At idle the oil pressure light flickers and has a barely audible cherp. Add a little rpm and light and cherp disappear. Oil was a little low so added a quart and level is between the holes on the dipstick but it did not change anything. Never had this happen, it has been extremely cold the last two weeks.
Does this happen after the engine has warmed up, or when you first start it cold, or both..? What grade of oil are you using..? When was the last time the oil & filter were changed..?
It does it warm and cold. 10/30 weight oil. The oil and oil filter was changed by the dealer about 25 hours ago (last spring, I don't use the machine alot).
The Mitsubishi engines are normally very reliable so I wouldnt suspect the worst just yet. A pressure check with a mechanical guage will tell the true story. It may just be a sending unit going bad. If the sender shows any signs of leakage it is bad. Also poor connections can cause problems if everything else shows good. Verify actual pressure and let us know the results.
Thanks, going to replace the oil filter first. Could be a little clogged causing low pressure at idle?
When you change the filter cut the old one open and look for anything metallic related to an engine failure. I doubt the filter is the culprit because it should have a built in bypass that would not allow it to cause this type of issue. If the wrong filter was installed that could be an issue.
Will do, Wheeler CAT installed the filter so I hope they installed the corrrect filter. Recently had overnight temperatures aroung -20. When it gets that cold things go bad like connections and sensors.
Your filter doesn't affect the pressure in the lube system because there is a bypass valve that opens if the filter restriction is high, so a pugged filter won't cause the symptoms you have. The best way to determine the pressure is pull ou the oil pressure sensor and temporarily install a gauge. Crank the engine up and record the pressure at idle with cold oil. Let the engine warm up to normal operating temperature and check the pressure at idle. Lastly put the engine to max RPM and record the pressure. Post the 3 values back here.
I bet for about $30-$40 for a new oil sending unit will cure it. Easy fix. My 277 had the same issue.
Did just that. Problem solved.
Good job and glad to hear it cured it!