s2000Junky

Yeah, flickering oil light needs to be examined long before anything else. This is the heart of the engine and clearly there is a bigger issue then chasing misfire and very well could be symptomatic of that issue. First thing I would do if I saw a flickering oil light is pull the vtec unit off and check the screen for bearing particles. If the oil pump is going out, the last thing you want to do is continue to drive and chase other symptoms, likely harming your motor in the process.

RolanTHUNDER

Yeah OP oil light flickering and/or CEL flickering is a major fault the ECU is trying to warn you about. I believe the owners manual says if you see a flickering CEL then pull over immediately i.e. stop running the car until the problem can be found and solved. As said above, pull the VTEC solenoid to check it for any bearing particles (hopefully not) then try the injector replacement as well but be warned that OEM injectors are steep per piece...

s2000Junky

A flickering oil light can really only mean a couple things, none of which are favorable to continuing to run the car. Its an indicator of low pressure, meaning the engine is not getting proper lubrication when you see the light. That's either because your bearings are already shot/clearances are to great, or the pump itself is going out and if you continue to run the car, eventually you will have bearings that are shot/clearances too great. Could the engine light itself be faulty? I doubt it, I would not base your course of action with that in mind.

Once you establish whether or not this engine is still worth throwing money at and get the oil pressure resolved, then you can move forward on playing with swapping coil packs and injectors and chasing the misfire. The misfire itself very well could be the symptom of already poor engine lubrication with scored cylinder walls, and the misfire is happening due to either oil contamination of the spark plugs (one or several) and or both low cylinder compression. There is a systematic approach to discovering the health of the engine, the oil light should be the first clue of where to be focusing the efforts.

blueosprey90

I've often wondered what that systematic approach is / should be for the home gamer. When I wander into "Under The Hood", it seems like so many have the same basic issues and do a lot of swapping of parts with no forward progress. I don't know enough to start a thread, but I wish that someone who knows what they are doing, would post up a diagnostic / systematic approach thread for the average, basically incompetent guy. One day I too will need it.

s2000Junky

I'm a self taught backyard mechanic myself and been working on the S2000 platform since I got my first one in 04. It helps to have a pretty good grasp of how an engine and its basic working components work and then you understand how they influence one another, and then the systematic approach stems from this starting with the basic/easiest deductions first and down the line if need be. So that's how I view the troubleshooting scope. Its the same principals as going by the/a book, taking some of the guess work out of it for those that are not as familiar with engine mechanics but have a troubleshooting list to guide them. Its still helpful to have some mechanical knowledge to navigate the book properly and efficiently though. I'm not sure exactly how one would go about effectively posting a DYI on a number of engine issues, where you would start/stop, but at the very least there is some experienced people here on the board still that can help navigate specifics when they pop up, like this thread for instance. I am a little surprised in seeing how many people chimed in to focus on the shiny object IE the misfire code) rather then the deeper more serious underlying issue first of the oil light flickering/low oil pressure.

HawkeyeGeoff

Yeah this is true. Flickering oil pressure light basically just means the mains or the pump are on the struggle bus...or there's a clog somewhere.

fatjoe10

I agree with Junky in that not every issue can be addressed via DIY, as some issues require professional intervention to address. For those, I believe individual threads like these are more helpful. In this specific case, hooking up an actual mechanical gauge to the vehicle and comparing the oil pressure to the specs is the 1st step. How to hook-up a manual gauge? There are many Youtube DIYs for that. What conditions to run the engine under to read the pressure? Depending on the skill level of the vehicle owner, these tasks may be simple or be beyond their knowledge.

s2000Junky

^^^Yes. The bigger help I find is if you can actually do the troubleshooting yourself, or at least have a good understanding of the symptoms and be able to effectively communicate this to the mechanic rather then just dropping the car off and expecting/hoping they aren't wasting your money chasing shiny objects. There are times where I don't have the specific tool or time/desire to fuss with some things, but damn right I want to be at least 90% sure of what the problem is and what's required to fix it before I drop it off at the mechanic for anything. But rarely does that happen, I prefer to do all my own work when possible.

But as I mentioned before, pop the vtec unit off because its easy/3 bolts and something anyone that knows how to turn a wrench can do, and then check the screen for bearing particles, it could be the first or last thing you do for troubleshooting here. Post the findings once done. If no particles found then move to the oil pump pressure test, and then drain/inspect oil/drop the pan and inspect for particles and bearing condition from there, both of which you may need a mechanic for if you are not comfortable with these task.

blueosprey90

I hear you and appreciate the comments. I can turn a wrench, but my mechanical skills are more or less limited to British engines built before 1963.

RolanTHUNDER

Chances of the light being faulty are really slim. I'm curious how would an F20 in particular get to that dangerous point? Could it have been run on really low oil for a long period of time? OP?