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Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:39 pm

Hello,

I bought a VDO-360-006 - 360006 - OIL PRESSURE SENDER 80 PSI-M10 X 1-WITH IDIOT LIGHT

and VDO-350-240 - 350240 - WHITE FACE COCKPIT OIL PRESSURE GAUGE-80 PSI 2-1/16 (52MM)

I have the gauge wired like so. + Terminal to positive power. - Terminal to ground. S to the G terminal on the sender. Nothing in the WK terminal.

With this setup my gauge just pegs out. I used a ohm meter and have continuity from the sender case to my ground point. I tested the gauge for continuity and have it across all 3 terminals with resistances of 150-300 depending which terminals. I have no continuity on the sender from the G terminal to the WK terminal, nor from either terminal to the case. Any ideas whats going on here? THanks!

Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:01 pm

The fact that there is no continuity to ground from either terminal of the sender makes me think you've used Teflon tape or similar to seal the threaded joint at the engine case. The body of the sender must be grounded.

Temporarily ground the body of the sender with a short piece of wire; see what that does. If grounding the sender body fixes it, try installing the sender without sealant. I don't think the factory used any sealant for the original OP sender.
Good luck, Mondshine

Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:06 pm

mondshine wrote: The fact that there is no continuity to ground from either terminal of the sender makes me think you've used Teflon tape or similar to seal the threaded joint at the engine case. The body of the sender must be grounded.

Temporarily ground the body of the sender with a short piece of wire; see what that does. If grounding the sender body fixes it, try installing the sender without sealant. I don't think the factory used any sealant for the original OP sender.
Good luck, Mondshine

If I get continuity from the sender case, to the ground terminal, Then I know the sender is grounding at the case.... correct?

Example. I put my meter to ohm's (it rings when tests positive for continuity) One lead on the sender case, and the other lead to anything metal in the engine bay rings out great

Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:34 pm

Update.

Tested the gauge. Getting 177 ohms from Positive terminal to S terminal
161 between negative and s terminal
and 338 between positive and negative.

All done with no wires connected.

Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:52 pm

Connect the positive and ground to the gauge, leave the sender wire disconnected. What does the needle do? It should do nothing. Ground the sender wire, it should peg the needle on full. If not something is wrong with the gauge, your power supply, or wiring. Connect the sender, what happens? Take a reading between the sender (negative) terminal and the coil positive terminal while the car is running. You should get voltage that increases as you raise the rpm's, just as oil pressure increases. If not, you have a bad sender, or a bad ground. It's a simple system. SD

Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:36 pm

Battery pack positive to gauge positive, battery pack negative to gauge negative. No sender wire, Needle pegs. Using battery pack to eliminate vehicle/wiring issue

Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:50 pm

I mis-interperated your original post.
The WK terminal on the sender is for the warning lamp wire that was connected to the stock sender.
If the WK terminal on the dual sender has no continuity to the engine case (with the engine off) I think the sender is AFU.
With the engine running, and adequate oil pressure, there should be no continuity between terminal WK and the engine case.
I would also expect to see the resistance between terminal G of the sender and the engine case varying with RPM.
If the sender doesn't pass these tests, I'd ask for a replacement.
Good luck, Mondshine

Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:29 pm

esde wrote: Connect the positive and ground to the gauge, leave the sender wire disconnected. What does the needle do? It should do nothing. Ground the sender wire, it should peg the needle on full. If not something is wrong with the gauge, your power supply, or wiring. Connect the sender, what happens? Take a reading between the sender (negative) terminal and the coil positive terminal while the car is running. You should get voltage that increases as you raise the rpm's, just as oil pressure increases. If not, you have a bad sender, or a bad ground. It's a simple system. SD

Used battery pack to bench test the gauge. Positive to + and negative to -. This pegs the guage. Ground the S, this 0's the gauge.

Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:05 pm

[quote]Used battery pack to bench test the gauge. Positive to + and negative to -. This pegs the guage. Ground the S, this 0's the gauge.[/quotr]

Indicates gauge is good....

Everything you need to know to test gauge/sender and determine "fault" is detailed here....

Troubleshooting guides...

http://www.egauges.com/pdf/vdo/0-515-012-178.pdf

Instructions....

http://www.egauges.com/pdf/vdo/0-515-012-123.pdf

Dale

Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:20 pm

[quote="Dale M."] Quote: Used battery pack to bench test the gauge. Positive to + and negative to -. This pegs the guage. Ground the S, this 0's the gauge.[/quotr]

Indicates gauge is good....

Everything you need to know to test gauge/sender and determine "fault" is detailed here....

Troubleshooting guides...

http://www.egauges.com/pdf/vdo/0-515-012-178.pdf

Instructions....

http://www.egauges.com/pdf/vdo/0-515-012-123.pdf

Dale

Thanks, i'll have to go through those steps tomorrow. Just spent the testing the engine with a mechanical guage. Thanks again

Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:29 pm

I realize this a rather old Thread. However, it seems the OP never followed-up with the results.

I have a similar problem with my elCheapo VDO gauge. It pegs-out when I turn the key ON and stays that way with the engine running. It worked just fine for about 5 months.

I installed a new sender with no improvement. I checked all the wiring and cannot find anything wrong.

Comments!

Thu Mar 20, 2014 7:24 pm

Yo mitchpei, did u get this squared out?? are you happy with that setup???

Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:23 pm

Gauge pegging out (full right hand side) when key turned on is open circuit between gauge sender, wired wrong or defective sender....

http://www.bugsandbuggies.com/pdf/vdo/0-515-012-178.pdf

Dale

Fri Mar 21, 2014 10:59 am

@ Dale, Is there a better gauge and sender product at this price range?

Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:35 am

WK. is for warning light
G. ? Gauge
Sender in grounded in case?

Sun Jun 15, 2014 6:07 pm

-Rusted_Radio- wrote: WK. is for warning light
G. ? Gauge
Sender in grounded in case?

Yep.... IF its a VDO sender....

Dale

Sun Jun 15, 2014 6:09 pm

JasonBaker wrote: @ Dale, Is there a better gauge and sender product at this price range?

Dont really know.... The VDO products have worked fine for me and are easily available so I stay with them....

Dale