Archived ZERO Oil Pressure indication on gage?

[JohnMcIntyre]

Never thought I'd be posting here... . but here goes... .



I'm currently on the road (April 21, 2003, 3am)just outside Brussels in Belgium (Europe) and have got a problem which has sidelined my truck.....



Its a 2001 2nd gen 24 valve CTD and my oil pressure gauge in the normal instrument cluster has just decided to nail itself to zero... whereas before for the past 40,000 miles and 3 years it has been solidly in the 12 o'clock position on the dash. I have already manually checked that there is enough engine oil in the sump and that there is actual oil pressure, so it looks like the gage in the instrument cluster has gone faulty or the oil pressure switch/sender has instead.



Unfortunately, I don't have my factory service manual with me. Can anybody tell me whereabouts on the engine, the oil pressure switch is located, so I can verify whether the oil pressure drop is real or virtual?



Cheers guys... .

 

[01smokinram]

Switch

According to my shop manual it's located beside the computer just under the intake manifold. There is a three wire connnector on it. Tighten it to 144 in. lbs of torque when installing. You'll know when you see it.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Thanks!!

Thanks very much - I'll check for it in the next 60 mins and report back here... .



JMc

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Update!!!

Originally posted by 01smokinram

According to my shop manual it's located beside the computer just under the intake manifold. There is a three wire connnector on it. Tighten it to 144 in. lbs of torque when installing. You'll know when you see it.

Well, I reckon I found the switch you referred to, with the three wire connector attached. It's right towards the rear of the cylinder head. I have also verified with an independent gauge that my oil pressure is varying between the limits of 40 and 60 psi. The gauge on the regular dashboard instrument cluster still shows zero though, even after I removed the sensor and cleaned it up? Nothing obviously wrong with it from a visual inspection. I guess if this is the switch/sender referred to earlier in this thread, then it must have developed a terminal fault?



One thing I am curious about though, why would the oil pressure sender be located so high up the crankcase? In my experience, you would expect to find it located much lower down the crankcase and covered in oil when removed, which this one wasn't? Could I have mistaken that sender for something else instead? Anyone care to comment?



One other thing would this sender be a Cummins OEM part rebadged by Dodge or a "real" Dodge OEM part. I reckon I can get back to England and make a pitstop at Cummins Northampton about 300 miles away. Does anybody have a part number for this sucker? Cheers!!



JMc

 

[willyslover]

sorry I didn't see this last night John...



Rest easy in knowing it is a common failure part. . had it happen on ol'#1 [may it rest in peace LOL]..... one thing to be aware of... there are two different sending units . . a two wire one and a three wire one. . my old rig was a 98. 5 and was 3 wire... guess what D-C ordered... . took an extra 3 weeks to re-order and wait. . kinda nerve racking driving around with no oil pressure gauge. .

as to why the mounting location... maybe cause the galley runs there and anywhere in the galley should show pressure or lack of.

 

[BPINE]

Gary is right John, don't panic this is a very common problem. If you want to verify just screw in a cheap 1/8 pipe guage into the extra port on the oil filter housing to verify.

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Thanks everybody!!

Much appreciate all the advice and emails guys. I will order up the spare part and get this fitted asap. In the meantime I'll be running around with no dashboard oil pressure information.



JMc

 

[willyslover]

you can run a temp remote . . like blair suggested only with a long rubber line and tape it to your window by the wipers

 

[BFC]

John,



Check your PM's.



Glenn

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Forum Admin

please move this to the 911 archives when convenient. Thanks for everybody's help/advice.



JMc

 

[rweis]

Precisly why I put a oil pressure gauge in my gauge package. This is one of the gauges that without which you are betting against the box.



you don't have to have egt - go slow

you don't have to have boost - go slow

you don't have to have transmission temp - etc



probably should have some sort of fuel pressure



Bob Weis



don't have to refer to it often, but when you need it you NEED IT!

 

[JohnMcIntyre]

Oil pressure sender failure

Originally posted by rweis

Precisly why I put a oil pressure gauge in my gauge package. This is one of the gauges that without which you are betting against the box.

Your point is well made but it's not the gauge which went belly up but the oil pressure sender unit plugged into the crankcase behind the fuel filter. Running another gauge elsewhere would not have provided a sanity check on this occasion. (I will however now be considering the direct mounting of a separate (conventional/manual) oil pressure gauge somewhere in the engine compartment, because the oil pressure sender is really awkward to reach behind the fuel filter assembly. )



Meanwhile, just for the record, the original oil pressure sender went belly-up at 39,020 miles from brand new.



JMc