"Idiot light" vs. Oil Pressure Gauge

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I had a Big-Ole Open Spot on the Dash where a Formula S Tachometer could go...
I put a set of Volts/Oil gauges there for some extra assurance.

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George Jets said:
Here is an oil pressure gauge Plumbed in along with the working electric dash gauge and idiot light. So that is actually showing 3 ways to see oil pressure.

Always like a gauge to be able to see the real pressure.

View attachment 1716308724

'89 D100, 318


☆☆☆☆☆
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That is alot of weight vibrating on a tiny 1/8" thread.
I think a better mouse-trap would be to mount gauge and sender on the firewall, and run a line from the engine block up to the gauge.
 
How often will you look at a gauge?
I have the Factory Rally Cluster, and I rarely look at the gauges. If my engine went down, I wouldn't know it till it was down, even if I had 4" gauge up on the dashpad.
The only gauges I check regularly are
1) the Speedometer; 25 years and not one speeding ticket in this car,
even tho it could cruise at 120 in double overdrive., I mean that's how fast the guy in the Corvette, I was following, was going....... But man the wind is loud!
and I check the ammeter after every 7000 rpm blast, which is 65.7 mph in First-over, just to make sure the belt is still on.
Oil pressure? well, the gauge is down by the gas gauge somewhere, and in the dark. At my age, if I took my eyes off the road to read the tiny graduations, who knows what direction I'd be going after I looked up, and I still gotta refocus!
So I vote light, but it better be a good one. and if I decided to get one, I'd install it on the tach which is up on the dashpad, where my overdrive/splitter light, and hill-holder lights are.
 
AJ/FormS said:
How often will you look at a gauge?
I have the Factory Rally Cluster, and I rarely look at the gauges. If my engine went down, I wouldn't know it till it was down, even if I had 4" gauge up on the dashpad.
The only gauges I check regularly are
1) the Speedometer; 25 years and not one speeding ticket in this car,
even tho it could cruise at 120 in double overdrive., I mean that's how fast the guy in the Corvette, I was following, was going....... But man the wind is loud!
and I check the ammeter after every 7000 rpm blast, which is 65.7 mph in First-over, just to make sure the belt is still on.
Oil pressure? well, the gauge is down by the gas gauge somewhere, and in the dark. At my age, if I took my eyes off the road to read the tiny graduations, who knows what direction I'd be going after I looked up, and I still gotta refocus!
So I vote light, but it better be a good one. and if I decided to get one, I'd install it on the tach which is up on the dashpad, where my overdrive/splitter light, and hill-holder lights are.
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I’m confused. You rarely look at your gauges. Do you rarely look at the speedometer?

I’m curious because I’m always looking at my gauges. I’m also looking in the mirrors.

I’d go nuts not looking.
 
I have an oil pressure gauge [ standard in my car ] & I added an idiot light sender. A $2 buzzer is connected to the sender as an immediate, audible alarm. As AJ says, you cannot always be looking at your gauges.
 
Bewy said:
I have an oil pressure gauge [ standard in my car ] & I added an idiot light sender. A $2 buzzer is connected to the sender as an immediate, audible alarm. As AJ says, you cannot always be looking at your gauges.
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If you need to monitor your gauges so much you need a warning light and a buzzer maybe there are other issues.

It’s not that hard to get a look at the gauges every 5 minutes. If I have to look more than that something else wrong.

I look in my mirrors more than that.
 
You can toast the brgs in less than 5 minutes.
A buzzer gives you an INSTANT WARNING & allows you to shut down the engine in seconds, not minutes.
 
Kern Dog said:
A warning light is like being told you have a disease as you reach the point to need surgery.
A gauge spots abnormalities before they become a bigger issue.
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Yet many millions of vehicles came with them and never had issues.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Yet many millions of vehicles came with them and never had issues.
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Uhh, when new and under warranty....
When they were all stock and unmodified, sure. What goes wrong with an engine that is treated as a daily driver? (4 speed V8 cars not included)
If I'm rowing through the gears with a performance build or driving some distance from home, I'd sure feel better having some warning.
If you have a performance car, Having an idiot light for oil pressure or water temperature is like only having a light to tell you that you're low on gasoline.
 
Kern Dog said:
Uhh, when new and under warranty....
When they were all stock and unmodified, sure. What goes wrong with an engine that is treated as a daily driver? (4 speed V8 cars not included)
If I'm rowing through the gears with a performance build or driving some distance from home, I'd sure feel better having some warning.
If you have a performance car, Having an idiot light for oil pressure or water temperature is like only having a light to tell you that you're low on gasoline.
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Seems like every time I get in the wife's car that pesky gas light is on.
I am beginning to think she plans it that way.
 
Kern Dog said:
Uhh, when new and under warranty....
When they were all stock and unmodified, sure. What goes wrong with an engine that is treated as a daily driver? (4 speed V8 cars not included)
If I'm rowing through the gears with a performance build or driving some distance from home, I'd sure feel better having some warning.
If you have a performance car, Having an idiot light for oil pressure or water temperature is like only having a light to tell you that you're low on gasoline.
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blah blah blah.
 
On my Valiant, I put a 1/8"NPT street tee in the engine block. One side of it feeds a mechanical underdash gauge, and the other side has an Allstar ALL99059 oil-pressure switch in it for the dash light. Why the Allstar switch? It turns the light on at 20PSI rather than the OE switch's 4-7, which gives a greater safety margin. The light on the dash is nice and bright, even with a stock bulb. You immediately notice something that's not normally there.
I started using a dual setup in 1996 after a freak oil-pump failure. I'm good about watching my gauges, but a few seconds after checking 'em at a stoplight my 440 suddenly started making valvetrain noise. I looked back at the gauge and had virtually zero pressure. The retaining plug for the bypass valve had come out of the oil pump (a Melling). It was pinned against the motor mount by the spring, which was still in the almost-exposed valve on the other end. Thank God both sides of that spring are in a cupped orifice--I didn't lose any parts. I replaced the pump anyway, since one can do that on a 440 in half an hour in a Hardee's parking lot. The engine survived. I now religiously check every fastener on an oil pump before installing it, and have a dash light for those moments of inattention.
 
NoCar340 said:
On my Valiant, I put a 1/8"NPT street tee in the engine block. One side of it feeds a mechanical underdash gauge, and the other side has an Allstar ALL99059 oil-pressure switch in it for the dash light. Why the Allstar switch? It turns the light on at 20PSI rather than the OE switch's 4-7, which gives a greater safety margin. The light on the dash is nice and bright, even with a stock bulb. You immediately notice something that's not normally there.
I started using a dual setup in 1996 after a freak oil-pump failure. I'm good about watching my gauges, but a few seconds after checking 'em at a stoplight my 440 suddenly started making valvetrain noise. I looked back at the gauge and had virtually zero pressure. The retaining plug for the bypass valve had come out of the oil pump (a Melling). It was pinned against the motor mount by the spring, which was still in the almost-exposed valve on the other end. Thank God both sides of that spring are in a cupped orifice--I didn't lose any parts. I replaced the pump anyway, since one can do that on a 440 in half an hour in a Hardee's parking lot. The engine survived. I now religiously check every fastener on an oil pump before installing it, and have a dash light for those moments of inattention.
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the higher pressure switch was what i'd mentioned above, i think it's a good idea. :thumbsup:
neil.
 
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