Electric Circuit Astray?

[Silvan]

Hi all,

Since I'm Dutch, I won't understand all of the technical terms and I therefore may seem a bit extensive in my descriptions, therefore my apologies in advance.

My 1999 Toyota Avensis (2.0TD) had a problem when I bought it (second hand). The oil light would sometimes come on. Not the red one, but the orange one. They couldn't really explain it but somehow they got it to function better.

However, over time, the problem returned. At first, it would be light up only for a few seconds. They told me to fill up the oil reservoir a bit extra. That seemed to help, but not quite. Now, the oil light stays on longer, sometimes 10 minutes. No side effects though.

Yet recently, also the (orange) engine light comes on, most probably indicating an error in the electric circuit. Furthermore, the RPM meter continuously varies from 800 to 1200, especially when the engine is not yet fully heated up. Once at normal operation temperature, most problems are gone, but one: the temperature meter sometimes drops to 1/2 of the normal height (1/4 of the total height), sometimes it entirely drops down. I also suspect that the cooling fans are shut off then.

By now, I'm very worried. Can anyone with a clue please help me?

Thanks a million!

Best regards,

Silvan Kuipers

Zwolle, the Netherlands