Is this oil pressure on tickover normal?

[Ari]

Getting very close to buying a MX5 now. It's a late 06 MK3 with 22,000 miles.

The only thing concerning me slightly (only because I don't know what's normal) is the oil pressure. When fully warmed up (we'd just had a 1/2 hour fast run in it) it reads this on tickover (below).

Looks low to me but is it normal?

Edited by Ari on Sunday 18th April 16:50

[j44esd]

Though I don't have a MK3, reading here http://www.mx5oc.co.uk/forum/forums/p/15060/89400.... would seem to suggest it is more of an oil pressure 'switch' and just queries the existance of oil pressure...

If anyone with a bit more knowledge knows better, please feel free to correct me

Edited by j44esd on Sunday 18th April 16:53

[Ari]

Thank you very much for that, how utterly bizarre!!

[j44esd]

Ari said:

Thank you very much for that, how utterly bizarre!!

No problem - hopefully someone will agree/disagree with me though to tell you for sure, after all i did only read it on the internets...

Happy car hunting though!

[Ari]

Cheers mate, appreciated.

If anyone has a MK3 and can confirm that theirs reads the same I'd be most gratified.

[Rob Ustly]

Ari said:

Cheers mate, appreciated.

If anyone has a MK3 and can confirm that theirs reads the same I'd be most gratified.

Yes, that's completely normal on tickover, and yes it is a 'fake' gauge. Which is a bit naff, but otherwise the car is a belter.

[LukeBird]

Interestingly that link mentions it's only a 'proper' oil pressure gauge in the Mk1.
That makes me feel better as the gauge in my Mk2.5 reads exactly the same.

Very bizarre!

[pbirkett]

I'm sure even many Mk1's gauges are fake too. Mine is always in the same place, I think only early mk1's had proper gauges which move around all the time under load etc...

[snotrag]

pbirkett said:

I'm sure even many Mk1's gauges are fake too. Mine is always in the same place, I think only early mk1's had proper gauges which move around all the time under load etc...

Yup.

Up to about 94 they had a proper oil pressure gauge (my 1.8 94 has it).

After then, its simply an oil pressure switch.

Which I find a bit silly as all it can tell you then is 'congratulations, you've run out of oil' by which time its gonna be too late.

Oil temp would be far more useful IMO - its the only thing I miss in my car (as a more indicative sign of how your engines running and when its warmed up).

[skinny]

i understood it to be a switch too but find it strange that 'on' or 'normal' sits at 10%...?

[snotrag]

Was it red hot at that point? what weight oil is in the car?


I wouldnt worry about it too much yet given the age of the car.

With an oil pressure gauge I guess its hard to say whats 'correct', but rather you should learn what it does depending on load/temperature - that way at least if it does something out of the ordinary you will know.

Ask on the MX5OC where I beleive there are quite a few Mk3 owners.

[Ari]

Thanks chaps, that's reassuring.

snotrag said:

Was it red hot at that point? what weight oil is in the car?


I wouldnt worry about it too much yet given the age of the car.

With an oil pressure gauge I guess its hard to say whats 'correct', but rather you should learn what it does depending on load/temperature - that way at least if it does something out of the ordinary you will know.

Ask on the MX5OC where I beleive there are quite a few Mk3 owners.

SR, as I understand it, it'll never do anything out of the ordinary, because it's completely divorced from real oil pressure. All it does is provide a fake reading commensurate with what a real oil pressure gauge would probably read based on revs and engine temperature.

It really is quite bizarre.

[rfn]

The "Guage" simply reads as in the photo under idle, and right near the right hand side (or High) when at full throttle.

All Mk3's are like that, it's not a proper "gauge"!

[DannyGi11]

I dont understand how this is not a proper oil pressure gauge? It goes to full on full throttle/high revs and it goes lower if the engine is doing less work...

Surely if it was just a "swtich" it would either be on or off? It seems to me it roughly relfects how hard the engine is working or how much load the engine is under?

[skinny]

sounds like a two position switch instead of the old one position switch that used to sit in the middle.

seriously, what's next, a 3 or 4 position? why not just stick a real one back in and be done with it!!

Edited by skinny on Wednesday 21st April 05:51

[Ari]

DannyGi11 said:

I dont understand how this is not a proper oil pressure gauge? It goes to full on full throttle/high revs and it goes lower if the engine is doing less work...

Surely if it was just a "swtich" it would either be on or off? It seems to me it roughly relfects how hard the engine is working or how much load the engine is under?

Because from what I've read it doesn't measure oil pressure, either as a switch or otherwise.

What it does is measure revs and water temperature and bases its reading on those. Since they are both variables it allows the "oil pressure" gauge to read variable degrees.

Yeah, weird, I know!

[MX-5 Lazza]

Looking at that gauge, it doesn't claim to be an oil pressure gauge. It has an oil symbol but nothing to suggest that it's displaying pressure (it doesn't show "PSI" or "Pressure" under the symbol for example). It's just an oil indicator like it is on Mk1 from 94 & Mk2/2.5, not much more useful than an oil-light that you get on any car.

[Ari]

It's not linked to oil level, temperature, or pressure (other than there is oil pressure in a yes/no way), so what is it indicating?

[apprentice]

As per Lazza. Don't get too hung-up on it - it's an MX-5 after all.

apprentice

[Ari]

I'm not, I've bought it!