Wire in oil pressure switch

[BillC99]

I have recently inspected the engine on my S2 and when I removed the oil pressure switch I found a small piece of wire in the hole.

Sorry about the rubbish picture quality!

Is this a normal fitment or have I just been lucky?

[Griffinr]

Definitely not normal but from the shaping of it, it does look like it was put there deliberately. Difficult to see from the photo's but the hole in the sensor looks bigger than it should be so I wonder if the wire is there to reduce the hole area. Guessing now but perhaps the gauge pulses without it.
Rob

[greymrj]

Sorry to be a bit late coming back to you. I have just examined a stripped 2.8 engine. The only possible source of such a wire from within the engine appears to be the rocker shaft springs. Although not the same shape, anything could happen to a bit of spring going through the engine. I used a vernier on the spring and it was approx 1.7mm thickness. If your wire measures the same I would check both rocker shafts just in case.
Even if an oil gauge was malfunctioning I cannot see a bit of wire in the end would help, and would anybody be mad enough to put a bit of loose wire in there with a good chance of it moving into an oil gallery?

Looking at the shape of your 'specimen', there is no chance that it could have come from a twisted wire brush that has been used for cleaning something? Bit hard to imagine how it could have got in there but bits do fly off with some energy. Again, check thickness against such a brush.

I am afraid that, having found it, I would at least drain the oil and see if there are any bits on the magnet.
It shouldnt be there, I dont believe anybody put it there deliberately, so where did it come from????

[Barkychoc]

As soon as I saw that I thought 'the end of a throttle return spring'

No idea if your engine has a throttle return spring with an end like that just sharing that's what sprung to mind.

Anything is possible - just be happy you didn't find it stuck in a big end bearing :-O

[phillpot]

I reckon it came out of the switch.

If, somehow, it got picked up from the sump, found its way through the oil pump, through the oil filter, along the main oil gallery and up a dead end into that tiny hole in the oil pressure switch I'd be surprised.


Never broken an oil pressure switch open but I'd imagine there is a diaphragm, spring, electrical contact and the odd piece of bent wire

[Griffinr]

phillpot said:

I reckon it came out of the switch.

If, somehow, it got picked up from the sump, found its way through the oil pump, through the oil filter, along the main oil gallery and up a dead end into that tiny hole in the oil pressure switch I'd be surprised.


Never broken an oil pressure switch open but I'd imagine there is a diaphragm, spring, electrical contact and the odd piece of bent wire

No diaphragm in mine, appears to be a small piston which probably has an O ring seal. All the electrical stuff is on the dry side in the can.
Checked the hole size on my old one tonight and it's less than 1mm. Be interesting to see how the gauge reads without the wire in the hole.

[BillC99]

I have had the heads and sump off the engine and did not find any more bits!

The gauge seemed to be working OK before I pulled the car apart.

I will put it back in without the wire and see if it still works OK.

I don't think it could have come from inside as the bent over bit at the end wouldn't have passed through the hole.

Thanks for the replies anyway!

Bill