Oil Light staying on after Change

STEINMY

MEMBER
FORD TAURUS

I have a 1996 Ford Taurus SW, approx 120,000 miles, 6 cylinder. I took the car in for inspection and had an oil change. Now, my oil light is staying on and there is oil in the car. There is a slight leak from the oil pan gasket, but the mechanic said that was not a concern and was there before the oil change. The light was not on before the oil change. Is this something to do with the oil or something else? Thanks so much.

1 Reply

BLMO

MEMBER
72 POSTS

The oil light turns on when there is almost no oil pressure. Either the oil pressure sender is bad (or bad connection), or your oil pump stopped working. If your oil pump stopped working, then your engine likely would have siezed up within a few minutes of driving. You would have also heard some very disturbing noises coming from the engine.
I'm really curious about the timing. It may be possible that one of the mechanics accidentally knocked loose the connector on the oil sender. Also, keep in mind that the connectors usually have plastic tabs, and those tabs are easy to break.
If your car is still driveable, then your oil pump is fine. I'd check the connection, and by the way, I'd also take care of that oil pan gasket. They can only get worse.