instrument question
 

1)I have a '71 1.7 914 w/o owners manual. A RED light illuminates whenever the 914 is running. It appears in the TOPMOST LEFT portion of the large round dial on the left (the one with gas guage, oil warning, etc). What does this light mean? (handbrake? seatbelts?)

2)Also, my oil pressure gauge (electric) reads 21psi at idle, and never goes above 24psi at speed. Car does not blow smoke. What should I make of this?

by illuminate, do you mean full on bright light?.. or just kinda dim light?.. there's 2 red lights that i can think of right now.. one's for the parking break, which would be blinking. and one for the voltmeter warning thing.. i had a problem with my voltage light a while back, thought it was the alternator, but was just the voltage regulator. but when it was bad, the light lite dimly whenever the car was on, until the battery got drained.

not sure if that's what you're asking, hope this helped a bit..

Jeff

The light is neither dim, nor blinking, so maybe it's the parking brake? (the light directly to the right of the this red one seems more orange/yellow)

About the oil pressure: is this dangerously low? What tests can I do to isolate the problem: bad oil pump? blocked oil gallies? bad gauge?

Thanks.

The parking brake light is a large crescent shaped red indicator at the top center of the gauge. In my '75, it doesn't blink, but is a steady red when the parking brake is on. The switch controling this light is right below the parking brake handle where it hits the lateral "U" tube. It is easy to get to and replace.

Hope this helps.

I wanted to add, if the switch is defective it could cause the light to be on all the time. If memory serves, the switch opens the circuit when the button is pressed by the parking brake handle (brake in the off position). If it has corroded or gunked up enough to short the switch, the light would stay on. Another possibility is that the little "leg" on your brake handle is bent or missing so it isn't pressing the button.

Oil pressure 60+ psi.

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CWP/VIR