Oil pressure switch is one of the many sensors installed in your car. Modern vehicles today need these sensors to help the computer box learn any irregularities or malfunction within the car’s system.
But what does the oil pressure switch do? How can you tell if you have a bad oil pressure switch?
In this article, I’ll discuss to you the function of this particular sensor and how to tell if your car has a bad oil pressure switch.
What is Oil Pressure Switch?
There is an immense oil pressure inside an engine which helps sustain oil flow though various moving components. Since these components are metal that are rubbing against each other, the friction produces heat which needs to be cooled down.
Motor oil helps cool and lubricates these components that reduces heat and keep them functioning efficiently.
That amount of oil pressure inside the engine is monitored and detected by the oil pressure switch (sometimes called oil pressure sending unit).
If there’s an irregularity with that pressure, the sensor will send data to the engine control unit and analyze if it should turn on the warning light or not, or to help further regulate the flow of oil inside the engine as required.
As you know, oil pressure also depends on various things like the throttle response on how the driver steps on the accelerator. If you always drive hard, the oil pressure inside the engine increases so your driving behavior also affects oil pressure inside the engine.
How to Tell if You Have a Bad Oil Pressure Switch?
As mentioned above, oil pressure switch or sensor monitors the oil flow pressure inside the engine and sends data to the ECU. If there’s a data conflict, your ECU will switch on various warning lights on your dashboard.
So what are the signs that your car already has a bad oil pressure sensor?
Check Engine and Oil Pressure Warning Lights
Common signs include having both check engine light and oil pressure warning light. So what are the difference between the two?
Oil pressure warning light is the common symptom of a bad oil pressure switch. In some vehicles, this warning light is called “low oil warning light”. This simply means that the amount of oil in your engine is low and need to be refilled or top up.
Low oil happens when you have a leak inside or even on the exterior parts of your engine. This include head gasket leak, turbocharger oil seal leaks, and many others. A blow by engine is also a common issue where the engine sucks more oil than usual.
Check engine light on the other hand is triggered when an irregularity on your engine’s oil pressure has already affected other functionality or systems of the engine. So you need to identify the issue by using a computer scanner called OBD tools.
If you don’t have any OBD scanner, check out Amazon for the best OBD scanner brands online.
Engine Overheating
Another symptom of a bad oil pressure switch is engine overheating.
As mentioned above, oil helps lower your engine temperature by providing proper lubrication that leads to cooling effect. So your engine needs a consistent and proper oil pressure to maintain optimum temperature.
Otherwise, it will overheat. Why?
A bad oil pressure switch will incorrectly send data to your ECU, which can result to delay in increasing or decreasing oil pressure when needed by the engine. This will lead to the dramatic increase in engine temperature as the oil pressure is too low.
Blinking Oil Pressure Light
If you see your oil pressure warning light turned on, you will eventually or may see that light blinking repeatedly as well. Most cases it won’t blink, some may blink for a while and some may get continuous blinking light.
What does these mean?
This is a warning that the oil pressure switch is already damaged or worn out and needs replacement. If you see this type of sign, you need to replace the sensor immediately before further damage can be inflicted in your engine.
You may also need to learn how to diagnose a bad oil pressure sending unit. Below is my own DIY video on how to remove and diagnose a bad oil pressure switch.
Summary
As discussed above, if your car has a bad oil pressure switch, it is better not to drive the car and have it serviced immediately. Oil pressure irregularities and malfunctioning of the sensor can lead to more troubles for your car.
I hope you learned something from this post. Come back again next time for more car tips and videos!
