strange oil pressure issue / light

[Flyguyeddy]

ok here is the rundown

2002 a4 1.8t quattro 5 speed

replaced oil pump and inlet due to oil light coming on, and figured that had to be it. there was some debris in the inlet, but it didnt seem like enough to warrant a swap. did it anyway. pump and screen from ecs.

engine ran fine with no issues on my way to work and the night before test drive. conditions were probably in the high 50's temp wise. drive to work is about 20mph
drive it home today and as i pulled into town the light came on. well ****.

installed a mechanical oil pressure gauge in the test port on the top of the oil filter housing part. gauge read 25psi at idle whilst mostly cold/warmish engine temps. ran thru the gears and had about 60psi at 3k. idle pressure was around 15-16ish once warmed up. light would come on when gauge read 30-40 psi. deicded that it was the pressure switch and replaced it. light still comes on

what the hell is going on here? bad wiring to the switch? is my cooler plugged or something? i somewhat recently replaced my chain tensioner, and removed the cam to do it. cam bearings appeared to be nice and shiney, no galling or evidence of wear. was going to take this thing on a 400 mile trip tomorrow but i dont want to blow it up miles from home. i will say that it is possible that the pressure gauge is being a bit "generous" with the pressure readings, but its a new gauge and i didnt have a different one to compare it to. will try again with an autometer or someting

[diagnosticator]

The oil pressure warning light depends on both the oil pressure and associated engine RPM. If the oil pressure sensor senses the oil pressure is to low for engine speeds above about 2000 RPM, the oil pressure warning light will illuminate on the instrument cluster. I don't know off hand why the oil pressure warning is turning on with plenty of oil pressure above 2000 RPM. The only thing I can think of is that possibly the oil pressure warning is not getting the right engine RPM signal. However, this is unlikely.

Are you sure it is the oil pressure warning light and not the oil level warning light? It could be the oil level light with a defective oil level sensor. The oil level sensor in the bottom of the oil pan fails frequently, especially with higher mileage on the car.

[Flyguyeddy]

Well from what i understand the sensor is just a basic dummy light switch, not an actual analog sensing device. It is also. Ot the oil level alarm. That one says lo oil or something and is yellow. This alarm is red.

[Flyguyeddy]

Just checked my gauge against a brand new industrial pressure gauge here at work and its only a few psi high