Erratic oil pressure gauge? -- poor connection
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Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 3,504
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From: Mexico Beach FL
Erratic oil pressure gauge? -- poor connection
On my '92 LT1, I've had an oil pressure gauge that would jump occasionally for years.
I knew the oil pressure was OK, so I just didn't think much about it. The problem only affected the oil pressure gauge and none of the other gauges, so I thought it was a bad gauge in the cluster.
The other day, I was doing some wiring by the oil filter and decided to loosen the bolt holding the negative battery cable, plus about three small wires to the engine block. While doing this, as I always do, I clean the area and connectors.
The problem with the oil pressure gauge is completely gone.
And, it wasn't a loose connection because the bolt was very tight.
Also, the battery negative cable is held to the engine block with this bolt and I have never had a problem with starter current.
So, my guess is the smaller terminals were corroded, and now that they are clean, the problem is gone.
I remember, years ago, one of the Corvette magazines had a tech article about checking this connection when having electrical problems.
From my experience, checking the tightness of the bolt won't do.
You have to take the bolt out and clean the terminals.
Tom Piper
I knew the oil pressure was OK, so I just didn't think much about it. The problem only affected the oil pressure gauge and none of the other gauges, so I thought it was a bad gauge in the cluster.
The other day, I was doing some wiring by the oil filter and decided to loosen the bolt holding the negative battery cable, plus about three small wires to the engine block. While doing this, as I always do, I clean the area and connectors.
The problem with the oil pressure gauge is completely gone.
And, it wasn't a loose connection because the bolt was very tight.
Also, the battery negative cable is held to the engine block with this bolt and I have never had a problem with starter current.
So, my guess is the smaller terminals were corroded, and now that they are clean, the problem is gone.
I remember, years ago, one of the Corvette magazines had a tech article about checking this connection when having electrical problems.
From my experience, checking the tightness of the bolt won't do.
You have to take the bolt out and clean the terminals.
Tom Piper
