GUAGE SHOWING LOW OIL PRESSURE!

[Betazag]

As soon as you fix one thing, another issue arises. My oil pressure guage is showing very little movement now, right after I changed the oil no less. Before, it looked low unless the RPM was up, and even then it looked lower than expected. Is this a common issue with the Beta oil guage or am I looking at installing a new oil pump maybe? What is the best way to test the actual oil pressure? I have not noticed any valve chatter yet, so that makes me wonder if it is just the guage or sending unit. A coworker suggested Marvel Mystery Oil, but I am weary of "Snake Oils". :lol: Any advice? MR

[Will]

Common problem with the sender, gets pinhole in the diaphragm and reads low or no pressure.

Suggest you replace w/known good sender or test oil pressure with a mechanical gauge. If your OP reads at or near zero, and the idiot light is not on, then chances are it's your sender IMO.

[Betazag]

:roll: Maybe I will learn to spell gauge one day. I wunder if dat senden yunit iz sumthin I kin find sumware? Does anyone know if I can just replace the sending unit with a close match from an autoparts store? Or would I have to run a new type gauge w/sending unit? Are the OEM units still available? MR

[dmurrell]

Vicks has em if you want to pay retail.
Check eBay - they come up pretty regularly and you can get one at a decent price.

[sickchilly]

They're available from all the usual suspects and they're cheap (less than $50) considering you only replace them once every 5-10 years.

[Gregory Smith]

Check the back of the gauge cluster for corroded contacts, and be sure the gauge set ground is good.

A mechanical gauge will likely give you better readings.

[Jim Keller]

I have found that all the Beta gauges show about normal oil pressure when you first start them up, then after the engne is warm, it will go to almost zero when idling, and come up some when revs are up but the oil light will not come on, as long as both are not warning you, it is probably the sender.
I had to replace mine once in the good Zag, here is a little hint, TAKE OFF THE ALTERNATOR FIRST! that only takes a few min and it will save you a lot of scratches, frustration and time! especially when re-installing the new one. Taking off the alternator opens it up so you can basically just reach down and get to it instead of worming and squeezing around everything.
I seem to remember my new sender from Bruce's Parts Bin being less than $20, but that was 6 years ago too

Another thing before you worry about it, when you are driving at night with the lights on and you are stopped at a stop light holding on the brake, the battery light will glow dimly and even get brighter and dimmer as the turn signals cycle and accessories are turned on, , I found this is perfectly normal and is even mentioned in the owners manual, as long as it is not glaringly bright all the time, the charging system is working fine. It freaked me out at first, but I got used to it. Cleaning grounds and adding relays does help