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Idea's what do u think!! help

L

lenny

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Vermont
the oil pressure gauge just sits all the way to the right. when I started it the other day I noticed that it moved very little and more to the right.
I changed the cluster from the idiot light's and before then the oil light came on, no problems there! I changed because of the temp light being to slow in telling this idiot that its hot!
Now I'm thinking to change the ground strap to cable. are there more and where?
Flushing the oil system then new filter and oil and then flushing the rad.
Then I plan on changing to a open system! down the road!

For now I'm thinking about adding a oil pressure line to a gauge, the old fashion way and maybe still the best way! Is there much differance between Napa or the other stores besides the price?

what do you think?

thanks for your reply and allowing me to bounce my ideas at you!

lenny
 
lenny --

It would be a lot easier to follow your dilemma if you would keep posting in the original thread rather than starting new threads that ask the same question without following up on the advice you have already been given.

In one of your other threads I asked you to do a couple of very simple diagnostic steps. Did you do them? What were the results?

1) Turn on the ignition (or even start the engine) and remove the wire from the oil sender. Do not let the end of the wire touch anything. Where is the gauge needle?

2) Now ground the end of the wire directly to the engine block. Where is the needle on the gauge?

3) With the engine off, take a multimeter set to a low ohms scale (you need to read up to 100 ohms), put one probe on the terminal of the oil pressure sender and one probe grounded to the engine block. What's the reading?

4) With the engine running at idle, do the same check with the multimeter. What's the ohm reading?

5) If you have someone who can sit in the vehicle and run it up to about 1800 RPM repeat the multimeter test again. What's the ohm reading?

You're just spinning wheels, man. You keep asking for advice, but if you're doing anything with the advice you get you're not telling us, because every new thread you start just tells us your oil pressure gauge is all the way to the right. We're trying to help, but you're not working with us.

Do those checks I outlined, and post back the results -- IN THIS THREAD PLEASE.
 
Sorry!!
1)the needle is peg all the way to the right thats how it sits when not started up.
2)when I turn the the engine sometimes the needle move's very slightly to the right.
3)with engine off n one probe on the sender unit n the other on the eng/block
the needle moves from the left all the way to the right.
4)at idle and the probs on the same spot the needle does the same moves all the way to the right.
5)when I pull on the throttle while the while I have the probs in the same place i get the same reading.
 
sorry the needle I'm taklking about the one moving is on the ohm tester
the oil pressure needle is sitting all the way to the right!

you think by those test thats the problem

lenny
 
Last edited:
lenny said:
Sorry!!
1)the needle is peg all the way to the right thats how it sits when not started up.
Click to expand...
Is this with the ignition on, or off?
2)when I turn the the engine sometimes the needle move's very slightly to the right.
Click to expand...
When you turn the engine how? On? Off?
3)with engine off n one probe on the sender unit n the other on the eng/block the needle moves from the left all the way to the right.
Click to expand...
What is the reading in ohms? There's a reason they put scales on those meters -- the numbers mean something.
4)at idle and the probs on the same spot the needle does the same moves all the way to the right.
Click to expand...
Same question -- how many ohms?
5)when I pull on the throttle while the while I have the probs in the same place i get the same reading.
Click to expand...
The reading on the multimeter doesn't change at all?

Did you do the simple tests of unplugging the wire from the sensor with the engine running? Just unplug it and don't let it touch anything. Where is the needle on the dashboard guage?

Then (with the engine running, or at least with the ignition on) touch the oil pressure wire directly to the engine block, or some other GOOD ground. Now where is the needle on the dashboard gauge?

Try to slow down and approach this logically. The system works by sending 12 volts to the gauge, then through a wire to the sender, which is a variable resistor, and then to ground. The ground is where the sender screws into the adapter. So there are three distinct parts to try to isolate: (1) the sender, (2) the wire connection between the sender and the gauge, and (3) the gauge itself. The test of unplugging the connector from the sender and looking at the gauge with the wire disconnected and then grounded checks both the wire and the gauge. With the wire completely disconnected and not touching anything the gauge should be pegged to the right side of the scale (80 psi). With the wire grounded to the engine block the needle on the dashboard should go to the opposite end of the scale (0 psi). WITH THE IGNITION ON

If the needle doesn't move when you do this, either the gauge itself is bad or the wire is broken.

The sender has a resistance range of 1 ohm at 0 psi oil pressure to 88 ohms at 80 psi oil pressure. Idle oil pressure is usually between 15 psi and 25 psi, so your multimeter should be giving you a reading at idle somewhere around 20 ohms. This is why we need to know what the multimeter reads, not just "the needle moved to the right."

Be sure you have the multimeter set to an ohm scale. If you have a choice, pick the lowest scale that goes over 100 ohms, because the maximyum reading you should get is 88 ohms. If you choose a scale of 10,000 ohms, you won't even see 20 ohms register.
 
Eagle said:
Is this with the ignition on, or off?

A1)off

When you turn the engine how? On? Off?

A2) ON

What is the reading in ohms? There's a reason they put scales on those meters -- the numbers mean something.

A3) the ohm scale hope I explain this better; the needle on the ohm scale sits
to the left and it pegs all the way to 0, with the engine ON or OFF or even just on START



Same question -- how many ohms?

A4) same as above (a3)

The reading on the multimeter doesn't change at all?

A5) the OHM multimeter moves each time the same from the left to the end of the scale

Did you do the simple tests of unplugging the wire from the sensor with the engine running? Just unplug it and don't let it touch anything. Where is the needle on the dashboard guage?

A6) it sits at the same stop all the way to the right

Then (with the engine running, or at least with the ignition on) touch the oil pressure wire directly to the engine block, or some other GOOD ground. Now where is the needle on the dashboard gauge?

A7) as above (a6)

This is not my ohm meter. the needle now sits at when off at the INFINITY SIGN (a 8 on its side) and next to that is 1K and when I say it moves to the right, it goes to 0 with the infinity sign there.

I have taken the wire off the sender and touch it to the block with the enging running and when off nothing moves on the oil gauge with the key in the on/start position I get the same reading on the oil pressure gauge

I hope this help's
Click to expand...
 
Dosnt move it stays in one place

but I have notice this;

that when I start it up lets say the 1st time in the day the needle moves a little but still to the righ and very very little! I have no idea when or why this happens.

gee I would rather be fishing :(
 
I pulled the cluster and took the oil gauge out and put a lead from the ohm meter to one point and test all the connecting spots. there is flow. the ohm meter moved all the way to the right until 0. I did this a few times. and I dont see any breaks!

now is there a way to test the back of the cluster, with the ohm meter?

also I pulled the wire out of the harness that went to the sender and tested it. it also had flow. the wire goes to a plug of maybe 5 or 6 wires to it just behind the battery towards the fire wall. so the end and until the plug there is flow.

any other ideas for testing!
 
Check your fuse block, there should be a fuse marked Gauge, It may not have a fuse in it if you had just lights before. Is your dashboard volt meter working?
 
Last edited:
Mine is pegged to the right. When I wiggle the wire coming out of the sender the needle reads correctly. I'm guessing its a bad connection at the sender[was replaced last oil change because they broke it off] or I need to replace the wire.
 
It's not a fuse -- if any of the gauges work (and the others do) it isn't a fuse.

So if the gauge doesn't move with the wire disconnected OR grounded to the block, either there's a problem with the gauge, or a problem with the wiring. To an electrical circuit, an open (broken) connection looks the same as infinite resistance. On the '89, the right side of the gauge is the 88-ohm side, so higher or infinite resistance (as in an open circuit) would peg the needle. but grounding the wire SHOULD bring the needle to zero.

So Lenny your next step is to check the gauge itself. Can you easily remove it from the cluster? If you feel that you can correctly identify which terminal should go to ground (they may be marked "+" and "-") you don't need to remove it, but if you're not certain, you don't want to be attaching a jumper to the gauge ant short the 12-volt side to ground. What you want to do is isolate just the gauge so you can see if it will respond. You need 12-volts to the gauge, and you need the other terminal of the gauge grounded. The gauge when wired like that should read zero.

Let's take a short step back. Have you carefully inspected the wire and the connector at the sender? I had an '84 that was acting like this, but with the temp gauge. When I went to replace the temp sender, the wire pulled out of the connector and left me with a bare wire in my hand, and a connector pressed onto the terminal of the sender. I crimped on a new connecor, hooked it up, and all was well.

If that doesn't work, give the multimeter back to your friend and go buy an inexpensive digital one. It sounds like the ohm scale on that one is so high that you'll never be able to see any difference between 0, 20, and 80 ohms -- they'll all be at the very end of the scale if the range is 1,000 ohms or 10,000 ohms.
 
One other thing I see is It looks like you must remove the bulb from the Oil pressure light if you want the gauge to work. The wire from the gauge is A2 and LT Blue. Is the volt meter working?
gauges.jpg
 
Last edited:
langer1 said:
One other thing I see is It looks like you must remove the bulb from the Oil pressure light if you want the gauge to work. The wire from the gauge is A2 and LT Blue. Is the volt meter working?
Click to expand...
??????

What bulb? He removed the idiot light cluster and replaced it with a gauge cluster. He has no bulb to remove.
 
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