oil pressure light on at idle

[retroguy]

At idle the oil pressure light comes on, but as soon as the rpm's increase, the light goes out.  Is this something to worry about or do I need to get the oil pump rebuilt?

[rrdcorvair]

You should check your oil pressure with a mechanical pressure gauge before you rebuild the pump. Low oil pressure at idle is not a major concern unless it is almost zero.  See how much it increases with increasing rpm's.  Also increase the rpms slowly and watch.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

If you have the owner manual for your car you will find that the light may "flicker" at times on idle if the engine is warmed up and you're either stuck at a long red light or stuck in traffic and cars are not moving or moving slowly.  The same is true on Henry J automobiles.  If the temperature gage is working and it does not start going up, don't worry about it if it goes out with higher revs.  It's a reflection of sender calibration.

[retroguy]

At idle the oil light stays lit--doesn't flicker. Temp does not rise above normal.  I assume I would have to replace the current oil pressure sending unit with one of those kits that have a dual sending unit that can both send an electrical signal to the oil light and a tube that will send actual pressure to a psi under dash gage.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

No, you don't have to go that route. 

The following is from page 5 of the 1954 Kaiser Owners Manual

If the lamp lights at at the car speed above 20 MPH check at once to determine the cause of low oil pressure.

The Henry J tends to flicker and I assumed the basic circuit worked the same way in the the 1954-55 Kaisers

[retroguy]

Hadn't read that before.  Thanks everyone.

[rialto]

You should check your oil pressure with a mechanical pressure gauge before you rebuild the pump. Low oil pressure at idle is not a major concern unless it is almost zero.  See how much it increases with increasing rpm's.  Also increase the rpms slowly and watch.

       Do this before any serious driving. It's not unusual for a 226 to have low oil pressure. Worn bearings and/or oil pump could cause this. Ten pounds per thousand RPM would be good. Less than five pounds at idle fully warmed up would be bad.