My neighbour asked for help as he thought he was low on oil because the oil light had come on. I checked and the oil level was a few mm ABOVE the top mark! The car had been standing about an hour after a short journey but the engine was was still quite warm.

The car is an old aerodeck circa 1985.

He is in his eighties and was scared he would get stuck when out so I told him that the most likely cause was a dead oil pressure sensor.

Do you think you can still get spares for a car this old? I suggested we take the bulb out and as long as he checked the oil level regularly he should be fine. After all, he probably drives 30 - 50 miles a week at the very most.

 

The oil light is oil pressure.

My guess is that the oil pump is failing.

 

I will check this out tomorrow, thanks

Is there a way of proving that this is the problem?

 

You'll need to take out the pressure switch and fit a gauge in there to be totally sure Phil.

The switch or wiring may be damaged.

 

I had one of these a few years ago and the same thing happened, the oil pump change is a big job on one of those and a lot more than the car is worth

 

...especially since driving like that will soon run all the bearings/cams etc.