Oil Pressure Gauge Malfunction

[1 Bad Merc]

Okay....just got the Trilogy install finished today and when I got the car back home and fired it up I happened to notice that at Idle my Oil pressure gauge (the original fake one) was reading 0 http://www.motorcitymarauders.com/forums/images/smilies/grumble.gif As I rev the car up a little the gauge would actually move almost like a real oil pressure gauge? http://www.motorcitymarauders.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif

Does this gauge actually sense anything? Could I have an oil pump problem or do you think the sender might be going bad?

I dont really hear anything from the motor because I have open headers right now and have to get it to the exhaust shop but I am really nervous about this.http://www.motorcitymarauders.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated?

[sd8683]

I think if your OEM gauge reads 0..... It means your car is running at less than 20psi..... I could be wrong!

[1 Bad Merc]

That's what I am trying to find out. Is the fake Oil temp gauge in anyway hooked up to the motor? I was hoping I might have a small electric problem/sensor instead of something going bad in the motor.

[FordNut]

Maybe the sensor/switch is unplugged?

[Baaad GN]

Sender must be connected, at idle it read's 0, rev it to 3,000 rpm's it rises to normal, let off gas drops to 0. Just hoping bad sender, has anyone else had this happen? I would think if sender bad would just get 0!

[justbob]

Where did you have the boost guage hooked up at? Might be a good place to check the connection.

[MM2004]

I think if your OEM gauge reads 0..... It means your car is running at less than 20psi..... I could be wrong!

Seems like I read that it is more like 5 - 10 psi ??

[MM2004]

Okay....just got the Trilogy install finished today and when I got the car back home and fired it up I happened to notice that at Idle my Oil pressure gauge (the original fake one) was reading 0 http://www.motorcitymarauders.com/forums/images/smilies/grumble.gif As I rev the car up a little the gauge would actually move almost like a real oil pressure gauge? http://www.motorcitymarauders.com/forums/images/smilies/confused.gif

Does this gauge actually sense anything? Could I have an oil pump problem or do you think the sender might be going bad?

I dont really hear anything from the motor because I have open headers right now and have to get it to the exhaust shop but I am really nervous about this.http://www.motorcitymarauders.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated?

When you noticed this, was the engine hot or cold?

If it was hot, you may check for the same results when the engine has sat overnight (cold)

The gauge hooks to a sender on the engine, (electric) and is designed to read the same psi until you get below 5 - 10 psi, then it reads zero. (I think)??

Contact Zack as he worked on it, and am sure he will help you.

Keep us posted.

Mike.

[Zack]

Out of hibernation, thanks a lot Brad :up:

Thanks for extending my 15 minutes of fame and leaving out the important details. Ill do it for you.

After starting the car for the first time after all the parts were put on, I looked at all the gauges and noticed the OP gauge acting funny. I knew it had oil pressure because the engine wasnt making ANY noises.

So I IMMEDIATELY called Brad to tell him of the situation.
I asked... "Is your OP gauge bad or drop to zero at idle?"
response... "I dont know, Ive never looked at the gauge."

Case closed, goodbye for now.

[UAW 588]

Oh well Brad, looks like your on someones sh't list. Better luck next time skippy!!!!!!

[RF Overlord]

To answer the OP's original questions, the OEM oil gauge is a fake...nothing more than a glorified idiot light. It's controlled by a switch (not a sender) that closes when oil pressure reaches approx 6 lbs and causes the gauge to read approx half way. It in no way actually displays real oil pressure, so if yours is acting funny, either the switch, the wiring, or the gauge unit is bad.

[DOOM]

Slap on a set of ultralight 2's :up:

[Baaad GN]

Zack!!!!!!!!!!!!!! An absolutely wonderful install! One hell of a lot of work! And we are very happy.
When I drove car to my garage to work on cut out install it continues to act up, at idle it reads 0, rev it up it will rise to 50-60 and then drop to 0 at idle. Has nothing to do with your install. Our concern is if the sensor is bad or loose wire thats great!!!!!!!!!!!! Brad and I will put a real gauge on but if it isn't we don't want to destroy an engine and all your hard work. To be frank we were hoping someone had experiance the same thing and had a fix, I did a search on two sites and read every post I could and did mot see this same problem. that made me worry which is why I asked Brad to ask the list.
The one thing I will say is you were right recommending the trilogy kit! Glad Brad went that route, now Brad's hoping "maybe" he can keep up with the GN. :-)

Ed

[1 Bad Merc]

Zack was the one who first noticed it and we were trying to see if anyone else had ever experienced it before. The way it acts is like the switch is going bad. Going to yank it out and install a real one anyway so it's not a big deal-just me getting overexcited.

Zack's install was top-notch and I already had a couple of guys come over and look at it and they all want Zack's number for installs...that's what a frickin' nice job he did:) I am very glad I went this route now I cant wait to get it tuned!

I hope you did some more work to your car Justbob as I am coming for you my friend! It's only fair since you started me on this route:) Cant wait to see everyone in Looseville and have some cocktails and ribs (For you Doom).

Thanks for everyone's input-much appreciated.

Brad

[justbob]

You will most definately smoke me now Brad. I'm glad you are on cloud 9, i'm still on 7 1/2 however. But i will tell you this, after a year now of my install i am still blown away with the "out of the box" newfound power! I hit my goal of 12 seconds (not by much) using the stock gears! There is so much room to grow and so many years to do it in.

A big congrats to Zack for putting another very wide smile on yet another face for years to come.

[Mike]

You will most definately smoke me now Brad. I'm glad you are on cloud 9, i'm still on 7 1/2 however. But i will tell you this, after a year now of my install i am still blown away with the "out of the box" newfound power! I hit my goal of 12 seconds (not by much) using the stock gears! There is so much room to grow and so many years to do it in.

A big congrats to Zack for putting another very wide smile on yet another face for years to come.

^^^ and they never stop coming ^^^ :bows:

[PeteSzerszen]

I just had the same thing happen to me today on the way home from a long road trip. I nearly crapped my pants when I saw the "gauge" reading 0, driving at 75mph. I immediately pulled off the road and checked the condition of the engine and oil and everything looked just fine. The "gauge" randomly goes from 0, back up to about 60, and everywhere in between, except in my case, it has nothing to do with engine speed. The engine is fine, and I don't trust a gauge that isn't a real gauge anyway.

I recently replaced my oil filter stand gasket and I suspect that I may have goofed with the switch or the wiring down there. I'm going to take a look at it tonight.

[bob6364]

I have never played with this switch on a marauder but I bet if you ground out the wire the gauge will pop up to 60....most these switchs work on some sort of grounding out principal.