Warning lights

[Blackcloud]

Last night I got 2 warning lights on the instrument cluster, engine oil pressure, and battery charging system. Checked the oil amount on the cluster and pulled the dipstick, both were fine. This morning no warning lights came on. I had the car scanned and everything was fine. Weird. What would cause this electrical glitch? I’m stumped.

[Starter986]

Originally Posted by Blackcloud

Last night I got 2 warning lights on the instrument cluster, engine oil pressure, and battery charging system. Checked the oil amount on the cluster and pulled the dipstick, both were fine. This morning no warning lights came on. I had the car scanned and everything was fine. Weird. What would cause this electrical glitch? I’m stumped.

I'll take a guess.

Because the battery light came on... I would suspect an electrical gremlin. If it were me I'd check the battery posts... and grounds connection.

Just because you have sufficient oil doesn't mean there isn't something up with the oil pump. I'm not qualified to suggest any advice on that.

I don't know if a "scan" would reveal a faulty/bad oil pump. How's your drive belt?

In the meantime, and absent a sharper mind's input... and if it were me... I wouldn't be starting it, let alone driving it.

Alright... I'm waiting for sharper minds to chime in (so I can learn something new).

Best wishes.

[Blackcloud]

Thanks, the drive belt was new last fall. Drove fine today. The car had been sitting for 10 days or so. I was thinking a ground too, but I will check the battery connections too. Last I checked they were tight.

[Blackcloud]

The battery is 2 years old. I only put about 2500 miles on in a year. When not in regular use, I use a battery tender.

[Blackcloud]

Battery connections are good, plus the ground. No more lights. Ran it hard setting up autocross today. Everything was fine. Still a mystery.

[Chi-Town]

Put a volt meter on the battery while it's running and see if the voltage is above 13 volts. Low voltage can do some weird things

[thstone]

Its worrisome any time that the oil pressure warning light comes on. But I feel better since it came on with the charging system light which leads me to think that it was an electrical problem and not an oil pressure issue. Thus, as others have commented, I'd check the electrical system for any issues - could be anything from the electrical portion of the key switch going bad to a failing alternator/voltage regulator to a bad ground to ... etc, etc. By the way, sometimes a ground cable can corrode from the inside so you may need to measure resistance rather than just visually inspect.

If at any point the oil pressure warning light FLASHES (regardless of any other lights that might turn on), turn off the engine and have it flat bedded to a shop for investigation.

[blue62]

Originally Posted by Blackcloud

Last night I got 2 warning lights on the instrument cluster, engine oil pressure, and battery charging system. Checked the oil amount on the cluster and pulled the dipstick, both were fine. This morning no warning lights came on. I had the car scanned and everything was fine. Weird. What would cause this electrical glitch? I’m stumped.

First this is just a guess on my part But since you got a oil pressure warning light and a charging system light at the same time you could have some bare (battery positive???) wires going to the oil pressure sensor that could have shorted briefly to ground. That could have completed the circuit and the warning light came on. Since it was (could have been) a short it drew excess amps and triggered the charging system warning light. Like I say a guess on my part but it is where I would look first.

Most (not all) things associated with the OBDII system have to have an issue for two consecutive drive cycles to trigger the CEL. OBDII will log a pending code at the first issue but it will not trigger the CEL. If the issue doesn't happen on the second drive cycle it erases the pending code. So when you have a car scanned always have them check for pending codes as well.

[Blackcloud]

Good advice. Thanks!

[gabedrummin]

How many miles on the engine?