I'm having an issue with my ford again. Escape, V6, 123k miles. Recent work done:
Replaced all spark plugs, coils, and intake manifold gaskets. Replaced all four O2 sensors. Oil change switching from the 5w-20 to 5w-30 due to it getting cold, (probably a month ago?).

Now for my current problem. Two days ago on a 20* morning, after it sat outside all night, I drove about 3 miles and then noticed the oil pressure light was blinking intermittently. When I came to a complete stop, it stayed lit. I pulled into a parking lot and starting shutting stuff down. I noticed when I turned the heater blower off, the light went out. Turning it on to High, I noticed the RPMS on the tach dropped to around the 500 mark, and the oil pressure light came back on. I turned it off and let it sit for about 45 minutes. Oil is showing good on the dipstick. I then drove it the last two days without the light coming on.
Now this morning, driving it again in 20* weather, after it sat outside, the light came on again, in almost the exact same place away from home. Both times the motor had reached operating temp, with the temp gauge being in the middle between "C" and "H". This time, even with turning the blower off, it came on everytime it was at idle. I let it sit another 45 minutes, but this time when I drove it, the light was more intermittent and then was constant.
Again, the oil level is good on the dipstick, and the motor seems to be running smooth. I'm wondering if this could have anything to do with changing over to a different oil and with it being so cold in the mornings?
I have it written down at home, but I can't remember when I did the actual oil change, but its probably been a little over a month. I went from 5w-20 Pennzoil, to 5w-30; wix filter.
I'm planning on doing another oil change tomorrow when I get home and go back to the original 5w-20. Also, I'm ordering a new oil pressure sensor, and I'll try that also. I've also looked into an oil pressure tester, and found one at Harbor Freight for $20.

Any other suggestions?

 

Have you thought about hooking up a mechanical gauge? Then you will know for sure what you pressure is. Sorry I cant be of much help but my daughters 04 is getting up there also so I wanted to subscribe also

Good Luck

 

any sludge seen under the oil fill cap? with vw's i had seen many come in with the oil light on and found the pump pick ups,pans and heads sludged up. all had normal oil pressure but not enough flow.

 

I would not change to 5-30 in the winter months. 5-30 is thicker oil than 5-20 is.

 

Same as above - 5/30 will be too thick. Our '04 doesn't like the 30 in the summer, I can only imagine what it would do in the winter

Back to the light- ours just started flickering at idle as well. As soon as you touch the pedal, as little as 200rpm, it goes off. Everything else is fine. I have a replacement sending unit I'm going to put in this weekend, I will let you know if this helps.

 

I will buy one if replacing the sensor doesn't work.
No sludge under the cap.

An update on the last few days. I drove it yesterday morning and within two miles the engine temp had reached the middle of the gauge and as soon as that happened the light would come on at idle. I understand that the temp gauge is for the coolant, but I'm only mentioning that because when it gets to operating temp. is when the light kicks on. So I drove it to get some new oil and a sieve. On the way home, I decided to take the highway thinking that I wouldn't be in stop and go traffic and it wouldn't be at idle. When I got off the highway and into city traffic, the light did not come on even at stoplights. It was unlit the whole way home.
I changed the oil and let the old run through the sieve. I did this to make sure I could tell if I had any "chunks" of anything that could have been obstructing the sensor. The oil came out clean and thin. I also removed and drained the oil filter with nothing found.
While the filter was out, I tried to change the sensor, but that thing is in a real tight spot. I replaced the filter and filled with new 5w-20. I've since put 50 miles on it and the light has not come on.
I'm still going to replace the sensor, but I'm going to take the right tire off and the lower skirt, and see if I can get to it that way. The only other way I saw to do it was to remove the AC compressor, but Chiltons warns that you need to have the system drained before removing it for some reason. I'm also wondering if it is the sensor or wiring going bad, is maybe with me messing with it yesterday, I might have disrupted whatever is wrong with it. To even find it on the block, I had to run my hand down the wire loom to the sensor, and I thought if its a wiring issue, maybe doing that temporarily fixed the issue.

Same exact symptoms as mine. If you get the sensor replaced, please post how you did it. I'll be trying mine tomorrow.

Thanks

 

Removing the ac compressor (unbolting the in and out lines) will allow the freon to escape at a high rate and probably burn you. But if you unbolt it and are able to move it without unhooking the hoses you should be ok. I am going to try and climb under it tonight and if I do I will let you know how it goes and if possible post a couple of pics.

 

Done!

Not too bad. About 30 minutes unless the parts store's computer says the part you need will not fit.
Part that does fit- Duralast PS409
Wrong part is- Borg Warner S4224
We looked up a 2004 with V6 and got the wrong part so we looked up the 2005 and it was right. I suggest taking the old one with you.

Here are the steps I took:
Turn wheels to the right, all the way. This keeps you from removing the tire.
Get your 10mm socket to remove the splash guard that goes from the passengers wheel well to the front middle of the truck. I did not remove the bolt that is behind the strut assembly, it's flexible enough to move.
Remove the belt from the a/c compressor - only the a/c compressor.
Get a 1/2" socket and remove the three compressor bolts (red circles).
It will now move out of the way so you don't have to worry about losing the refrigerant.
Unplug the wire from the sender - blue circle.
Put your oil catch pan under the truck. You won't lose a lot but enough to make a mess.
Get your 13/16" socket and remove the sender.

Now reverse the above and you're done!



I haven't driven it at all yet, just started and checked for leaks.

 

Thanks for the step by step. If I have time, I'm going to do this today. What was the issue with the wrong part? I was given the BWD S4224 but your saying it wasn't correct?

 

The threaded end was too small, it just fell right into the hole. Actually both Auto Zone and O'Reilly's listed the wrong part for the 2004. Maybe there were a few changes on the block and this was one of them ? No telling.

My wife drove about 100 miles yesterday and not one flicker of the light.

 

I still haven't had time to replace the sensor, but after changing the oil, I've not had the light come on again.
I looked at Oreillys site, and its not showing that they offer a duralast part for mine. I looked up an '04 also, and it is showing that the part I bought, (BWD S4224), would fit your '04 or my '01. I did notice its showing that the BWD is a 1/4" thread, and the "Import Direct" brand is 3/8" thread.

 

I replaced the sensor today, and it was just as easy as Scott mentions. I also ran into the problem of getting the wrong sized sensor. When I looked it up on Oreillys website, it showed two different sizes; the BWD #S4224 which I bought, and another brand name "Import Direct". The BWD has the 1/4" threads, and the other had 3/8" threads which is the right size. Unfortunately, OR didn't have one on the shelf and it wouldn't be here until tomorrow. Advance Auto parts said it was a special order part and would take almost a week to get? Napa had the correct size on the shelf and it is Echlin brand, part #OP6216.
I went ahead and removed the right tire because I wanted to get a good look at my brake lines also, which doing that showed that they need to be replaced also....
From that point on, it was easy by following Scotts directions. I had alot of dirt and grime around the sensor, so make sure and wipe the area down before you remove it. I didn't have a 13/16" socket that would work, so I just used an open end wrench. Also, theres no way to get a torque wrench in there, so when your taking the old one out, I just kind of gauged how hard it was to get it out. That gave me an idea of how tight to put the new one in.
I put a gob of dielectric grease in the sensor connection. I got it all back together and so far, no leaks.

Total time, not counting returning the wrong part: 45 minutes.

.

 

Did you notice any chafing spots on the sender wire that could have grounded to the block or front cover and turned on the oil light? The sensor 'opens' to turn off the light, and closes, or grounds, the connection to turn on the light. If bare wire touches ground, the light will come on.
tom

 

Well, I made it about 3 miles before the light came back on.... So I'm going to get an oil pressure tester and I get to do all the steps over again a couple more times.

The wire isn't touching the block anywhere that I can tell. Its in a protective cover all the way to the sensor. I did notice that there is about an eighth of an inch of wire at the end going into the sensor that isn't protected. I wish I would have taken a closer look at the male connection to make sure there wasn't any issues. I'll inspect it better when I get it back apart.

 

I drove it this morning and at about the three mile mark the light came on again. So, I picked up a oil pressure tester today, and just finished checking it out. When cold it is around 80psi, and slowly goes down to right around 40psi at operating temp. I let it run until the engine was at operating temp, and the dial showed 30psi. The manual is saying it should be 45psi at 800rpm. I only have the tach in the dash, and the lowest it shows is 1000rpm so I gave it a little gas until it was just under that. The gauge then read just over 40psi. I noticed right when it got to temp and I kicked the heater on, the gauge dropped dramatically, but stopped at 30psi and never went lower.
I don't know if those numbers are good or not, but they seem close to me. I've seen mention on another forum that the escapes oil light will come on when it gets below 6psi? Can anyone tell me if thats correct?
I'm going to check the wiring going into the sensor and make sure its not damaged, and causing the issue. Any other suggestions?

I took it for a drive and 0.2 miles in and the light came on. I brought it back and checked the level which was fine, and also wiggled the wire from the sensor all the way up until it goes into the main loom just to see if that would make the light go out. It didn't, so does anyone have any suggestions?
Also, what would a dealer do different compared to what I've done so far? (New sensor, and manually checked the oil pressure).