Do I have a bad oil pressure switch??? ?

Question

I've got a 1996 Dodge Avenger ES, 2.5L, V6, automatic. The car's been driving fine as of late. But, tonight it decided to crap out on me! I will go into as much detail as I can so I can get the most efficient and accurate help possible.
I've noticed recently that when I would drive the vehicle that the oil pressure gauge fluctuates, depending on if I'm accelerating or not. If I'm accelerating, the oil pressure gauge reads in the normal range. However, if I'm at a stop light/sign, the oil pressure gauge reads low. I talked to a mechanic friend of mine and he said that the oil pressure switch may be going bad. The car, though, still drove perfectly fine.
Tonight, though, when I went to leave, I started my car and began to back out of my driveway, when all of a sudden the car completely died, headlights and all, and an oil light came on. I tried starting the car and it just cranked, like it was at least trying to turn over. The headlights don't come on, and the oil light is still illuminated on the dash. I called my mechanic friend and he suggested that I disconnect the car battery, reconnect it and then try driving it. To my surprise this worked, the oil light was not on and the car drove fine.....for about a mile, and then the car shut off completely again. The engine cranks like it's trying to turn over, the headlights do not work and the oil light is stuck on again. This time, however, disconnecting and reconnecting the battery did nothing. The oil light is still on, the engine still cranks but doesn't turn over.
Is it a bad oil pressure switch??? Is it relatively easy and/or cheap to have fixed, if so??? Any and all help is welcome and very much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Additional details:
There's no oil leakage. The oil level is fine.

Answer 1

CRANKS and TURNS OVER are the same identical thing!!! Check your TIMING BELT first by removing the CAM COVERS! Oil pressure light may flicker if IDLE SPEED is too low, caused by dirty IDLE AIR CONTROL valve and THROTTLE BODY!!! IMPROPER ENGINE OIL< that is REGULAR WAX based oil will ALSO cause this problem. Your engine REQUIRES sytnethic engine oil, and NOT Valvoline or other WAX based oil,a nd NO cheap oil either. Chrysler engines need oil that has the CHRYSLER specification numbers printed on the LABEL> ALL other oil willc ause sludge formation, loss of power, loss of econmy, and pure CRAPPY running! This is NOT a Lumina!

Answer 2

sounds like corroded terminals ...disconnect and wire brush or sandpaper it off [whatevers avail] some people just pour coke on it in a emergency. check and make sure the terminals are tightened good and not split or broke after that it sounds like it could also be alternator or battery..

check terminals first and if thats not it and if you can get it started 1 more time, drive it to advance or advantege auto parts and ask for a charging system check and they will check everything for free ... takes about 10-15 mins. and they will help install battery and look things over with you right there and give you a more hands on approach [a little lesson for next time]

It does not sound like a Oil Press Switch .

oil pressure light always comes on when vehicle stalls out, and when the motors idling the gauge will have a low reading until it gets up more speed [rpms] and the needle will rise. If the gauge was'nt moving at all then maybe I'd replace the 12.00 dollar part or maybe do it anyway for piece of mind as thier easy to get at to change .I replaced mine last year when I bought it used, and the gauge would not move ..changed it out and it does what it supposed to do regurlarly

anyways good luck

steve

Answer 3

test oil pressure switch

Answer 4

Your oil gauge takes its reading off of a separate switch than the ECU uses for engine management.



Have someone hook it up to an OBD2 scan tool. They should be able to figure out what is wrong.

Answer 5

getting sick of these help forums where a person asks for help, and doesn't have the common decency to post the fix. I like the possible answers, but the actual fix would be useful....This is useless

Answer 6

Sounds like there a loose screw behind the steering wheel!

Answer 7

i suspect there is another prob