Oil pressure guage problem

[Steve Crites]

Hey gang;

I replaced the sending unit for my 2.3L Ford.  The previous unit had spun the connector screw for the wire and I was afraid of leaks. The old one worked great with a reading of 40 to 60 psi when running. The new unit causes the guage to peg all the way to the right. I’ve checked my grounds, re-checked my guage wiring, all seems the same as before. The AZ store says that’s the only unit made for guages. Any ideas?  Is there different sending units for these that the AZ people don’t list, or am I missing something?

Thanks, Ringo

[Larry Murphy]

 Ringo, I know that you have reworked the dash and it looks great,but did the guage problem start with the redo or was it working ok till you changed the sender? If the sender replacement was the only thing that caused the different reading,it sounds like a bad sender or the wrong one for the guage. Maybe it was packeged wrong. You might check with a different auto store to see if they use the same sender that AZ does. After hearing you tell about your rewiring and adding all those relays I can tell that you know a lot about wiring in general so this may be like looking for a needle in a haystack. By the way ,I like your security guard ,the one with the goggles.  Larry Murphy

[Steve Crites]

Hi Larry;

Thanks for the input. My security guard and I think I replaced the sender prior to the final hook up of the dash. (You know, looking to find and replace any loose links in the electrical while it was all apart.)  To be honest, I didn’t notice the oil guage pegged until I got back from our rattle run. So, it could be the wiring but I don’t see how since I was so obsessive with all of it. Made diagrams, took pictures, labeled everything one at a time as I took it off, and checked everything at least 4 times while re-assembling. The only thing I noticed is the hole in the new sender is a little smaller than the old one.

I’m going to get another sender from another parts place and try that  before I get the multimeter out. (I HATE ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS!!!!) .

Anyway, I thought I was wrong once, but I was mistaken, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it’s the sender. 

Again, thanks, I’ll let you know.

Ringo

 

[Steve Crites]

Larry and gang;

Talked to some hot rod friends and they say that the stock sender won’t work with after market guages.  Testing the unit by grounding the wire when switch is on shows that guage and wiring is okay.   So I’ve ordered a sending unit and some bushings from Classic Instruments.

We’ll see. (they bet me a 6 pack they’re right!)

Later,  Ringo

[Larry Murphy]

 Hi Ringo, Glad to hear that your wiring checked out ok. Sounds like you had the correct sender for the engine but it did not match the guage. Hang in there, you’ll get it worked out.  Larry M.

[Mark Hendrickson]

Been away from the forum for a few says thrashing on the 40 Ford.

Your hot rods friends are correct…the OEM sender will not work with the Classic Gauges unit.

This is the precise reason I use mechanical, not electrical gauges in all of my cars. In addition to being hooked up mechanically, they are more accurate and work faster too.

Buy them cheap local beer!!!

[Steve Crites]

 

New sending unit—$24,  6 pack for friends—$4, gauge working properly—-Priceless!!!  

Ringo

(Paul, that was the cheapest beer they would let me get by with.) 

Ringo39871.8428819444

[Mark Hendrickson]

Hey Ringo…Pink MG is Mark…PMossberg is Paul

Wow…a $4.00 six pack…is that cheap these days? I’ve not bought a six pack since 1981…it was $1.55 for a six pack of Bud cans back then.

Glad the gauge is working fine…now we just need it to be Spring!

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