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View Full Version : Oil light 'flickering' on warm-up?!



Chikan
02-27-2006, 02:11 AM
Hey guys, need some advice for my '91 Mini. It's got the 3.0, with an auto..

She has plenty of power, and drives REAL smooth... So I'd hate to think I've got major engine work coming up... But We've noticed that it does seem to have a bit of a gremlin....

I've already checked codes, and only get the 55.. (heartattack time... first time I've EVER had a td do that.. lol)
When we first start her cold, she idles a wee bit rough, but nothing major..
She drives great on the freeway, and stays nice & cold.. (Near the bottom of the stock gauge)... But like all my other tds, when idling for a while (like in rush hour traffic) she warms up quickly to about the mid-point...

Here's the problem... When the temp hits that mid-point on the gauge, she starts to stumble a bit... On top of that, the oil pressure light starts flickering, and has even stayed on a couple times for a few mins... As soon as we hit the gas and start moving again though, it goes out and she runs fine..
Checked the oil level, and it's all good. Nice & clear brown.. no sludge, no milky coloring... Coolant looks good... I've also noticed it has more of a tendancy to do this while it's in a moving gear, not so much while in park. So I'm at a loss as to what this is...

I'm hoping I don't need major work, as we've only had the van about a month.. But I wouldn't be too terribly surprised, as it's got almost 225k on what I believe is the original motor...

Any ideas guys?

turbovanmanČ
02-27-2006, 04:24 AM
The stumbling could be a speed sensor going bad, dirty throttle body and idle motor, alternator could have low output and when the fan comes on, the alt can't keep up and it stumbles. Also, the temp going midway is normal as the fan comes on around 210 degs.
As for the flickering light, go buy a cheap mechanical oil guage and install it, even for temp purposes and see what your oil pressure is doing. Should be roughly 7 psi minimum at idle hot and raise aprox 10 psi per 1000 rpm.