2001 Oldsmobile Aurora. Engine Size : 3.5L V6.
Question Here: My car keeps lighting up stating it is overheating and to turn off the ac (even when the air conditioning is not on) then states engine idle, then stop engine. My mechanic tried everything to fix it but can't figure it out. The car doesn't even get hot!
Sometimes it state low oil when there is oil in it. I am going broke and crazy trying to get this car fix Does anyone knows the answer please email me. I would really appreciate the advise or someone who knows what hell prob is.. appreciate it.
Answer: Is the car actually overheating? How high is the temp gauge?
Is it showing low oil level, or low oil pressure?
Has the computer been scanned for codes? If so, what are the code numbers.
What repairs have been made already?
I's not over heating, the gauge goes up to high on and off when driving. The repairs so far are draining radiator, new fuses, sensors, thermostat, drained coolant, new air flow sensor.
Answer: If the temperature gauge goes all the way up to high as you stated, then this indicates the engine is overheating. The gauge going toward overheating then eventually all the way is what is triggering the idle engine warning, turn A/C off warning and stop engine warning. If you are certain the engine is not overheating, then there are a few possibilities. There could be air pockets in the cooling system. This would cause an erratic temperature gauge reading but maybe not the engine to actually overheat. Unless the coolant temperature was actually checked with a thermometer, it can be difficult to determine if the engine is overheating. Just because it's not boiling over does not mean it's not overheating.
Again, if you are certain the engine is not actually getting too hot then the two things in common with these warning lights, including the low oil level light, is the PCM and the dash cluster(IPC). The coolant temperature sensor sends a signal to the PCM, the PCM sends that information via the data wire to the IPC, then the IPC determines that data and adjusts the gauge. When the gauge gets to certain levels of hotter than normal it turns on those warning indicators in succession. The same goes for the low oil level. So, you could have a problem in the PCM, in the IPC or a wiring problem from the coolant temperature sensor to the PCM. But this would not explain the low oil level.
That could be unrelated and just a bad oil level switch. If these all are related I would lean more towards a bad PCM. But you would need to look at scan tool data of what the PCM is receiving and what the IPC is receiving to determine which of these is faulty or if it is a wiring problem. You may want to pull on some of the wiring harnesses under the hood and the dash to see if you can get the problems to act up, or on the top of the dash board and tap on the PCM. Sometimes this will cause a faulty module to act up.
