YACT: What's going on with my oil pressure gauge?

[elektrolokomotive]

'95 mustang, 6cyl, 121,000 miles.

Car runs like a top. Only problem is, my oil pressure gauge is possessed! It goes from looking like it's dead, to bouncing up in the middle of the range, to running down near the low end of the range. Is this a bad sensor? I'm not much of a gear head, but I know how to use tools. Is this something that's easily fixed?

 

[SaintGRW]

my stock one does that......

91 1.8L Eclipse *winter beater


although that thing burns through a quart of oil a week. sorry can't help ya.

 

[TallBill]

lol, mine does the same thing.. i just let it be 😛

'95 crown vic ~110,000 miles

maybe its the ford '95 sensor thats bad

 

[Eli]

Highly doubtful your oil pressure is actually fluctuating like that.

Just a bad sensor, or a short somewhere.

 

[Quixfire]

Have someone do a mechanical pressure test on the engine to see if it's your engine or the sender/gauge causing the problem.

Most shops should charge over one hour labor, $50-$75, to do this.

Good Luck,
Quixfire

 

[elektrolokomotive]

Originally posted by: Quixfire
Have someone do a mechanical pressure test on the engine to see if it's your engine or the sender/gauge causing the problem.

Most shops should charge over one hour labor, $50-$75, to do this.

Good Luck,
Quixfire

I had it tested several months ago. There wasn't a problem with the pressure then. The gauge was a little flaky at the time, reading kinda low. Last couple of weeks is when it's been going haywire.

 

[LAUST]

It's called an "Oil Pressure Sender"

 

[TallBill]

btw, theres NO way im spending 50-75 bucks on a test for a car that cost me 2000 bucks after tax, license, and registration. elektrolokomotive is more then welcome to on his. Eventually i'll spend a little bit to get new brakes on my car, and that wont happen untill my brakes go out 😀

 

[OrganizedChaos]

mustangs don't have a real oil pressure guage its an idiot gauge. at 5 psi the guage turns on, if it drops to below 5psi the gage turns off.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14894 some info from people smarter than me there.