Q: Car ran out of gas now runs very rough and oil light stays on. I am stumped. Help?

Hello, It sounds like you may have a faulty oil pressure sensor. The oil pressure light will usually come on when a few things could be happening. Either the motor is in fact low on oil, the oil pump could be failing or the oil pressure sending unit is not working properly and may be producing a faulty reading. If the engine is in fact low on oil, you may notice the temperature gauge reading above normal temperatures as a result of the lack of sufficient oil in the motor. I would recommend checking the actual oil level in the motor by using the dipstick. Be sure the oil level reaches the "full" mark. If this registers as "full" then you likely have a faulty oil pressure sending unit. Many vehicles also have a safety feature built into the vehicle’s computer system which will shut the engine down completely or trigger a “safe mode” of some kind which will drastically limit the vehicle’s engine power to avoid further engine damage until the oil pressure problem is corrected.

It sounds like you may also have a faulty fuel pump that may have been damaged as a result of running it out of fuel. As you may know, today’s fuel pumps require the fuel to keep them cool and lubricated. When the motor is run dry out of fuel, this can cause the fuel pump to heat up in excess of what it should potentially causing damage to the pump by overheating it. As a result, depending on the extent of the damage you may experience issues related to maintaining proper fuel pressure and fuel flow. I would recommend having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your fuel system.