just fired up the Barth on the weekend to find the oil pressure gauge pegged to the high side of pressure reading...shut off engine and then turned key back on to find gauge needle pegging again...am I looking at a faulty gauge? It is an electric gauge with sending sensor. thanks for any ideas on the fix...

A pegged gauge usually means a shorted sending unit or the wire to the sending unit is grounding out to a ground source.

Pull off the wire(s) to the sending unit. If it goes back to 0 with the key on and wire(s) off, you probably have a defective sending unit.

Bill, does this hold true with a 454 gasser? My gauge pegged last trip and I haven't gotten around to investigating the cause yet.

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
Bill, does this hold true with a 454 gasser?

It should on most sending unit. Oil, temp, fuel level, etc...

The oil pressure sender is a variable device that tends to do that after many years of moving back and forth. I tell my customers if you turn the key on, engine off and it reads zero, then only moves after you start it then you are fine until you can change the sender. Typically at idle it will read a reasonable pressure, but as you increase throttle, it pegs out. An ohm meter on the pressure switch terminal will confirm that behavior. Ford had so much trouble with this that they went away from it all together and made the oil pressure gauge essentialy and idiot light with a needle. They used a switch that closed at about 12 psi and whether the engine had 20 or 120 psi oil pressure, the needle was "Normal"
Billy T

Even after taking the stock P30 instrument out of the Bluesmobile, the oil pressure gauge still read out 60 PSI. I figure GM engineers these things for a certain number of years and miles of use. That was probably not in anticipation of sitting idle for 2 decades either. [look at the bright side, you have evidence to show your wife that you *NEED* VDO or Autometer gauges.... ]
Matt

problem was in the sending unit...looking on line for best buy..its a VDO 0-150psi.

Call Instrument Sales and Service in Kent, WA (800) 333-7976. They have everything related to instruments.

Where is the oil pressure sending unit on a 454 Cheby?

quote:

Originally posted by Danny Z:
Where is the oil pressure sending unit on a 454 Cheby?

Left side of the block, low, forward of the motor mount. If not there, look farther back, above the oil filter.