Buggy on the fritz...

[Amish Elegance]

Help, Buggy on the fritz...

I'll try and make this short...



Idling in a parking lot doing some work on the console, truck warm, hear the bing, look up to see oil pressure plummeting to 0. Shut truck off, get out, shake poo down leg, check oil, ok, smell oil, no fuel. Check for leaks, none. Roll key over get P0524. Call buddy, get code off TDR, low oil pressure. Crap.



Checked the oil again and fired er up. Gage comes up to normal, time to get home. Watching the gage and listening to engine whole way, everything looks and sounds normal. I noticed the gage swing to the low side of safe when letting off for slow curves. Stop at end of the driveway to get the mail, just as I open the door to get back in, the "bing" of doom rings again, and the gage goes flat. Shut er down, no new codes. Get out, shake poo, check oil, ok. Start up, gage normal, pull up to garage. Idle for cooldown, just before I hit the key it dit it AGAIN! Shake poo, come in, see what TDR brethren thinks...



Whats the word fellas, electronic fritz, or real engine trouble?

FYI, already planned to change oil this weekend, she's just due.

 

[sag2]

I was thinking there was a TSB on 02 light duty and 03 light and heavy, but did not find it. Go get a mechanical guage and screw it in the filter housing so you can check it out if it happens again. I suspect it is more likely the guage than a real oil pressure problem.

 

[Pawpaw]

The gauge is fake, so don't trust anything it tells you. The engine has an oil pressure switch which closes at 6 psi to tell the ECM you have pressure. From there, it's the ECM telling the instrument console what to display.



Your pressure switch might be going bad. In early '04, there was a recall to check for corrosion in the wiring harness at or near the ECM. Did you have that done?



There is a place on line where you can put in the last 8 characters of your VIN to find out about any outstanding recalls. That site is: http://www.dodge.com/webselfservice...recall&country=us&emailUrl=goToEmailForm('R')



Bob

 

[Nightram]

I just had the same probelm with mine. I took my connector off my oil pressure sending unit and it was full of oil. Replaced it, hasn't happened since. If you have oil pressure, I bet bad sending unit more than likely.

 

[Bow66tie]

Amish Elegance,



Previously owned a '93 D250 and had the same thing happen 1,200 miles from home. I absolutely understand the "shaking poo down leg" feeling!!! It wound up being the sending unit going bad, but the entire ordeal left a real bad taste in my mouth.



With my new truck, and also knowing that our oil pressure gauge is nothing more than a nice looking idiot light, I installed a separate oil pressure gauge as a back up. Might be a little redundant, but it makes me feel a whole lot better!



Michael

 

[rbattelle]

I agree with others that it's likely the oil pressure switch going bad rather than an actual oil problem. Only way to know for sure is to check it against a mechanical gauge.



-Ryan

 

[Amish Elegance]

Thanks for the replys fellas,



I'll get a mechanical gage and hook it into the filter housing before I fire it up again. Thats 1/8 NPT fitting right? I almost picked up a sensor this AM, but nobody had one in stock. Even though its a warranty part, for $18 I'll be ahead vs. going through the hassle of getting it dropped off at a dealer.



Paw, yeah I had the corrosion recall done a couple of months ago.



Part of me really thought it was simply the gage, as nothing else was out of place, no funny knocks, or lifters chattering. But a couple years back my mom had a Rango that presented similar symptoms, dealer said they'd order the sensor, come back when its in. Ended up being an oil pump and she windowed the block.



This is the first time the truck has even given me a hickup. It is my first new vehicle, and I love it like a child. (no, we don't have kids yet) I cannot describe it any better than pooing your pants, the feeling one gets watching that gage plummet to 0 PSI.



As to the permanent redundant gage, I remember a thread some time back that the oil system was not conducive to accurate readings on mechanical gage. Something about pressure spikes or something?? Any truth there? Those that do have them, how have you hooked it in?