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Hello there ,
I have 1992 Accura Legend C32 engine 175k kilometers.I had checked full dip stick oil measurement before engine start. But when I start engine I have blinking oil lamp which indicates that oil level in oil pan is low . I check dip stick it is below low mark but engine does not make cranking sounds feels like lubrication ok. I then put 200ml oil to running engine , dip stick now more than minimum , but oil level still blinks. Then I stop engine and next day I check the dip shows 1cm more than max. Started engine the low level blinking is on and the level again below minimum. I tried to drive it other day the blinking was gone, so did not check the level. Stopped the car , started it again and blinking for low level again.
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You misunderstand what the oil light is alerting you to.
It is not a low oil level warning light.
It is a low oil pressure warning light.
Now your engine has too much oil in it but it still does not have enough oil pressure.
There is either an internal problem with the engine, an electrical problem in the gauge cluster or the oil pressure sensor has gone bad.
The only way to know if there is actually enough oil pressure is to remove the oil pressure sensor and attach an oil pressure gauge in its place.
It is not uncommon for the 92 Legend gauge cluster to develop a crack in the circuit board for the oil pressure warning light, but I would not simply guess that this is the problem.See page 32 of the Owner’s manual, found here:
http://owners.acura.com/service-maintenance/minder?year=1992&model=Legend#mid^KA825NThere is a 90% chance that light indicates you have a bad oil pump. That is the DO NOT DRIVE! light. Has the engine been sounding OK?
For your own sake, do not drive the car. Have it towed to a shop for diagnosis.I have the manual for the car. The oil presure dash light has 2 paralel circuits which are connected to this one light. 1) oil presure sensor. If no presure it will litght continously. And when igntion key at the 2nd position and motor not started- so no pressure 2) blinking circuit attached to oil level sensor in the pan . when oil level full the sensor rises and provides body negative to the blinking circuit to stop blinking.
When the oil stick showed max I have disconnected the the cable from oil sensor and measured continuity of oil sensor to engine it was no continuity so maybe it has a wire broke or its is stuck down from oil junk in pan bottom and cannot rise.
So if the pressure would be bad and also the low level oil. it would trigger blinkking circuit, and oil light starts to blink, and if no pressure the presure circuit shorts the blinking circuit and the oil lamp should glow continuesly if no pressure. But it only blinks, so the pressure is ok.
So i have maybe stuck oil level sensor or the wire to the sensor broke.
But I dont get it if I start engine the dipstick measures less than minimum on running engine , then I added 200ml oil it made litlle above minimum, then I added more 100 ml oil but it still blink the oil level light.
I have +15 Celcius ambient and engine at operating temperature, the oil is warm and should return quicly and show little less than max at the stick. but it shows les than minimum and after leaving car stoped and checking other day the stick shows more than max (because I had put more oil as I said when I saw the below minimum on running engine)Interesting, never seen that 2-function arrangement for that light before.
I find it annoying that despite the zillion safety and emissions regulations applied to cars in the US, we don’t get the oil level sensors that other countries do.
Anyway, if you’re CERTAIN your oil pressure is fine, then yes, sounds like either the sensor is bad/fouled or the wiring to it is bad.
Do I understand correctly that you checked the oil level while the car was running? If so, that’s a no-no. Turn off the car and wait a minute for the oil to return to the pan.
If your checking/filling process has resulted in a level more than half a quart above the max line, drain some out. If the level is so high the crankshaft counterweights are hitting it, that can cause oil frothing leading to oil starvation. If it’s high enough, it can actually damage the engine by impeding crankshaft rotation.
I wouldn’t get too optimistic about your oil pressure just yet. A pump that’s producing “borderline” pressure (or a flaky oil pressure sensor) can cause an intermittent blinking light. I’ve seen it many times.
The only way to verify your actual oil pressure is to connect a direct-reading pressure guage to the lubrication system, by plumbing into the oil pressure sensor port.
Just to be clear, is the Oil Light blinking when the engine is running?
When the engine is stopped and the ignition key is on 2nd position the oil presure lamp is continous on(no pressure, low level blinking cicuit is shorted). When engine starts it turns off but it starts to blink(the oil low level circuit).
When engine not running oil stick level was more than max. When engine started I check the stick it shows less than minimum and the weird thing is that it takes a lot of time for oil to return to oil pan . I dont get it where the oil disappears from max to below minimum. Is there oil could be stuck in some area and not returning instanly,,,, ? I have other honda accord and on running engine I always see the stick has below max and on stopped engine it is sligtly less than max.When the engine is running, it is pumping oil to the top of the engine to lube the valvetrain. It would seem logical that the sump level would drop a little bit since there is now oil in the top end that formerly was in the sump. Then, when the engine stops, and the pumping stops, that oil that has accumulated in the top end then drains down to the sump. If it is draining slowly after the engine stops then perhaps there may be a restriction or blockage and it takes time for the oil to run back down. You should only add oil after checking the oil level after it has warmed up and then been shut off for a few minutes, or say 5-10 minutes if your oil is returning slowly. Running an overfilled engine is as dangerous as running it low, perhaps even more because when overfilled the oil level can rise above the crankshaft counterweights where they can whip it into an emulsion (a consistency similar to mayonnaise) and then the oil cannot flow to the bearings in this semi-solid form. I agree with the above suggestions to remove the oil light sensor and screw an oil pressure gauge in that hole to verify that your pressure is within specification.
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