Oil Pressure Light Flickering... Oil Pressure Gauge Fittings (a20a3 87 LX-i 2dr)

[twelve]

As the title reads, the oil pressure light will flicker when:
- Sitting at specific red lights (maybe a certain angle causes this?)
- Rarely when going over speed bumps
- Getting close to stalling
- Driving like a fool (I don't push the car like this anymore)

I ran through several forum posts from years ago and found some great info for my issue, it's good to know some other people have had the same problem. I have read that it could be caused by the oil pressure switch shorting out, but I'm really no good with electronics (I can solder pretty well, but I have never had time to learn or understand circuits). Even with my multimeter, I am not totally sure what I am looking for or even how to start testing, let alone how to mimic the conditions that cause the light to flash. For context, this has been an issue ever since I got the car, but I never really thought anything of it because the car runs very well. I want to work this little problem out because I am now going to be making a much further commute everyday and I'd like to work out all my little issues.

My best guesses for the problem are electrical issues (the person I bought the car from is a "handyman" if you know what I mean), potentially an old oil pressure switch, or maybe even an old oil pump.

My thoughts for the solution are getting a new oil pressure switch and installing an oil pressure gauge. I have always wanted to put a pressure gauge in and I figured now was the perfect time. To make the pressure gauge work, I was planning on getting a 1/8 BSP (male) to 1/8 NPT (female) adaptor and a 1/8 NPT Tee-fitting so that I could use an electronic pressure sensor and still have the oil pressure switch (I hate lights on the dash).

Does this sound reasonable? If yes, any ideas for poking through the firewall? I don't want to drill through it... I'm also looking for advice on wiring for the gauge. I was planning on getting a Glowshift gauge kit.

Glowshift Gauge Kit:
https://www.glowshiftdirect.com/tint...waAsmKEALw_wcB
All the fittings I was looking at are stainless steel from McMaster.
Oil Pressure Switch:
https://a-premium.com/product/Oil-Pr...oaAtQ0EALw_wcB

[ShiRen]

I'm not sure about old threads regarding the oil pressure switch, but if changing it does not solve the issue, and the wire is intact, you should check the oil pressure... And no, don't tee it, get a sandwich plate with the holes already in it for a gauge.

This doesn't sound healthy either, it doesn't sound like it's just due to shaking or moving around like a short would do.

[rickrick]

Hope its not the oil pump! yeah I'm with shiren on this one, keep the pressure light in the spot its supposed to be and get a sandwich plate for the oil filter with an oil pressure gauge (glowshift makes just this, you've probably seen it). keep in mind doing this will very slightly decrease the oil pressure because you're increasing the amount the oil has to travel, but it wont be an issue because our cars use oil pressure switches that are either ON, or OFF, all or nothing. Either you have enough pressure, or you don't. Because of this a gauge is actually a great idea because the stock oil pressure sensor wont tell you much. This is an obvious one but make sure you have enough oil! The switch would flicker if the pump runs dry while waiting for oil to recycle back to the pan through the system. Also make sure you have a good oil filter. A clogged oil filter will ruin your oil pressure, but of course those were probably the first things you checked. If push comes to shove, you can try getting a low profile oil filter (if they even make them for the a20) to bump up your pressure a little bit. It could make it a little happier. I hope you find your issue best of luck to you man

[twelve]

Thank you guys for the advice.

I pulled the trigger on a sandwich plate adaptor and a gauge kit (Glowshift). I also snagged a new filter and the oil pressure switch.

I have a shop manual, so I will start taking a look at the oil pump information. I already found a part online for the a20a3... hopefully I won't need it! I have been checking the oil level/color fairly frequently hoping it might give me some information, but nothing... the oil looks totally fine. The car has always had a very small rear main seal leak, but it is really negligible.

I think they do make a lower profile/smaller oil filter that works for the a20, but I have become skeptical of the quality of oil filters now... The low profile might be necessary just to get the filter to fit under the intake manifold but I am hoping that won't be the case.

[ShiRen]

Don't use a different oil filter, use a wix 51334 or equivalent. Quality isn't really that big of a deal, just buy better than a fram and don't use it for longer than 5k MI or 1 year.
It's literally just a piece of paper glued inside a metal tube

[twelve]

Hmm. I looked at the Wix 51334 and I immediately noticed that it looks really small compared to the filter currently on the engine... Now I am wondering if maybe the filter being so large is affecting the oil pressure in some way. Probably not by a large margin at the very least.

Thanks for the info, ShiRen.

I'll make an update when I get all the parts in. Can't wait to start a new (hopefully short) project on the car!

[ShiRen]

It's the same filter that every other Honda takes almost. I've never heard anything about oil filter size drastically changing oil pressure, but if your car does have the wrong filter I'd have some questions...

[twelve]

I can't say what the filter on the car currently is... it is a large filter with no brand or part number on it (that I could see). I had a shop do my last oil change because they do an inspection as part of the oil change. The filter seems to be functioning okay even though I have no idea what it is.

[RI86DX]

I can't say what the filter on the car currently is... it is a large filter with no brand or part number on it (that I could see). I had a shop do my last oil change because they do an inspection as part of the oil change. The filter seems to be functioning okay even though I have no idea what it is.

The fact this shop thinks anything pre 1996 needs to be inspected tells me a lot about this shop lol. I wouldn't trust them.