Oil pressure gauge mystery
Discussion
My gauge has been totally 100% reliable, reading 45psi on cold start, settling to a little over 30 when hot. It might not be the correct reading, but I knew were I was with it.
Changed the sump for the new, extended, baffled one, tipped in 9.5 litres of Shell Helix racing oil. 400 road miles, gauge still the same as before. Checked oil level, full.
Did two hours on track yesterday evening, engine running at 90 degrees water temp as usual, reasonable rests between sessions (mainly enforced by other people's accidents/breakdowns) car ran perfectly all evening. I didn't see any odd gauge readings.
Set off for home, needle off the bottom of the oil pressure gauge.
Checked the oil (full), looked for signs of any leaks (none), checked the idiot light (came on when I turned the ignition on, went off when I started the engine), had a chat with Mat Smith who thought the sender wire might have come loose, which I will check this morning.
Had a nerve wracking drive 100 miles home, but at normal speeds, no problems. Eventually, after a rather long McD stop due to incompetent service, the gauge showed some signs of life, but was running at between 0 and 15 psi (before it was right off the bottom, totally dead), unless I braked hard, when it went up to its normal 33 psi, but dropped immediately away to a little over 0 as soon as I accelerated.
I will take it to Mat anyway to fix, as it needs to go in for drive shaft boots and a noisy rear brake, but would be interested to have any thoughts from the collective
Changed the sump for the new, extended, baffled one, tipped in 9.5 litres of Shell Helix racing oil. 400 road miles, gauge still the same as before. Checked oil level, full.
Did two hours on track yesterday evening, engine running at 90 degrees water temp as usual, reasonable rests between sessions (mainly enforced by other people's accidents/breakdowns) car ran perfectly all evening. I didn't see any odd gauge readings.
Set off for home, needle off the bottom of the oil pressure gauge.
Checked the oil (full), looked for signs of any leaks (none), checked the idiot light (came on when I turned the ignition on, went off when I started the engine), had a chat with Mat Smith who thought the sender wire might have come loose, which I will check this morning.Had a nerve wracking drive 100 miles home, but at normal speeds, no problems. Eventually, after a rather long McD stop due to incompetent service, the gauge showed some signs of life, but was running at between 0 and 15 psi (before it was right off the bottom, totally dead), unless I braked hard, when it went up to its normal 33 psi, but dropped immediately away to a little over 0 as soon as I accelerated.
I will take it to Mat anyway to fix, as it needs to go in for drive shaft boots and a noisy rear brake, but would be interested to have any thoughts from the collective
Jacked the car up, lay on my back on the driveway and crawled underneath. ( 
I know what i need for Christmas!! )
Connection was looser than an MP's financial (and other) morals.
Only held in place by the stiffness of the wire and the cable tie two inches away.
Crimped the connector with the first thing that came to hand (plumber's grips) and pushed it back on - way hay, we have oil pressure!!
Thanks for your help and moral support.
I know what i need for Christmas!! )Connection was looser than an MP's financial (and other) morals.
Only held in place by the stiffness of the wire and the cable tie two inches away.
Crimped the connector with the first thing that came to hand (plumber's grips) and pushed it back on - way hay, we have oil pressure!!
Thanks for your help and moral support.
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