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Flickering Oil Pressure Gauge


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Greetings All,

 

VDO oil pressure gauge on a Thorneycroft 90 (BMC 1500) engine.

 

On engine start up the meter needle usually goes to maximum (80 psi) and then drops gradually to about 30/40 psi but the needle flickers quite wildly.

 

Oil level OK - have checked connections at oil pressure sensor and meter and all OK.

 

Can anybody suggest a solution and whether the problem is likely to be the sensor or meter?

 

Thanks

 

Vic

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First check the connections to the sensor, then the sensor itself. That would account for at least 90% of the time that it does something like that

 

Last time this happened to me, it was a poor electrical connection. I've since learnt how important it is to solder these and not rely just on crimped connectors.

 

Philip

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Best thing for a good connection is a contact adhesive like Evostik.

That's why its called contact adhesive......

Used chewing gum is much better - after all, saliva is a conductor (better conductor if you've eaten something salty first I guess). Obviously far better than one of those dodgy crimps :lol:

 

Tony

 

Subtle comedy?

Sadly, probably not.

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Greetings all,

 

Thanks for the serious replies and the ones from the TTP " I'm bored" brigade. Have tightened connections and the oil gauge does settle around 35/40 psi with some flickering when changing engine speed. Probably not worth renewing meter or sender unit.

 

Thanks

 

Vic

Edited by alvicchas1
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Greetings all,

 

Thanks for the serious replies and the ones from the TTP " I'm bored" brigade. Have tightened connections and the oil gauge does settle around 35/40 psi with some flickering when changing engine speed. Probably not worth renewing meter or sender unit.

 

Thanks

 

Vic

 

Hi,

 

Might be wise to check the oil pressure relief valve.

 

Leo

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Hi,

 

Might be wise to check the oil pressure relief valve.

 

Leo

 

Having just caught up with this thread that would be my first thought. If in doubt try to rig up a "proper" (i.e. non electrical) oil pressure gauge to prove disprove whether or not it is actually a variation in oil pressure or just an instrumentation problem.

 

Regards

 

Ian

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Last time this happened to me, it was a poor electrical connection. I've since learnt how important it is to solder these and not rely just on crimped connectors.

 

Philip

Not trying to be contentious right! I am led to believe that a good crimp connection with the proper tool will form a compression weld, has anyone ever seen that? I was only in the trade for 35 years so I never got to see more than a million or so crimp connections which is not really enough to expect to see the good one. A crimp connector is better than a poor solder job, (would have to be very poor IMHO) but inferior to a good solder job carried out by someone who can do it well. The advantage is in de skilling the job so any fool can do it, and any fool does do it and the connection frequently falls apart.

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