Hi Guys, Ive got another one for you. The other day I had to swerve quite sharply at speed on a dual carriageway. As I did the oil light came on and went straight off my heart was in my mouth thinking about the possible cause!!

Once I was able to exit the carriageway I slowed down to a more sensible speed and rev ed the engine, rocked the car side to side whilst driving it to see if it would re-appear, but it didn't. I then tried breaking sharply and it happened again. But since then it hasn't re-occurred.

The oil is due to be changed, it was done 12 mths ago but the car has only done 6k since then. The level doesn't look that bad, it certainly not at the min level. Could this be caused by anything you have encountered before? I'm a big believer in heeding warning signs before something nasty happens

My Marea is a 1997 1.8 elx weekend (50,000 on clock)

thats not unexpected when the oil is below max, and even when it is on max in extreme circumstances.

if the oil is thrown to one sid eof the sump, it will be very low at one side, which can prevent the oil pump getting enough oil supply, especially at high rpm.

if your a big believer in heeding warning signs, take the warning and top up.

you should check and top up at least once a month. i do it every sunday.

Yeah, the oil has surged to one side of the sump and starved the pick up. Jug's advice is 100% as ever. If your bearings survived then you got away with it.This is well known in race cars and its normal to baffle the sump, but as you have found out, it can happen on the road in extremis.
Jug, does the car have an oil strainer on the pick up, they can get blocked, it is also possible for something to go wrong with the pick up and its not collecting from where it should be

This is a bit of a coincidence... we are also in South Wales and Claire was in her 2000 1.8 115 ELX with 50000 on the clock yesterday and she braked sharply, and the oil light came on and went straight back off. Also happened to her on a very steep hill whilst braking near Caerphilly two weeks ago. The oil is halfway between the marks, and was changed 8000 miles ago, and she only topped it up two weeks ago. There's no leaks, as I checked under the car yesterday, so I guess it looks like the same thing.

Renegade_8 said:

Jug, does the car have an oil strainer on the pick up, they can get blocked, it is also possible for something to go wrong with the pick up and its not collecting from where it should be

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yeah a blocked strainer or dislodged pickup would increase the chances of this happening.

personally i wouldnt worry about it if it only happens when the oil is under unusual forces.

My oil warning light on W reg marea sx weekend has just started playing up. Has a full tank of oil as just last week done a oil change. It only starts playing up when the engine is running idle, if i drive in gear it stays off but when changing gear or coasting it flashes up again. No idea of what the cause could be.

rockhampton said:

This is a bit of a coincidence... we are also in South Wales and Claire was in her 2000 1.8 115 ELX with 50000 on the clock yesterday and she braked sharply, and the oil light came on and went straight back off. Also happened to her on a very steep hill whilst braking near Caerphilly two weeks ago. The oil is halfway between the marks, and was changed 8000 miles ago, and she only topped it up two weeks ago. There's no leaks, as I checked under the car yesterday, so I guess it looks like the same thing.

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i'm in s.wales too where abouts are you fella...

Taffster said:

My oil warning light on W reg marea sx weekend has just started playing up. Has a full tank of oil as just last week done a oil change. It only starts playing up when the engine is running idle, if i drive in gear it stays off but when changing gear or coasting it flashes up again. No idea of what the cause could be.

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sounds like low pressure,

as the revs go up so does the pressure,
maybe wear inside the oil pump ..,
NOT an easy fix,
only other possibility is you've got a dodgy oil filter wihich is restricting the flow,
may be the easiest thing to check for @ £10 ,
Charlie

I think I am right to say that oil pumps don't wear out all that often as, by their very nature, they are the best lubricated component in the engine.
As mentioned above, sudden changes of direction or speed can cause the oil to surge to one side of the sump and cause the oil light to come on momentarily, but normally only when the oil level is well down.
The oil pressure will be at its lowest when the car is idling, the first thing I would check or replace if the light was flickering on then would be the pressure switch.