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Oil Pressure Warning Light?

Discussion in '206/246' started by Crawler, Nov 30, 2008.

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  1. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #1 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    I had the car up at my mechanic's place on Friday for an oil & filter change. While we had the fender liner off to change the filter, we noticed an oil line with a combination hex plug / sender unit. The sender was broken and the wire just dangling. (Unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me.) Not having the replacement sender, we secured the wire. Since the oil pressure and oil temp gauges work, my guess is that the O.P. warning light has its own sensor (which would make sense) and that's what we were looking at. Can anyone confirm this? It looks like it will be a simple replacement job when the next oil change rolls around.
     
  2. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #2 UroTrash, Nov 30, 2008
    Claude, was it Karl doing the work? You know, the same Karl that told be he had too much work (on account of flood-insurance work) and I need to postpone my valve adjust (that I had schedules for a month) til Jan? :(
     
  3. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

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    #3 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    No, I took it to another trusted guy for just that reason.
     
  4. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #4 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  5. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 UroTrash, Nov 30, 2008
    Glad we could help, Ha!
     
  6. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

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    #6 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    Yeah, I found one, but I'm still not sure what it does. Should I perhaps not wait until the next oil change to replace it?
     
  7. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #7 UroTrash, Nov 30, 2008
    BTW, Karl if yer reading this, I was just joshing!
     
  8. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #8 UroTrash, Nov 30, 2008
    It certainly looks like a pressure sensor....are you sure your pressure gauge is working correctly?
     
  9. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
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    #9 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 30, 2008
    I just did a search and found the answer in the Boxer forum. The switch is for the warning light. The pressure sender for the gauge (which is working fine) is separate (a good fail-safe arrangement). My first post guess was correct. It can wait for the next oil change.
     
  10. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

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    #10 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    Ha!
     
  11. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,873
    #11 jselevan, Nov 30, 2008
    Idiot light. Two different senders....one for oil pressure and one for idiots. The oil pressure sending unit sits beneath the intake manifold on the bell housing end of the block. This is the analog oil pressure transducer, located at the highest point on the engine.

    The sender that you are describing is an on/off switch set at about 5 psi...light goes on with catastrophic collapse of oil pressure. Hence, the idiot who continues to drive. This is located immediately adjacent to the output of the oil pump at the base of the filter.

    Jim S.
     
  12. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

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    #12 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  13. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

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    #13 Crawler, Nov 30, 2008
    Thanks for the confirmation, Jim.
     
  14. ENZOSON

    ENZOSON Formula Junior
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    #14 ENZOSON, Nov 30, 2008
    The red warning light at the "0" mark on the oil pressure gauge should light up when you turn the key all the way (prior to engaging the starter (I think... )

    Pietro
     
  15. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

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    #15 jselevan, Nov 30, 2008
    Pietro - you are correct. The light will indicate zero oil pressure.

    Jim S.
     
  16. synchro

    synchro F1 Veteran

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    #16 synchro, Dec 4, 2008
    It sounds like you have a wire with live power dangling and looking for a ground. At the very least I would insulate the open conductor end.

     
  17. pgb67

    pgb67 Karting
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    #17 pgb67, Dec 5, 2008
    Just ground the wire and see if the light goes on.
     
  18. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

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    #18 jselevan, Dec 5, 2008
    PGB67 has it right. The power goes through the idiot light and finds its way to ground through the switch at the base of the oil filter. The switch is closed to ground when oil pressure drops below 5 psi (approximately). Simply touch the connector end to ground and the light should go on. When pressure rises above 5 psi the switch to ground opens up thereby extinguishing the light.

    Jim S.
     
  19. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
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    #19 Crawler, Dec 5, 2008
    That makes sense. I'll test it first before installing the new switch (on order from DinoParts). For now, we have the wire tied off so there's no danger of it grounding and giving me a false alarm.
     

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