My veh. has 260K miles. The engine has does not leak oil or have “tranny” problems. It does have a master cylinder leak and a leak in the power steering system. Otherwise it runs great. In an observation once made by Tom,the engine runs so quiet you might supect Honda puashed potatoes in the engine. I live in Houston and its HOT. My question is that either my amber engine check light or red oil light may come on intermitently while I am driving. If I restart the engne the light will go out for awhile or may not come on until after I havestopped and then start a new driving trip. I have replaced my catalytic converter with an after market catalytic converter, I have replaced both oxygen sensors in attempt to address my problem. My problem still exists, so I now turn to you for a possible sugestion.
You need to get the trouble code(s) that tell you what the problems are that are turning on the light. To do this you need a chart of the codes that are available on the web, a paper clip to short the proper terminals on the diagnostic connector, and know what terminals to short. You then count the flashes of the engine light and match them to the codes. You can find all this information out at the library in a manual for your car. The oil light might be a more serious problem. It might, however, be just the sensor switch giving you a false indication of a problem. To distinguish between the two, you need to hook an oil pressure gauge to your car and see what the oil pressure is doing. So far, you have been throwing money away. Don’t spend any more until you find out what the oil pressure is really doing. Your engine might be worn out.
The leak in the power steering system might be left go on a car that old depending on where it is coming from and how much is leaking. PS fluid is cheap! I would not ignore the MC leak unless your horn works really well, but first get a handle on the oil pressure.
If your engine oil light is flickering it means you either have intermittent low oil pressure - check the oil; or you have a faulty sensor.
At 260k miles, it might just be engine wear causing low oil pressure. Even Acuras wear out sometime!
For the power steering leak, try one of the stop leak product. Walmart has it. It can work.
For the master cylinder leak, replace the brake master cylinder.
Replace the oil pressure sender. If the light still comes on at idle, sometimes, it’s probably the engine is worn. Nothing you can do for that, except change the engine. (Make sure the engine has adequate oil, of course).
Thanks for the suggestions. However I & my mechanic have checked for trouble codes & none were detected. Additionally I have checked the oil pressure and in addition replaced my low oil pressure switch which is in the drain pan. As I stated in my original question I have no oil leaks and I check after each incident to determine whether the oil reservoir is low. Do you have any other suggestions?
Thanks for the suggestions. However I & my mechanic have checked for trouble codes & none were detected. Additionally I have checked the oil pressure and in addition replaced my low oil pressure switch which is in the drain pan. As I stated in my original question I have no oil leaks and I check after each incident to determine whether the oil reservoir is low. Do you have any other suggestions?
If you’ve replaced the sending unit and you still get the oil light flickering, the oil pressure is low for real, probably from worn bearings. Verify by hooking up a mechanical gauge where the sending unit installs in the engine.
Wait a minute! You replaced the sensor in the oil pan? That’s not the oil pressure sending unit, that’s the low oil level sensor. The pressure sending unit is screwed into the block, ptobably near the oil filter. Check its connection first.
I think you may be on to something. I did not know about that part. I checked it and it appears well worn. I will replace it and let you know if that addresses the problem. Thank you.
Just wondering - what oil pressure readings did you get at idle with the engine hot?