Annoying little DeLorean problems...

[go_leafs_go]

Hi guys,

I noticed last night on the drive home that my oil light would flicker on and off intermittently as I was sitting at red lights. As I gave the car gas, it would shut off and if the car was moving, it would be off. Soon after stopping it would flicker on again...Is this something to be concerned about? Could it be a loose connection somewhere?

Also, The brake light still comes on...Thanks Jonathan...Now I know how to get into the mechanism...could that be a loose/dirty ground issue as well?

Thanks,
Dean

[Michael]

I assume your oil level is ok? What does the pressire gauge do when this happens, if it fluctuates at all look at your oil pump or screen, if the gauge does nothing you may look at the light sensor, or the plug at the sensor. What does your gauge read at idle and at mid range?

[go_leafs_go]

the pressure goes to zero when at a stop then rises as I accelerate.

[DMCMW Dave]

This isn't good. I've found that the oil light is remarkably accurate about telling you when there is ZERO oil pressure. The fact that the gauge confirms it is very telling.

What weight oil are you running? How many miles on the engine?

Typically very low oil pressure is symptomatic of a bad oil pump or very worn bearings - both pretty rare failure. Or a plugged pickup (there isn't a screen, so if that plugs its big wads of sludge). I've seen that happen on cars coming out of decades of storage with bad oil in the engine.

[Canon20DFan]

My oil gauge drops at idle (not to zero, though) then rises significantly when driving. It's never been steady like in my Toyotas, but I believe that's normal for a Delorean.

[Michael]

My oil gauge drops at idle (not to zero, though) then rises significantly when driving. It's never been steady like in my Toyotas, but I believe that's normal for a Delorean.

Yours and mine are remanufactured cars, meaning they have the updated pressure sensor which will not peg the gauge at all times. Mine goes down to a lower level at idle(between 0 and the first mark which is probably 15psi+/-, and rises to the 3/4 mark during travel. Cold oil shows elevated readings which is normal. The factory built cars, if I remember right, had a mis-calibrated Volvo sensor which pretty much pegged the oil gauge at all times, even when the engine was warm and at idle.

[Renee_1632]

My oil gauge also drops at idle, then goes way back up as I'm driving. This has occurred since I've owned it. But mine's not remanufactured. Is that okay?

[Michael]

My oil gauge also drops at idle, then goes way back up as I'm driving. This has occurred since I've owned it. But mine's not remanufactured. Is that okay?

Like I said, I honestly can't remember the specifics, except that the factory oil pressure sender would make the gauge read much higher, even pegging the gauge. Now I seem to recall reading that this was done intentionally so new Delorean owners would not worry upon seeing their new cars with "low" oil pressure. I have read so much over the past 5 years that some things become fuzzy as to if they are fact or lore.

It could be that yours has been replaced with a different sending unit already. However, I think with something this critical, I would want to be 100% sure what my pressure was. Since the new sending units are cheap and easy to replace, maybe pick one up and replace it at your next oil change.

[DMCMW Dave]

Back to the OP - the gauge reading by itself wouldn't worry me. Neither would a flickering light - if the gauge was reading high.

The light going on at the same time the gauge reads zero is scary.

[go_leafs_go]

I just had my mechanic do a head gasket job and a coolant system overhaul with a new rad, hoses, etc...

He put in 10w30. The level is fine on the dipstick and there is no white colouration of the oil. This was completed just last month. I only have about 200 miles on the car since then.

Maybe I should just order part 102763.

Thanks,
Dean

[go_leafs_go]

I just had my mechanic do a head gasket job and a coolant system overhaul with a new rad, hoses, etc...

He put in 10w30. The level is fine on the dipstick and there is no white colouration of the oil. This was completed just last month. I only have about 200 miles on the car since then.

Maybe I should just order part 102763.

Thanks,
Dean

UPDATE
Just double checked the contacts on the pressure gauge and the connection of the switch and they appear ok.

I let the car warm up then watched as I accelerated.

The pressure as I accelerated to 25mph was at the 1/4 mark. Accelerating to 35mph, the pressure was just under 1/2. At no point was it any higher. One thing though, the flickering oil lamp, while it did still occur, happened only twice. (It happened every time I stopped at a red light previously.)

Another (unrelated??) thing I noticed was a strange "squeak" (Kinda like a quick chirp or whistle coming from the engine). It would happen once or twice during acceleration and while I was coasting.

Thanks,
Dean

[Canon20DFan]

You exactly described my oil pressure guage behaviour.

Yours and mine are remanufactured cars, meaning they have the updated pressure sensor which will not peg the gauge at all times. Mine goes down to a lower level at idle(between 0 and the first mark which is probably 15psi+/-, and rises to the 3/4 mark during travel. Cold oil shows elevated readings which is normal. The factory built cars, if I remember right, had a mis-calibrated Volvo sensor which pretty much pegged the oil gauge at all times, even when the engine was warm and at idle.

[Michael]

UPDATE
Just double checked the contacts on the pressure gauge and the connection of the switch and they appear ok.

I let the car warm up then watched as I accelerated.

The pressure as I accelerated to 25mph was at the 1/4 mark. Accelerating to 35mph, the pressure was just under 1/2. At no point was it any higher. One thing though, the flickering oil lamp, while it did still occur, happened only twice. (It happened every time I stopped at a red light previously.)

Another (unrelated??) thing I noticed was a strange "squeak" (Kinda like a quick chirp or whistle coming from the engine). It would happen once or twice during acceleration and while I was coasting.

Thanks,
Dean
While I am no mechanic, that does not sound like not much pressure at all. Couple that with the light flickering and I would be thinking this is a real problem and not a incorrect reading. I would deal with this asap. If I were experiencing this problem I would expect my shop to tell me they need to drop the oil pan(no small task on a D) and take it from there. They may see a lot of sludge build up and want to clean the pan. I would also expect to replace the pump(and anything else that is cheap) as long as they were there and eliminate that possibility. I think you may have got lucky to have discovered this now rather than later. Whatever you do, do not drive it anymore. Tows to the shop are cheap.

[go_leafs_go]

I had a new oil pan gasket installed when they pulled the engine. They should have dealt with any sludge then. They put in 10w30 and I've been told that it's a little light.

It might be the pump and/or the sender unit...

Would a simple oil change to say 15/40 help with the minimum pressure?

[Cory W]

I had a new oil pan gasket installed when they pulled the engine. They should have dealt with any sludge then. They put in 10w30 and I've been told that it's a little light.

It might be the pump and/or the sender unit...

Would a simple oil change to say 15/40 help with the minimum pressure?

Yes.

[Bitsyncmaster]

I've seen the oil light on other cars quickly flash if the idle RPMs happen to drop to low when you come to a stop. But once the RPMs recover the light should be off.

When I first go my car the oil pressure gauge would stay pegged all the time. I installed John's sender unit and now a cold idle will read 80 PSI and hot idle will read about 40 PSI. Any throttle (RPM > 1500) will bring the PSI back up to 70 on a hot engine.

Like Dave S said, with both the light and pressure gauge showing low oil pressure it sounds likely you have a problem.

[DMC3165]

Did the OP ever make any mention of what his water temp was during all of this. When I had a bad PRV it would continually heat up while not building oil pressure.

[go_leafs_go]

Did the OP ever make any mention of what his water temp was during all of this. When I had a bad PRV it would continually heat up while not building oil pressure.

I had the cooling system completely replaced on this car. It runs at 110 degrees now and the fans kick on when they were supposed to. Before, the car would overheat, but the oil pressure would be good. If it's not one thing it's another... :)

[DMC3165]

I had the cooling system completely replaced on this car. It runs at 110 degrees now and the fans kick on when they were supposed to. Before, the car would overheat, but the oil pressure would be good. If it's not one thing it's another... :)

Ain't that the truth!

[AdmiralSenn]

See if you can borrow a proper mechanical oil pressure gauge and hook it up to the gauge sender port. That'll tell you for sure what your pressure is.

I had to do this when my pressure dropped to zero. It turned out that the last person to work on the engine used DELRIN to balance the pistons, which fell out after 20+ years and collected in the oil pickup tube. Almost lost the motor. It survived because the oil was brand new and I added another three quarts on top of that to make it home.

Since you said they had the oil pan off I wonder if something got stuck in the oil pickup and is blocking it. That might cause what you're seeing.

[go_leafs_go]

See if you can borrow a proper mechanical oil pressure gauge and hook it up to the gauge sender port. That'll tell you for sure what your pressure is.

I had to do this when my pressure dropped to zero. It turned out that the last person to work on the engine used DELRIN to balance the pistons, which fell out after 20+ years and collected in the oil pickup tube. Almost lost the motor. It survived because the oil was brand new and I added another three quarts on top of that to make it home.

Since you said they had the oil pan off I wonder if something got stuck in the oil pickup and is blocking it. That might cause what you're seeing.

The pressure test went well and it's within specifications. So that leaves the sending unit as the most likely problem.