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97 sts oil light flickers at idle, got alert to turn off engine due to low pressure


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lately when my car has been driving for a while and is in stop and go traffic, at idle, the oil light flickers and today it was beeping and telling me to turn off engine. however, when i gave the car gas the car was running fine and the oil light and alert went off. i know my check engine light goes on and off by itself whenever it wants to, and i am hoping that this is an electrical issue rather than an oil pressure issue as well. what would you do?

to get home i was actually giving the car gas while i was on the break to keep the oil light off being that the car rpm's were kept high so it wouldnt idle.

the car has 140k miles and is driven all day long.

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If the check engine light is on, you have a DTC stored. Pull the codes and find out what is wrong. It's trying to tell you.

Oil pumps are pretty reliable. I'd suspect a failing oil pressure switch. You could plumb in a pressure gauge to check it, but I'd just replace the switch. It is on the oil filter adapter. Be sure to use an A/C Delco switch.

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If the check engine light is on, you have a DTC stored. Pull the codes and find out what is wrong. It's trying to tell you.

Oil pumps are pretty reliable. I'd suspect a failing oil pressure switch. You could plumb in a pressure gauge to check it, but I'd just replace the switch. It is on the oil filter adapter. Be sure to use an A/C Delco switch.

im 50 miles from my house do you think i will be ok as long as i dont sit in horrible traffic?

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thanks for the reply ranger and i accidently posted in the wrong forum at 1st. i appreciate the help

This can be the oil pressure switch being bad, the light goes out just above idle. I replaced mine and it did not fix the problem and I have a theory

What kind of oil are you using 10W30? Has your car sat without running for long periods of time?

I believe the case half seals leak internally lowering the pressure at idle

Try oil for high mileage engines, it has conditioners in it that can help the seals. If that does not help, you might try 15W40 (Delvac or Rotella).

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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If the check engine light is on, you have a DTC stored. Pull the codes and find out what is wrong. It's trying to tell you.

Oil pumps are pretty reliable. I'd suspect a failing oil pressure switch. You could plumb in a pressure gauge to check it, but I'd just replace the switch. It is on the oil filter adapter. Be sure to use an A/C Delco switch.

im 50 miles from my house do you think i will be ok as long as i dont sit in horrible traffic?

I wouldn't worry about it.

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thanks for the reply ranger and i accidently posted in the wrong forum at 1st. i appreciate the help

This can be the oil pressure switch being bad, the light goes out just above idle. I replaced mine and it did not fix the problem and I have a theory

What kind of oil are you using 10W30? Has your car sat without running for long periods of time?

I believe the case half seals leak internally lowering the pressure at idle

Try oil for high mileage engines, it has conditioners in it that can help the seals. If that does not help, you might try 15W40 (Delvac or Rotella).

it sat 2 years ago before i bought it. but since i bought it 2 years ago i have put 40k miles on it without any problems. i believe im using 5w30 on the car, so i will try a high milage 10w30 oil

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Get rid of the 5W30 its WAY too thin, that could be your problem

The 97 called for 10W30 when new, also dont use synthetic in a pre 2000 NS

Pre 2000 NSs have rubbing element lifters whereas 2000 and newer have roller lifters.

So a search on ZINC here, oil manufactures have decreases the amount of zinc in the oil, zinc is an anti-wear compound, research our discussions here on the subject

Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1  >>

1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm

How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/

Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year  http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm

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