oil pressure gauge

[Dennis Shelley]

The oil pressure sending unit is failing. this is for a 2001 ST. For the records this is an all or nothing recorder. Any oil pressure wil be recorded on the gauge as "normal". This not a true gauge, but a form of an "idiot light". Has anyone replaced the original with a true pressure sender and gauge??

If so please provide some insight.

Your help is most appreciated. Thanks for the help, not just for me but all the ST heads.

 

[Todd Z]

You can easily install a resister on the factory wire and ground it to the block so you don't get the check gages light.



Then install an aftermarket Gauge and sender..



Todd Z

 

[David Ponder]

Hi Todd, this is a change I would like to make also. I hate fake gauges. I brought this up a few days ago under a post named "Reason for terminal failure" and I really hope someone has a plausable answer. (I also have an 01 ST 4X4) You seem to be the "go-to" guy for answers, perhaps you can check with the guys at your Ford connection? I would like to keep the factory gauge, and make it work correctly. On the other hand, everyone respects your opinion.. so.. would you change this on your ST, or would you leave it as is? Thanks, Dave

 

[Todd Z]

Dave you can do that but it requires building a control box and doing some fancy wiring...

I have never done that, IT was always easier to do what I posted above..



I would leave it as is... Just like I did with my Temp Gauge..



Todd Z

 

[Richard L]

This was discussed at length about 5 years ago with one of the Ford engineers. According to him, It's a two-part sending unit andyou cannot just change the existing type of sending unit since it also has an interlock to the fuel pump. If you loose oil pressure it will cut off the fuel pump to save the engine.



When the sending unit fails you have adequate oil pressure and the interlock lets the engine run, however the switch part that controls the gauge is the part that sticks until the engine warms up a few minutes or so.



You can certainly add another sending unit and guage but, the orginal type of sending unit has to stay.



...Rich

 

[Todd Z]

I would LOVE to see that in any manual for the ST....



With all the 01 STs that have bad senders and the gages don't read, we would have a lot of ST's that don't run...



the ST does not have that feature.... I don't know of any car/truck with that...



The sender on the ST is a simple pressure resistor. When the oil pressure is there the switch closes completing the circuit making the Gauge read.



Todd Z

 

[RAUL AGUILAR]

Todd



is the Ranger oil pressure set up similar to our STs?

i don't know if you guys remember this page



http://www.cardomain.com/ride/727284/3





ops

 

[Kevin Lang]

Did the ford engineer tell us why this glorified idiot light was deemed more apropos than an actual functioning gauge?



Inquiring minds want to know

 

[Yardsale]

Kevin L. - Sometimes it's to prevent people from complaining that the oil pressure has decreased (while still covered by warranty). Sometimes, it's simply less expensive.

 

[Richard L]

The engineer did not say, but my bet is on the fact that it was a few cents cheaper, whil still making it look like a sporty gauge.



...Rich

 

[Kevin Lang]

Don't all ford cars have the BS oil gauge? I remember seeing something about how adding a second oil gauge was "essential" to driving a "true performance mustang"....for reasons that even the mustang in all of its mainstream-coveted-carness is stuck with the phony gauge.



Ford could give us a non-BS gauge cluster as an option, or some sort of spiffy enable-able feature...."if you aren't an idiot, you can turn your gauge to a true gauge by doing the following procedure:..." (akin to the disabling-seatbelt-chime procedure, or the window reset thing)



You sell us a truck with all these spiffy built in decent towing features, the capacity for manly recreational towing, four wheel drive with limited slip options, and the name Sport in the title, yet you don't tell us oil pressure, which is always good to know in the high-stress application the ST's endowments will get it into. And OBD2 didn't have the foresight to include it...and ford didn't report the fuel pressure to OBD2, like it should, so that function of my scangauge dos is worthless.



It makes no sense to me. IMO, they could have given us more gauges, filling in that wasted space inside the tachometer where the "RPM * 1000" text is. Trucks have far too narrow a viewing field through the windshield (coming from a passenger car bg this annoys me) for the classic a-pod gauges, and the scan gauge can only show 4 at a time, and that's a separate place to look. Information is ammunition, and ammo is essential in the constant battle that is vehicular performance.