What might cause the oil light on my 1992 Eagle Summit Wagon (284,000 miles on the original engine) to come on? I had driven about a mile from a cold start and it flickered then came on full. I stopped and checked the oil…the sump was full. I took the car home and started it again this morning. Again, after about a mile the light came on. When the light is on, I experience no shudder or roughness from the engine, no smoke or smells… What should I check? Is it safe to drive to a repair shop?
If you read your owner’s manual, you would know that you are supposed to stop the car and engine, and have it towed to a repair shop. That light means low or no oil pressure. (You could be lucky, and an it could just be a bad sender, but what if it’s really low oil pressure?)
Without enough oil pressure, your engine can be quickly killed. (Quickly being less than a minute.)
Yes, you can drive to a repair shop. When you get there you will either need a new oil pressure sender or a new engine. Or, you could have it towed and might not need a new engine. (Since you already drove with the light on and you do have almost 300K miles, odds are good you will need an engine.)
Bad oil pump?