Input on oil light flicker please

[RonP]

Hey folks, I just purchased a super clean 99 camry LE with the 4cyl for my son who is about to turn 16. I have a question. I noticed during the test drive that at a red light the oil light will flicker. I asked about it and the private seller told me it was actually in the manual that can happen and should be considered normal if it goes out as soon as you push the accelerator. I said no way, but he showed me. He also said it was like that since he bought it with 38000 on it. It now has 123000. I bought the car. I have run it for 2 days and it drives flawlessly. It is quiet and runs almost like new.

has anyone experienced this? i just want a sanity check. I may hook up a manual gauge just to check it. I am new to the camry but not vehicles. I drag race and do all my own motors and if one of them did this I would freak.

anyway, this is a great site and thanks in advance for comments.

[Cannabis Camry]

I have a 98 CE 5 speed Camry and have never had this issue with the oil pressure light however I just checked my manual and you are right. It does say that there is no cause for concern if the light flickers when the engine is idling. The light will illuminate when the oil pressure switch detects oil pressure below 3.55 Psi so my guess is that when the engine is idling, the oil pressure may drop below 3.55 Psi causing the light to flicker.

At what RPM does your car idle at? Perhaps it is a little too low and your idle air control valve needs to be cleaned.

[Carzzz]

This is not normal. I had a 98 I4 and Never experienced that...
1) check the oil level, is it too low?
2) he knows there is a problem, so he sold it

[RonP]

What is normal idle for this cars? I think it does sound a little low. I think after it is warm the idle is about 600 in gear maybe a tad lower.

[Cannabis Camry]

Originally Posted by RonP

What is normal idle for this cars? I think it does sound a little low. I think after it is warm the idle is about 600 in gear maybe a tad lower.

Try putting the car in neutral next time your stopped at a light or something and the light starts flickering. See if it makes it go away. If it does, I would clean out the IACV.

[RonP]

I tried that and the idle don't raise much. if I do press the pedal down, It only needs to raise the rpm about 150-200 (around 900rpm) and the light goes out. thanks for the input

[Mike Gerber]

"I may hook up a manual gauge just to check it."

That would be my first recommendation. It could be a defective oil pressure sending unit (we'll all hope for that for your sake), but it also could be a defective oil pump or even bad engine main bearings.

I also suggest you do a search on the "oil sludge" problem (Toyota refers to it as OIL GELLING in their bulletins) with all generation 4 (1997-2001) Camry engines and read up on it.

Mike

[toyomoho]

Normal idle is around 800 +/- 50 RPM. 600 is too low.

Pull the valve cover off and check for sludge.

Have someone check the oil pressure with a gauge.