Source
r/Cartalk•
DisGateway

Oil and Battery light flickering, but idle is fine.

I was sitting in the drive thru tonight when I noticed my oil and battery lights start to flicker. The idle however remained fine, with no noticeable sounds for a 14 year old SUV. I checked the oil in the parking light and it was fine. I also noticed it doesn't do it all the time and sometimes it's just the oil light. It will also go away if you give it some gas.

I know I need to check the oil pump. What else should I be looking for? It's a 2002 Mitsubishi Montero Sport btw.

Also battery is brand new. Could this be a altnator issue? Car turns over fine.

Posted Feb 21, 2016, 4:28 AM UTC

73
drepamig•

This might also be caused by a failing alternator. I'd consider checking the idle charging voltage.

2
The_Finglonger•

It sounds like the idle is a bit too low. If it was just one or the other, I'd blame the respective thing(oil pump or alternator). A low idle means the accessories aren't running quite fast enough to do their jobs.

I've seen trucks with high miles get a flickering oil light, and that was due to low pressure(right on the edge of tripping the sensor) because the engine was just worn. Heavier base-weight oil fixed those.

1
Dirty_Old_TownASE Master & L1•

  1. What is the idle speed?

  2. Check the oil sending unit circuit, including the sender itself. If you don't find any circuit problems, connect an oil pressure gauge and make sure you don't actually have low oil pressure.

  3. Load test the alternator and check its wiring.

1