I have a 96 monte carlo 3.1L and everytime I start the car after it has been sitting for about an hour the low oil light will stay on, I can turn the car off and re start it and it will not come on again. I have checked the oil plenty of times and it is full. I even changed the oil and it still comes on every time. Any ideas of what it could be??

 

hmmm....I dont know much about 3.1's or '96's. But if their anything like the 3.8's, it could be the sensor going faulty. The sensor on mine is on the front side of the oil pan. Or it could be a glitch in the BCM. But I would guess the sensor.

 

I would go with the sensor as well. Is it full when you manually check it?

 

yea it is full. I will check into the senor

 

You should drain the oil first, check it and refill the oil. Just FYI.

 

same thing happened with my '95 monte, and happens with many cars, not just GMs. the problem is the sensor or the wires leading to it. this is the sensor you'd find in your oil pan

now to solve this there are a few options;
1) hardwire it to block out the sensor all together and never see that light again or,
2) replace/repair the sensor/wiring and once again achieve full ussage of your original sensor and its purpose.

BUT, with option 1 you will never be warned of a low oil condition, but should not be a problem as long as you check your oil regularly (warning of slow oil leaks and should be done eveytime you fill up at the gas station). now in the case of a more severe leak, well if you dont notice a puddle of oil in your driveway, then you are blind.

 

If this just started happening and you know it`s full of oil, change the sensor.

 

Haven't heard from you for awhile. Is this fixed?

 

1) no time b/c of college and work
2) no money b/c of gas and insurance
3) no worries, b/c i check all fluids often and will fix every little detail once i want to sell it, which wont be for a while