aftermarket oil pressure gauge really low

[4BangerV8Killer]

Even on start-up my oil pressure gauge reads really low could it be that i have tapped it wrong? here is a picture.

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as you can see the tap is the line with the ss braids. Everything else looks oem.

Oh yea its an electronic gauge not mechanical.

 

[Spoolin98]

I'm confused, first off, you shouldn't of had to tap anything to install it. Just remove your stock pressure sender and screw the aftermarket sender into that spot. What does the ss line have to do with it? You shouldn't have any ss lines on a electronic gauge unless its running to the sender, which in the picture it doesnt look like it is.

 

[4BangerV8Killer]

oh my bad im on crack today....the ss line is the feed for the turbo and the wire i guess is going to the gauge...idk why its reading low though???? any ideas

even on cold starts it only goes up to about 50 psi

 

[Spoolin98]

Did you remove the stock sender? From the picure it looks like the sender is in the wrong spot.

 

[4BangerV8Killer]

umm well i didnt install the gauge thats why im asking here whats wrong...im not sure what the gauge came with or whatever. what all comes with an oil gauge kit? what whats installed/replaced on the oil housing

 

[Zack Huffman]

50psi isn't that low. Your pressure will vary by the temperature the engine is at and by the viscosity of the oil you use. I wouldn't be worried unless you have less than 12psi at warm idle.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249949

 

[Spoolin98]

OK, you own me one for this, it took me FOREVER to find this picture for you. Notice how the stock oil pressure sender comes out of the oil housing at an angle? Well yours is installed coming straight down. Take a look at yours and see if you still have the stock sender in that place. Does your stock gauge still work? A better picture would help if you can get one.

 

[Spoolin98]

On a cold startup, 50psi seems a bit low to me. What kind of pressure are you seeing at a warm idle? How about driving? What pressures do you see throughout the rpm range? Whats the maximum pressure you have seen while driving?

By the way, the picture of the oil housing I showed you is off a 2g. But if I remember correctly, the pressure sender on a 1g comes out at an angle also.

 

[fp-green-95tsi]

50 psi at idle is alot of pressure. No need to worry.

 

[DJYoshaBYD]

the 1g does come out at an angle.... are you using the gauge that came with the kit? some gauges are calibrated for their respective sending units.. there is a chance that if you have the aftermarket sending unit going to the stock gauge (which, from what I understand, runs through the ecu) that it is not calibrated for that voltage range in the sensor.... did the new sending unit come with a gauge? If it did, hook that up right quick and see if that gives you a different reading....

 

[4BangerV8Killer]

ya no iv had 4 dsms all 1g's and the oil sending unit always came out straight like mine does.....the stock gauge doesnt work and on warm driving my highest psi is around 25.

 

[Zack Huffman]

.....the stock gauge doesnt work and on warm driving my highest psi is around 25.

Highest is 25psi? That is low.
Do you have any major leaks?
You should get about 10psi per 1000rpms, on top of about 15~20psi base when warm.

 

[Spoolin98]

ya no iv had 4 dsms all 1g's and the oil sending unit always came out straight like mine does.....the stock gauge doesnt work and on warm driving my highest psi is around 25.

Thats odd, because I have worked on a number of DSM's, and I own two myself. A 1g and a 2g, and they both have the sending unit coming out at an angle like I showed you. Can you get a better picture of the unit? I would like to see whats in place of where I think it should be. Also, like stated above, 25psi is WAY TOO LOW. I wouldn't continue to drive that car around like that. If you do, keep the rpm's as low as possible. Like stated, you should be getting 10psi for every 1000 revolutions.

 

[TurboDSMer]

My car goes close to 100psi when i first start the car up and then settles to about 50psi when it is still cold then slowly goes down to a little below the 25psi mark. if i just let the car idle. If i start driving my car around the pressure when warm will be right around the 15psi mark.

 

[DarkstarTsi]

I'm getting around 100psi at startup and around 35-40psi at idle. When I boost it pressure will go up to 110psi. I'm thinking these values are a little high though. My dipstick tends to pop out too by the way, could it be because of the oil pressure being too high. I'm also seeing some oil coming out from the dipstick. Someone told me thats an indication for worn rings????
Any ideas.

 

[Zack Huffman]

Could be worn rings, a bad PCV valve, or a bad dipstick. Check the PCV first, -if it's okay then do a compression test to see how bad the rings are.