Mazda 6 Forums banner

Oil pressure light came on....

11K views 8 replies 4 participants last post by  waughoo 
#1 ·
Last night, driving home, getting off the highway (50 miles). Lamp came on, pulled over. Oil level fine. Restarted car, lamp out, then flickered on/off for the last mile home. 120k miles, has never burned a drop of oil. Engine sounds fine. Restarted it today, let it idle for 10 minutes or so, no recurrence. Hoping (fingers crossed) that it's a bad oil pressure sensor. I'm guessing that it's ok to drive at least short term, since if this was something catastrophic then a) it would have come back on this AM, and b) my engine would already be toast. I'm thinking that the best course of action is just to replace the OPS rather than even try to check oil pressure, since it looks like I have to thread a gauge into that same PITA location anyway. If it cures problem, great, if not, move on to checking pressure, dropping pan, etc.

Sound reasonable? Is there another place to tap and check the pressure?

Anyone have a picture of the wiring connector? i got under the car today and was able to reach it, but couldn't figure out how to unclip it since I can't see it.

Wish me luck, about to travel another 100 miles round trip today...
 
#2 ·
I would see if you can get some info from @DrFeelGood . He JUST went through this and decided to check his actual oil pressure and determined it was fine. He unfortunately found that the oil pressure sender for the oil light was stripped and he couldn't replace it. I think he was going the route of a plate at the oil filter to install a new sensor to restore function of the oil light.


Also, @bluedevil6 (I think) added an oil pressure gauge and has a different location to tap the oil pressure. He might have some insight for you.
 
#3 ·
Last night, driving home, getting off the highway (50 miles). Lamp came on, pulled over. Oil level fine. Restarted car, lamp out, then flickered on/off for the last mile home. 120k miles, has never burned a drop of oil. Engine sounds fine. Restarted it today, let it idle for 10 minutes or so, no recurrence. Hoping (fingers crossed) that it's a bad oil pressure sensor. I'm guessing that it's ok to drive at least short term, since if this was something catastrophic then a) it would have come back on this AM, and b) my engine would already be toast. I'm thinking that the best course of action is just to replace the OPS rather than even try to check oil pressure, since it looks like I have to thread a gauge into that same PITA location anyway. If it cures problem, great, if not, move on to checking pressure, dropping pan, etc.

Sound reasonable? Is there another place to tap and check the pressure?

Anyone have a picture of the wiring connector? i got under the car today and was able to reach it, but couldn't figure out how to unclip it since I can't see it.

Wish me luck, about to travel another 100 miles round trip today...
This appears to be a fairly common issue with the 1st generation car.
You can check out my journey with it here. There is a video and some workarounds for different scenarios. CHecking pressure would be the best but I bet if you just replace the <$10 sender your problems will be solved.
https://forum.mazda6club.com/3-0l-v...icker-during-d-r-gear-change.html#post4791769
 
#4 · (Edited)
You are correct @waughoo I use one of the ports on the rear head for my oil pressure gauge they are under the TB/EGR area



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#5 ·
I had seen @DrFeelGood 's posts, didn't look like there was a resolution. @bluedevil6, having a hard time visualizing that location, but I like the idea. How hard is it to access? Is there something there now, or a plug that needs unscrewed or what?

Also, do I have to remove the oil filter to get at the OPS? No big deal, but just changed the oil and would rather not.
 
#6 ·
No there’s nothing there but two plugs/caps (one for each port) I believe 1/4 inch but it’s been a while since I removed it so I could be wrong. You should have decent access if you remove the TB. If it helps, I’m my pic I circled the sender for my gauge the blurred top portion is the TB and the line along the bottom is for the fuel rail


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#7 ·
and for my part, the resolution was oil pressure over 20 PSI idle hot. Pressure at 1500 RPM was 42 PSI. Anything between 20 and 45 PSI at 1500 RPM is good. That means, the reason why my light is coming on is likely due to a faulty sender.
The factory oil pressure switch is fairly difficult to get to. I accessed it from the front under the car and it was basically by touch only. Put your hand on the oil dipstick tube and then follow that down until it goes into the block at that point your fingers should pretty much be touching the sender I used a quarter inch drive ratchet with a deep socket on it and it was basically one or two clicks at a time. as was stated earlier, my sender was stripped and would not unscrew, so that means I need to find a new location.
 
#8 ·
As a follow up, I replaced the sender and all has been well. Really not *that* difficult to get at. I removed the oil filter and drained the oil, but it probably wasn't necessary for access, and I still got a lot of oil that came out when I removed the old sender. The new sender was a weird size--I forget what exactly, but it was like a 23mm, so I had to buy a new deep socket to get it on. I also forgot to put thread sealant on the new one (used antiseize), and wasn't sure how tight to thread it. I think that it's NPT threads, and just seals as you snug it. I didn't feel like stripping anything out under there. Have put maybe 1k miles on it (maybe a bit less) and haven't had the light back on.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top