Ok heres some basic info, the cars a 1996 audi a4 quattro 12v v6 AFC engine with 186k miles and a 5 cog transmission. the car for the most has been well maintained.

heres the issue, so last week on my way home from school oil pressure lght comes on right as i enter my subdivision, i coast most of the way home and think to myslef when was the last time i checked and changed the oil. oil was changed with mobil 1 synthetic in october right before i left for college and the car sat int he garage being started biweekly when i visited, i figured the oil should still be good so i was going to change it after 2k miles of driving which was coming up soon. I started driving again in late january and oil was good when i started driving again and early febuary when i last checked. when i cheked that day i was low almsot 1-1.5 quarts. im like **** **** why did i get lazy with my maintenece. so i drop in some seafoam int eh crankcase and leave the car letting it idle and gently driving until the oil and temp warm up and then parking it again for a few day, oil light is on during this time. finally monday i get to draining the oil and pulling the pan, sure enough the oil pick up tube is slighly clogged with light sludge and crap caked on the bottom pan (not 1.8t bad), so i clean everything out good and inspect the oil pump as much as i can, slap everything back up and pour through in some castrol syntec and some more seafoam anticipating an oil change after another 1000 miles of driving. Take her out for a spin and things are great engine pull hard and smooth, tuesday no problem, today, i get to school alright as soon as i leave campus and get ont eh main streets oil lights back on, pull over first chance i get and cheack for leaks, oil level good and clean, up top in the valve covers white crap, coolant level good and level between max and min like its been, i assume moisture because of the cold weather. start driving home slowly babying it without shifting above 2k, oil light goes off at idle but come on right at 2k, get home and let the car sit for a few hours. Start her up and take her around the block to check for problems, nothing lights off engine pulls smooth and hard, let her warm up to temp and still nothing take her to a gas station and fill up. as soon as i pull out lights back on, i get to my buddyes place a few miles away and shut her off chill there for a few hours and get ready to head out, everythings good again until i leave his subdivision, lights back on, ease her home and this is where i sit.

when ever the light came on teh engine felt good and had no noticble loss of power maybe a little more vibrations when lightly revving in neutral, but then again it could just be me and the fact i have raceing mounts on the tranny and engine.

so what can it be, oil pressure sensor, bad oil pump (rare but possible) just some more sludge that broke loose, techs where are you.!!!

 

i could be wrong and definitely dont know much about the 2.8, but i feel like Ive seen soemthing about the sensors just getting dirty and needing to be cleaned.

just a thought.