First off the car: 03 Stratus ES sedan 2.7 V6 w/57,000 miles. My oil change isn't due for another 1,100 miles. Okay....
Went to lunch today pulled into the parking lot and the low oil pressure light comes on briefly then goes off. I pull out of spot, comes back on again. Go in and eat come back out start car, no light. Put car into drive, light begins to flash for about 5 seconds then goes off. Driving back to school, going about 65mph no light. Come to a stop light, light comes back on....stays on, flashes for a few seconds, then goes off. Light never came back on the rest of the day. Checked the oil, no burning smell, no water, level is where it is supposed to be????? Was this just an electrical glitch or is it a sign of something bad down the road. I always change my oil BEFORE it is due and have taken really good care of the car. I don't know whether to just keep an eye on it and be nervous everytime i drive the car, or take it to a mechanic and have him check it all over....would sludge cause the light to go on or would that make the check engine light go on? Any help would be GREAT
Nick

 

the three things i can think of are a bad sending unit/wires, a bad oil pick up tube (the tube that sticks down into the pan to suck up oil), or sludge. call around to local shops for testing instead of replacement.what you need to find out is if you truely have a low pressure issue or not.

i don't have my book with me, but it should be easy to eliminate the sending unit and it's wireing or worst case replace the sending unit.

look under the car to see if the oil pan has any dents or scrapes on the bottom, like it hit a rock or speed bump. it's possable for the oil pick up tube to be bent or cracked enough to notlet enough oil flow at low eng rpms, causing the light.

sludge can and will build up in oil passages. and it can restrict flow (not good). unless the oil passage is totally blocked, it will not cause a pressure decrease. think of a garden hose as your oil passage, your thumb on the end of the hose as sludge. as your thumb covers more and more of the opening the pressure inside of the hose builds and the amount of "oil" comming out drops off. oil acts as a heat sink to trap and move away "heat" (interchangable with engergy/friction) from critical parts of your motor. you wantas much flow as your system can give.if everything else checks out first. go with one of the over the counter sludge removers. if you stayed on top of the oil changes as you said it shouldn't be an issue.

my 02 2.7 is still running strong, including 3 years on the german autobahn. refering to the owners manual, i choose the 3K oil change for hard driving, which includes city driving. the light driving recomendation (can't remember the number, 5K?) is for highway, as in 90%+ of the driving is done at steady highway speeds with no stopping at lights.

when you find out what the dealis please post it. might help someoneelse out.

 

hey thanks for the reply! I actually just took it to the dealership this morning to have them check everything over while it was getting the oil changed (600 miles prior to when it was due, which is the norm for me). They said everything looked perfect, no leaks, oil was spotless, not water, no evidence of sludge, compression was good etc. ????? I am wondering if I might have a little electrical gremlin hiding somewhere. I've been noticing that when i make a right turn (with the blinker on) that the dashboard lights, radio display, and compass/temp display lights go super dim then flicker and go back to the normal brightness. Maybe it has something to do with that....or maybe there is an underlying issue that the dealership just didn't see....either way i am def. going to keep my eye on it and keep my oil changed every 2500 miles to be safe. Since that day, the light hasn't come back on at all with the exception of the normal "at start-up" blink on and then off. Thanks for the reply though...i'll keep that info so if it happens again i can have those things checked out (hopefully it doesn't though!)
Nick