Oil Level Sender Open Circuit Test

[octanemaestro]

If I take a clip lead (aka alligator clips attached by a wire) and jump the pos (+) and ground (-) bolts on my oil-level sender visible by peering into the wheel well, while the sender is still mounted on the car and its two wires are still connected (in other words just reaching in there and connecting the clip lead), should the Oil gauge peg on low (in other words where it is where the ignition is off)? And if it does do that, can I assume the Oil level sender is faulty if it is always otherwise pegged on high when the ignition is in the on the position (irrespective of how much little oil is in the oil de-foaming box)?

[burgermeister]

I *think* high resistance means oil is full. If I recall, the resistance varies from 0 to 2K to ground.

The "+" connector is held on by a rivet, which holds another connector internally. Both sandwich a plastic insulator / sealer. So you have the spade lug to the rivet, and the rivet to the loop connector inside. On mine, those areas had oxidized and made an open / high resistance circuit. I took the whole mess apart, cleaned & sanded everything, and reassembled with a 3mm bolt & nylock nut & red loctite (you do NOT want a stray nut in the oil tank - the oil pump is just a big rubber hose away). I used permatex in an attempt to seal everything - no long term guarantees on that ...

[James Brown]

Oh the woes of the oil qty. sender. Valiant effort Burger but I just abandoned the whole thing and had Palo Alto Speedometer send me a volt meter to put in place of the oil gage in the dash. I check it every week (the oil) so I always know what to expect to find. It is a silly system, can you imagine if they were in toyotas?

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by James Brown

Oh the woes of the oil qty. sender...

+1, just as about useless as tits on a bull. Check the dipstick after every ride before garaging the car.

[octanemaestro]

Originally Posted by James Brown

Oh the woes of the oil qty. sender. Valiant effort Burger but I just abandoned the whole thing and had Palo Alto Speedometer send me a volt meter to put in place of the oil gage in the dash. I check it every week (the oil) so I always know what to expect to find. It is a silly system, can you imagine if they were in toyotas?

Did you volt meter come with a sticker that says "Volts" that covers up where the gauge otherwise would say "Oil" from the factory?

[James Brown]

No but I have to figure out that if the pointer is pointing to 14 it is volts and not oil quarts or liters. It does require some knowledge of what the hell is going on with the instruments. If you need it than yes PAS can offer a VOLT sticker to match the gage.