I have a spare rally dash that has an oil gauge in it. I would have to test it to make sure it works. PM me if you are interested.
Rally dash oil pressure gauge issue.
- Thread starter Dartswinger70
- Start date
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Just so you know, in the earliest rally panels, all 3 thermal gauges were different. At some point and for whatever reason... SW, who produced these gauges, figured out that the same gauge and needle design could be both oil and temp gauges. So the earliest oil gauge was discontinued. They simply put a oil gauge screen on the temp gauge, altered the adjustment, and and bent the needle stops on the screen to make it work as oil gauge. Why in the heck does this matter enough for all my typing?... Heat is the underlying enemy of thermal gauges. The evidence of that is in the life span of the fuel gauge. Limiter inside it, a full tank of fuel, and its duty cycle. When we turn the switch on, the fuel gauge takes lions share of limiter output and races to how much fuel we have onboard. Then we start the engine and oil gauge goes to how much oil pressure we have. Temp gauge still resting at nearly nothing until water gets hot. You want more? Maybe not, but I aint done yet.
A sender for a warning lamp really can't kill a gauge unless the switch on for extended period while the engine isn't started. Soon as that lamp sender sees oil pressure to open the sender, current path is gone. On the other hand, ( and in your case ), the 12 volts from park brake warning lamp circuit could kill the gauge in short order.
So... now I think I have explained, fuel gauge is 1st to fail, oil gauge is 2nd. Another turd in the punch bowl?... Yep. The bare terminal on the oil sender is easily knocked off the sender of LA engines. If it shorts to ground, the oil gauge pegs with this zero resistance condition. Operator doesn't notice. Next time he starts the engine he is tapping on the lens because oil gauge isn't working. I can't tell you what is your best plan. I can only tell you what I would do. I would buy a nice temp gauge, put my oil gauge screen on it, adjust it to be a oil gauge just like SW did. At best I'll have more faith in it than a old oil gauge.
By the way, aftermarket does have a insulated terminal for the oil sender. Hope this helps.
A sender for a warning lamp really can't kill a gauge unless the switch on for extended period while the engine isn't started. Soon as that lamp sender sees oil pressure to open the sender, current path is gone. On the other hand, ( and in your case ), the 12 volts from park brake warning lamp circuit could kill the gauge in short order.
So... now I think I have explained, fuel gauge is 1st to fail, oil gauge is 2nd. Another turd in the punch bowl?... Yep. The bare terminal on the oil sender is easily knocked off the sender of LA engines. If it shorts to ground, the oil gauge pegs with this zero resistance condition. Operator doesn't notice. Next time he starts the engine he is tapping on the lens because oil gauge isn't working. I can't tell you what is your best plan. I can only tell you what I would do. I would buy a nice temp gauge, put my oil gauge screen on it, adjust it to be a oil gauge just like SW did. At best I'll have more faith in it than a old oil gauge.
By the way, aftermarket does have a insulated terminal for the oil sender. Hope this helps.
Dartswinger70
Well-Known Member
An update. I had purchased an oil pressure gauge from a member here and installed it and it works so after much troubleshooting it ended up being 1. the wrong sender, and 2. I needed a new gauge.
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