece from the oil container were in the pan, would it not slow the oil drain from when I did the last oil change? When I changed that it flowed out normally (at least as normal as any other oil change I've done). The oil on the dipstick still looks clean and the level is fine. If it still does that with the new unit though, I'll try the 10-40 idea but a question on that. Isn't that diesel grade? I recall someone telling me that once you go to that kind of thickness you can't really go back to a more conventional oil.
It has 241K Kms on it and still seems to be running strong. As my brother in-law put it...it's just nicely broke in lol. On my next day off I'll check the sensor by the distributor to make sure that's clean and if I don't find anything there then I'll get a new sending unit to try that. It does have the mechanical gauge in the dash and it hasn't been dropping, just kind of sits in the usual place of under the 275 mark (half mark of the gauge) which is where it sits when running since I've owned it.
If a seal piece from the oil container were in the pan, would it not slow the oil drain from when I did the last oil change? When I changed that it flowed out normally (at least as normal as any other oil change I've done). The oil on the dipstick still looks clean and the level is fine. If it still does that with the new unit though, I'll try the 10-40 idea but a question on that. Isn't that diesel grade? I recall someone telling me that once you go to that kind of thickness you can't really go back to a more conventional oil.
03-14-2012, 08:59 PM
#7
Super Moderator
First of all, thanks for the reply's
It has 241K Kms on it and still seems to be running strong. As my brother in-law put it...it's just nicely broke in lol. On my next day off I'll check the sensor by the distributor to make sure that's clean and if I don't find anything there then I'll get a new sending unit to try that. It does have the mechanical gauge in the dash and it hasn't been dropping, just kind of sits in the usual place of under the 275 mark (half mark of the gauge) which is where it sits when running since I've owned it.
If a seal piece from the oil container were in the pan, would it not slow the oil drain from when I did the last oil change? When I changed that it flowed out normally (at least as normal as any other oil change I've done). The oil on the dipstick still looks clean and the level is fine. If it still does that with the new unit though, I'll try the 10-40 idea but a question on that. Isn't that diesel grade? I recall someone telling me that once you go to that kind of thickness you can't really go back to a more conventional oil.
It has 241K Kms on it and still seems to be running strong. As my brother in-law put it...it's just nicely broke in lol. On my next day off I'll check the sensor by the distributor to make sure that's clean and if I don't find anything there then I'll get a new sending unit to try that. It does have the mechanical gauge in the dash and it hasn't been dropping, just kind of sits in the usual place of under the 275 mark (half mark of the gauge) which is where it sits when running since I've owned it.
If a seal piece from the oil container were in the pan, would it not slow the oil drain from when I did the last oil change? When I changed that it flowed out normally (at least as normal as any other oil change I've done). The oil on the dipstick still looks clean and the level is fine. If it still does that with the new unit though, I'll try the 10-40 idea but a question on that. Isn't that diesel grade? I recall someone telling me that once you go to that kind of thickness you can't really go back to a more conventional oil.
03-14-2012, 09:51 PM
#8
New Member
Thread Starter
According to an online calculator - 241000 Kms = 149750 miles
As for the PSI, going according to the diagram in the owners manual it would be sitting just under the 40 mark so roughly 35 I would guess.
As for the PSI, going according to the diagram in the owners manual it would be sitting just under the 40 mark so roughly 35 I would guess.
03-15-2012, 01:39 PM
#9
Super Moderator
35 at hot idle should be plenty some change out your oil sending unit report back.
03-17-2012, 10:10 PM
#10
New Member
Thread Starter
Changed out the sending and took it for a quick run, no more dummy light . There was a bit of gunk in behind there so I cleaned out as much and as best I could without actually being able to see the area and the old unit had a fair bit of gunk in it as well. It seems to be working better now, the gauge has a little more movement to it but the needle is staying between the hash marks and no more light. Thank you all very much for the help on that. About 50 bucks + time = peace of mind.
. There was a bit of gunk in behind there so I cleaned out as much and as best I could without actually being able to see the area and the old unit had a fair bit of gunk in it as well. It seems to be working better now, the gauge has a little more movement to it but the needle is staying between the hash marks and no more light. Thank you all very much for the help on that. About 50 bucks + time = peace of mind.
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