Q: Oil Light and Overheating.
I have just had the oil changed and a new fan a thermostat installed but whenever I am idling or going up a small hill like my driveway, the oil light comes on but goes off after a few seconds. The car also starts overheating when it is idling for a while. I drove it to Food Lion (which is less than or about a mile away) and I went inside for about 5 minutes and it had overheated before I got back. It had plenty of oil and coolant and I know the coolant system is fine (Fan, thermostat, water pump, etc).
My car has 180000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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 not pumping oil sufficiently or the oil pressure sending unit is not working properly and may be producing a faulty reading. In your case, the light may be coming on only when going up or down a hill as a result of the oil movement inside the motor. 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. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to take a look at your vehicle to determine what may be causing your low oil pressure light to come on.
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