When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My truck is a 97 F-250 w/5.8L E4OD. My question is, does the oil sender have any connection to the actual running of the engine? If the circuit is never completed, as it is when the engine developes oil pressure, is any information sent to the computer? Anything like check engine light, or shutting the engine off to prevent damage, or even storing a bunch of codes because the reading isn't constant. I'm considering converting the stock gauge to a real working gauge, but I'm unsure how the varying resistance, if the computer is involved, might effect things. Thanks for any and all help.
Last edited by holland501; Jan 15, 2005 at 10:20 AM.
Reason: add info
On my '93 the sender is a switch running a gauge. No variable pressure function, just on and off. Gauge full low or middle reading only. There is no connection from that pressure switch to the PCM or anything else other than the panel gauge. I suspect your's is the same.
On some of the older trucks, the oil sending unit was tied into the fuel pump relay circuit. But yours is seperate, and should not affect anything.
Are you going to do the resistor thing and put a real sending unit on it? I remember reading around here somewhere (I think it was in the 87-up forum) a while back on how you can bypass a resistor in the instrument cluster, and make it read real pressure.
I was thinking replacing the on/off sender with the variable resistance type sender. I have already taken the instrument cluster out but I don't see the 20ohm resistor everybody talks about. The only resistor I see says 1K ohm. That can't be the one. Has anybody else had this problem? Thanks.
Some posts back the discussion on the resistor removal indicated some years used resisor wire or a resistor in the wire instead of a resistor on the back of the dash. I don't remember which years as my '93 has the resistor (for now).
I suppose I could out-board that particular wire and just cut and splice into the plug in the back of the cluster, but that has problems written all over it. I have search the threads but must have missed that one. If anyone knows for sure, one way or another, I would sure like to hear from them. I'd like to thank everybody for their help so far.
Hey Holland501, I was looking through some old threads trying to find information on that 20 ohm resistor that I've heard about. Came upon your thread, have you had any luck with your gauge resistor change?
I have a 97 F350, 351, E4OD. Got the same 1K resistor in the back of gauge cluster that you described (it's on the flexible back panel that gauges plug into). I'm already half way done-changed the sender to variable resistance type since it was easily accessible when I was changing oil cooler hoses. I just need to jump this resistor, if I could just find it. Thank you very much in advance for any information you can provide.
Hey Watermanh. No I haven't worked anything out with the resistor deal yet. Had some other things come up and put it on the back burner. After giving it some thought I believe I'm goint to install a 3gauge pillar pod and leave the truck wiring alone. Besides looking real neat, I won't have to worry about messing up the truck wiring. Good luck.
So like, If i understand correctly, I can just take that pressure gauge sending sensor on my 96 300 I-6 and chuck it? Then attach the hardware i got with my mechanical oil pressure gauge kit to the block to the fitting in the block?
The only downside is the factory oil pressure gauge will always show 0 on the cluster, no big deal though :P
Now I just need to find where it's located on my motor (300 I-6) And the proper way to get power to the gauges.
If having the oil "gauge" show 0 bothers you, then just ground the wire that went to the pressure switch. Then your dash "gauge" will always indicate mid scale, sorta.