If I have plenty of coolant and have 900 miles left till the oil change, what would be a reason why my 1998 Cadillac Deville would overheat and shut down on me. It’s happened twice in one week. The only thing I could think would make the problem is that I would drive maybe 25 miles or so, stop(off) for about 30 mins drive somewhere fairly close(less than 10 miles), stop(off) again and the drive off and the car is pinging at me in less than 5 miles. Showing a coolant temp of 266 degrees or higher, flashing that I need to change the oil, engine idle, stop engine.
It has 133,000 miles
Are you sure it is telling you to change oil or is it telling you the oil pressure is low? If the oil level is low that means oil pressure may be low. If the oil level or pressure gets too low, your engine could be about to die due to lack of oil. I hope I am wrong.
[b] You do know that you don't drive, even a little if an oil light (or temperature light) is flashing?[/b]Change oil lights don’t flash, and they aren’t red.
If it was a red light that said low oil pressure - stop engine or something similar and you keep driving, you can think of it as a “change engine” light now.
Have you checked the oil level?
Did you check the coolant level in the radiator, or just in the recovery jug? (The jug can be full and the radiator empty, if there is a leak.)
There are probably a dozen reasons that it might overheat. Thermostat, water pump, pressure leak, headgasket failure, fan failure, clogged radiator, …
The pinging, high temperatures, warning lights, and shutting down al combine to suggest to me that you have serious issues going on with this engine beyond (or maybe even because of) the low oil pressure. I recommend you have this towed to a reputable shop for a good look-see.
Loss of oil pressure is destructive to an engine, sustained pinging is destructive to and engine, overheating is destructive to and engine, and driving with warning lights on can be destructive to and engine. Hopefully something will be salvageable here. Sincere best.
Yes it is telling me to change the oil. It is an all digital dash that says the problem in words. I pulled the dipstickk and it still read full. None of these things have happened regularly. the service engine light didn’t come on till it overheated the first time last week. I was leaving town and that was the reason why I didn’t take it when it first happened. No other lights were on except for the tempeture light whent he car overheated yesterday.
The dash is all digital. It said “change oil” “engine overheating” “stop engine” “engine idle” and throwing in the temp of the coolant(266). I checked the oil level and it was still full. I did have to drive the car after it overheated Monday. I waited about 30 mins for it to cool down some because I was stuck on the highway about a quarter mile from an exit and I had my one year old daughter sleep in the backseat. I had to get her out of the heat. No engine No AC.
The only ligths that were on were the tempeture light and the service engine light that came on the very first time this happened last week.