Check Guages Light

[LFernandez]

This really grabbed my attention the other morning. I was backing out of my driveway and my oil pressure gauge dropped to zero. The "Check Guages" light came on and I immediately shut the truck off. I jumped out to take a look underneath the truck as well as in the engine compartment. No oil to be seen (Thank goodness) and the oil dipstick was reading full. Well the truck was sitting in the middle of the road and after my inspection, I started the truck up with no problems. The oil pressure was normal, no "check engine" light and not even a drop of oil anywhere. I have a few questions such as:



1. If our CTD loses oil pressure, is the engine supposed to shut off automatically?



2. Has anyone experienced this happening before, and if so, was it related to a faulty gauge or oil pressure switch?



I appreciate any advice.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Welcome to the forum, to bad your first post has to be something like this!

The eng wont shut down with no oil pressure and I havent read any posts about sensors failing but of course that doesn't mean you cant have one.

You may want to make sure the sensor is plugged in good but since the pressure came back I doubt there's any real problem.

You may want to check for a code and take it to the dealer if one is present.



Scotty

 

[rbattelle]

Scotty's right - oil pressure problems are nothing to toy with. However, the likelihood of a real problem is very small. Remember that your oil pressure "gauge" is actually just a switch. If oil pressure is >6psi, the gauge will magically read in the normal range.

My immediate suspicion in your case is an intermittent sending unit. A new one is very inexpensive. But the best thing to do would be to install a real gauge atop the oil filter test port and monitor that to be sure.

Ryan