Volkswagen Golf III (1992 - 1997) - 97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out.

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Wed 20 Aug 2008 00:05
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - a3ryo
for no apparent reason while driving along the oil light will flash on about 4 or 5 times then engine will cut out. sometimes when driving the revs will suddenly drop then return to normal. i put it in for a service thinking the fuel filter or something may be dodgy. also had the plugs, oil filter, oil and air and fuel filter done in the service. i bought it 2 weeks ago.

slt

Edited by Pugugly on 20/08/2008 at 00:11

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Wed 20 Aug 2008 00:25
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Screwloose

Looks as though the pod is losing rev info from the engine ECU. That could be a crank sensor or distributor issue.

What's the engine code?
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 00:46
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - a3ryo
is it the vehicle identification number you need?
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 00:56
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Screwloose

No; VAG use lots of different engines and they're identified by a 3-letter code. Something like AGG, AKR, or ABF is the most likely on this one. Look inside the cover of the service book, or on the sticker on the cam-belt cover, or in the boot.
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 01:07
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - a3ryo
its not in service book, ill have to check in the car tommorrow. do you have any idea what a crank sensor will cost, or do you need the code to say? would that cut the engine out?
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 01:13
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Screwloose

We're a long, long, way from changing any parts yet. Let's get the facts straight first, to see if it's even got one.

There are a lot of other possibilities too; relays, ignition switch - all sorts.
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 01:19
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - a3ryo
ok cheers mate ill check out the code tommorrow
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 16:38
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Old Navy
I vaguely remember from many years ago when I ran VW and SEAT diesels that there was an auto shutdown on low oil pressure above a certain engine revs. Maybe your car has a similar system, anything in the owners manual?
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 21:58
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Simon
I've seen something similar happen on a Golf that seemed to cut out because it detected it was low on oil. Whether this really was the case or whether it was just coincidence that it fired up once again after oil had been added (after a good time was spent looking for a more obvious & normal reason for it not to want to start again) is anyone's guess.
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 22:07
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Screwloose

Many VAG cars have two oil pressure switches; the second works at around 2 bar and should be closed by 2000 revs.

Any abberrant cndition flashes the oil light to warn of a fault in the pressure monitoring system. A closed high-pressure switch, yet with an apparently stationary engine in this case.

There can be quite a few causes of loss of rev info; crank/cam sensors, relay 30/109, or even a loss of feed to the ECU due to bad ignition switch contacts. On the diesels; even a faulty alternator, or water in the driver's doorswitch.
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Thu 28 Aug 2008 18:30
97 2.0 8v oil light flashes on then cuts out. - Andrew Moorey (Tune-Up)
Spooky, fixed one of these today with exactly the described fault. Main relay (30) was the problem, soldered up the pcb in the relay and all smiles. New relay en-route from VW.
Andrew
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