Oil Sending Unit Help Needed
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 47
Likes: 0
From: White Lake MI
Oil Sending Unit Help Needed
Has anyone got any thoughts on why my sending unit seems to be pegged at 80 PSI?? They recently rebuilt my engine and it came back with the sending unit telling me the pressure is a fairly steady 80 PSI. Could it be just a bad sending unit?
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Is it like that all the time or only when you're cruising? Does it lower at idle?
If it never moves below pegged then it could be a bad sender. Pull the wire from the sender and look at the gauge with the engine running. It should fall to 0. Then touch the lead to the engine block, and it should peg again.
Consider that the engine has been rebuilt and the rod and crank bearing tolerances are a lot tighter. This alone will keep the oil pressure higher than it was before.
Racer
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 470
Likes: 1
From: Amelia Ohio
You may not have a good contact where the wire plugs in or it may not have a good ground due to sealants where it screws into the block. It doesn't make common sense but have had the same problem with mine being wire keeps coming loose. The boot that holds it on is very hard and plan on ordering a new one.
Chris
Chris
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 16,528
Likes: 53
From: Dayton, Ohio
The way I remember which way the gauges go is that they do the opposite of what I think they should do.In other words if the wire to the oil sender falls off I wish it would show 0 oil pressure but it gives you the false sense that you have plenty of oil pressure.....all the gauges do this.The fuel gauge got me once,the wire fell off and I kept seeing a full tank when it ran out it was a surprise.
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 24,125
Likes: 15
From: Columbia Missouri
Matt the gauge does just the opposite.Pull the wire off and it will peg past 80.
The way I remember which way the gauges go is that they do the opposite of what I think they should do.In other words if the wire to the oil sender falls off I wish it would show 0 oil pressure but it gives you the false sense that you have plenty of oil pressure.....all the gauges do this.The fuel gauge got me once,the wire fell off and I kept seeing a full tank when it ran out it was a surprise.
The way I remember which way the gauges go is that they do the opposite of what I think they should do.In other words if the wire to the oil sender falls off I wish it would show 0 oil pressure but it gives you the false sense that you have plenty of oil pressure.....all the gauges do this.The fuel gauge got me once,the wire fell off and I kept seeing a full tank when it ran out it was a surprise.
*Hits head on desk* I KNEW that I just had it backwards in my head when I was typing it. Thanks for catching that.
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 16,528
Likes: 53
From: Dayton, Ohio
I knew you knew and thats why I had to sit and think before I typed.....stop doing that....it takes too much energy to think that hard. We probably should have ask you if the gauge goes to 0 with key in the ON position when the engine is not running.
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