Expert: Roland Finston - 7/2/2009

Question
My oil light comes on when my car is sitting still. When I mass the gas the light goes out. I have checked the oil and it is not low. The car is a 2000 Sebring with a 2.5 V6.
By the way with your answers about my AC...I FIXED IT!!!!!!
Thanks you saved me hundreds!!!

Answer
Hi Carol,
'Glad to learn that the AC is fixed. The oil pressure warning light is a common question. Your idle rpm may be a little on the low side which means the pressure is going to be low enough to turn on the light after the engine warms the oil, which also lowers the pressure a bit. The actual minimim oil pressure is 5 psi so if you wanted to check this out you could have it measured with a gauge at a shop or buy a gauge and substitute it for the oil pressure light sensor located next to the oil filter.
But in my experience I would not be concerned for the moment, but rather the next time you change the oil increase the 'weight' by one step*, which increases the viscosity and thus will raise the pressure at idle so that the light will usually not come on anymore. Another approach would be to buy a new sensor for the light and replace the present one which may be off-value. Either of those approaches don't have any labor charges if you do it yourself.
The only time you really have to be concerned is if the light comes 'on' when you are driving and the rpm is higher than about 1,000 rpm as that could mean there is insufficient oil reaching all the moving parts. But at idle there is no need to be concerned.
Roland
*If you have been using 5W-20 try instead 10W-30 for example.