oil light keeps coming on but i have oil i lose pressure and it goes to the red when i am idiling please any body help

130

Asked by harleymamma69 Mar 18, 2010 at 07:39 PM about the 1998 Cadillac Catera RWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

i just put a crank position sensor in and my oil light comes on and the pressure drops to the red when i stop or i am idiling i have checked the oil and it says it is full its actually over full!!! and my over flow bottle for the radiator light comes on everytime it gets below the level line in the bottle so i have to keep adding it help anyone please!!!

8 Answers

795

hey had same car, same problem, the catera have a lot of electrical problem. to only way to fix it it's to get rid of it. i

1 people found this helpful.
240

First let me start by stating the obvious. The coolant reservoir has a level sensor in it to tell you that it is low. Having oil over-full is just as bad as not enough. Because it could cause foaming of the oil, which in turn can cause the pressure sensor to go red. Have we all changed the oil every three thousand miles as is generally recommended? Make sure that the coolant reservoir and the connecting hoses do not have any cracks or other places to loose coolant. If you do not change your hoses often they will crack and leak around the hose clamps. Next keep careful track of how often you add coolant to the reservoir. Also, after you have driven for a while and you park in your driveway look under the car after just a minute or so. The reason for this is that if you have a very slow leak, you will not see it on the ground because it will likely dry on the car (such as hanging from a bolt head or similar geometry under the car) before you move the car again. There are many places for the Catera to leak coolant from. (For example my Catera leaks on top of the engine right in front of the driver. It is so bad that I will have to tow it from my driveway to the repair shop if I cannot figure out how to get to the valves that are shown in the coolant diagram. I went so far as to remove the exhaust on that side and was still not able to acess the leaks.) The other possibility is that your car(s) may have enough miles on them that the clearances between the journals is too large to maintain oil pressure. I have seen that in several cars. The only other item that I have seen on Catera's is a slow leak into the oil. To check this after driving and when the engine is cool remove the oil cap and smell it. It should smell like oil. If there is a faint odor of coolant then it may be likely that your coolant is leaking into the oil at such a slow rate that the coolant is evaporating. If there is a lot of coolant in the oil the underside of the cap will look slightly milky.

2 people found this helpful.
50

I had same problem :) years ago. The reason is when the engine goes hot, low quality oils will loose their viscosity and act like water! guys I agree that Catera is a damned car, but anyhow it's a Cadillac!!! I just used thicker oil and the problem has vanished!

5 people found this helpful.
30

Apparently these cars all have the same problems. I lose oil pressure when the car is up to running temp and I am at a stop or idling, my radio also turns off/on whenever it feels like it, and I am already on my second set of tires! I love the car, BUT, it has had more problems than my last 5 cars put together! It seems like I am doing something to this damn car every week. Biggest money pit I have ever owned!!!

3 people found this helpful.
10

I bought a 2001 Catera in mid March. The place that I bought it from topped off all the fluids. I haven't put more than 200 miles on the car, if that. This weekend the oil light flashed on when I was on the Interstate and the gauge went up towards the top, not down in the red zone. However, all other gauges are in the normal range. I also have a problem where the radio will stop working and then start working again. When it's not working I can't open my trunk or fuel door. There is not a key access to the trunk, so I am afraid to put groceries in my trunk. The place that I bought it from can't figure out why this happens, because it was working when I took it in for them to look at it.

1 people found this helpful.
20

To fix the fuel door, the radio, sunroof, the trunk, and the windshield wipers on a 1999 Catera, order part number 90494163 (2483 Module). You can change this yourself, and the part is located on the driver's side under the steering column. This ONE part fixed all of the above problems for $110.

2 people found this helpful.

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