Hey guys, im new on here and i need some help with someone who is more experienced than I at hondas, i have a 95 Honda civic EX with a 1.6L vtec, recently for about the past 10k miles or so i have been having some issues with the oil indicator light, it would flicker on and off every so often, some days i would never see it and sometimes throughout the day it would flicker, now it would ONLY flicker if the RPM's would drop below 500 or so, it would reach the lowest line and then move itself back up to about 750 or so and the light would go off, now i thought this might be the sending unit going bad, it was cheap enough so i got one at advanced auto parts, had my oil changed and the sending unit replaced by a professional shop so i know it was done right, but still got the light after a little while, now i have tried talking to some friends and thought it might be the oil pump or the screen but it doesn't seem right to me since the only time the light goes on is when the RPM's drop to low, so it makes me think its something electrical not mechanical but again i could be wrong, the car currently has about 183k miles on the motor, and it runs great but it does burn through oil a lot, i did a oil change last night and i only drained about 2.5 Qts when it takes 3.5 Qts to fill the engine, so i know its burning through a lot of oil and i change my oil every 4k or so miles, ive been using castrol high mileage for the oil changes, also just about an hour ago my SRS light came on out of nowhere so i have no idea whats going on? i did mess around with the idle needle to try to get the RPM's to sit higher in idle, oh i should also mention the only time the light has ever come on is when the car is in idle, never in gear, its a 5 speed manual, when i put the car in nuetral when coming to a stop the light is most prone to coming on, sorry for the long post guys just trying to give as much info as possible, any help would be so much appreciated, its my DD so i use it all day, thanks!

 

Engine is worn out, loose bearings let oil pressure escape, it drops real low at idle speed.

Replace engine, or use heavier oil. 20W50 -- the "you need a new motor" motor oil.

 

^ he's right. either do a complete overhaul or replace the motor entirely. i used to have that same problem, and it was from fried piston rings and bad gaskets. i went with the overhaul because it is a lot cheaper and gave me some one-on-one time with my car

 

I'm just a little confused how that can be since I've gone days without the light ever coming on or the idle ever dropping it happens every so often so I don't see how it would be a bearing issue if since it is never consistent I can't imagine it going bad sometimes either it is or isn't but I could be wrong I'm going to check the oil pressure with a gauge and.make sure the sending unit isn't at fault then check the iacv and then oil screen and or pump before I consider any major engine problems although I won't rule out that an definitely be the cause thanks for the input though I appreciate the help.

 

Idle should not drop, that's a different issue. Obviously as rpm goes toward zero so does oil pressure.