Oil light comes on at idle after warmed up.

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Got a 2014 Dodge Dart 1.4L with 110,000 miles. Once it's warmed up the oil light comes on while waiting at a traffic light. If I rev it to 1,000 or 1,200 rpm it goes out. Also hear some engine noise or maybe slight knock when warm that isn't there when cold. Doesn't smoke. Thinking of options before getting a junkyard engine. The oil looks brand new so somebody thought a change might help, just don't know what they used. How about trying 20W50 or even thicker single weights?
 
What weight oil are you using now? A bad rod bearing will have a slight knock when cruising and idle but it will disappear when coasting.
 
If you hear a noise, it's prolly a rod bearing ... That does not mean a new engine, it just means it's worn.

IF they ran it out of oil sometime in the past, the journal will be scored and it will get bad rather quickly. If it stays the same over a period of weeks or month, it's just worn.

The pressure sender for the light is prolly a 10 PSI sender. I-H used to have 5 PSI senders, so go to a NAPA store and see if they can cross reference one that will fit your thread and space requirements ... Install and be done with the light.

About oil, I'd prolly go to Delvac or Delo 400 15W-40 and see what that does before jumping right to 20W-50 ... They are stout and have better HTHS than some 20W-50's so may serve better for say a 5,000 OCI
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To the original poster. You are describing the symptoms of an oil-pump going bad.

A thicker oil like 20W-50 might enable it to maintain enough pressure once it is warmed up, or it might not. Even if a thicker oil does enable it to maintain enough oil pressure the oil-pump will eventually become so bad that it will not be able to keep the pressure high enough even with a thicker oil.
 
I would get that oil changed out first thing since you really don’t know what’s in there. BrocLuno’s suggestions for oil are good.
 
Originally Posted By: atikovi
Don't know what weight was used as I just picked it up. I will check with a gauge.


If you just bought it and it has low/no oil pressure at idle why not just bring it back and get something else?

Assuming it's not a bad sender. Thicker oil, lower psi sender, Lucas or STP are all band aids for an injured engine.

Not to say it can't last a long time that way. In high school a friend and I limped his daily driver 360 FE Ford in a 1976 F150 for over a year and a half with 0 idle oil pressure and only about 15 psi at 3500-4000 RPM. It lived on a 50/50 mix of either Lucas or STP and Napa 20w50 until we replaced it with a rebuilt engine that we built on evenings and weekends as cash allowed.
 
Originally Posted By: PimTac
I would get that oil changed out first thing since you really don’t know what’s in there. BrocLuno’s suggestions for oil are good.


Check the oil pressure with a guage. No matter what oil is in there is immaterial if you don't have enough pressure. "Hope in a can" is not an option.
 
Originally Posted By: philipp10
Originally Posted By: PimTac
I would get that oil changed out first thing since you really don’t know what’s in there. BrocLuno’s suggestions for oil are good.


Check the oil pressure with a guage. No matter what oil is in there is immaterial if you don't have enough pressure. "Hope in a can" is not an option.


Yes agree, but if the pressure is ok when cold and the oil is thicker, but not when it's hot and thinner, that might suggest a heavier weight oil might help. If the light was on at 2000 rpm, I'd say there was nothing it could do, but when it's on only below 1000, I'd say it's worth a shot. I could swear reading the owners manuals of some '60's cars that mentioned if the oil light flickers when at a stop light, but goes off when you accelerate, that is normal.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
If you just bought it and it has low/no oil pressure at idle why not just bring it back and get something else?


I didn't buy it at Walmart.
 
I had an engine that would knock when warm and had the oil light on at idle. One of the rod bearings was cracked.
 
Change oil (10w30?) and see if it satisfies the light. Next, get a new oil pressure sender and, preferably, a manual gauge setup to test the pressure. Otherwise you're guessing and could waste a lot of money.
 
Originally Posted By: FlyNavyP3
In high school a friend and I limped his daily driver 360 FE Ford in a 1976 F150 for over a year and a half with 0 idle oil pressure and only about 15 psi at 3500-4000 RPM


For some reason, a lot of older iron was really tolerant of WORN BEARINGS and low oil pressure.

A buddy of mine in high school got his grandpa’s old 1973 Ford LTD with a 351 Windsor engine,
the oil light ALWAYS glowed bright red anytime it was idling warm.
That car ran for years & years in that condition!

A newer, modern four-cylinder engine that has oil pressure problems
typically means it’s in the final hours of its useful life
 
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