Hello Peoples,

I have performed a search for the problem I am encountering and had no luck finding a topic already started about this. So I hope this is new and not something that has been re-hashed.


I have a 2001 3500, 2wd, HO 6 speed. My truck has 62,400 miles on it. While towing back from Wisconsin this past weekend, my oil pressure guage quit. I naturally shut the truck off and pulled over. I don't know how long it had been off but the "check guages" warning lite it what drew my attention to it.

I checked the crank case and it was full of oil, and I smelled inside the valve cover to check for any "burnt" smell. There was nothing, so I started the truck back up...drove down the road aways and the guage started working again. I then figured I had a bad pressure sender. It did this several times on the trip home to Tulsa.

I was going to replace the sender (thinking this was no big deal) but have had a friend tell me that it is a short in the column at the ignition switch. He said what happens is where the flat connector goes into the ignition switch, it gets hot and causes a short and is also a fire hazzard. He mentioned that there was a recall on this, but I have never received one.

I am looking for some validation on this.

What I haven't mentioned, is that the left speaker on my radio also keeps going in and out. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. For some reason...a bump in the road will cuse it to go in and out, and when ever I hit the clutch and brake pedals it will go in and out.

The radio not working was no big deal, but the oil pressure guage flaking out on me bothers me.

If anyone can provide any info or help or cause I would be greatful.

many thanks
Al Schramm

 

Al,

I have the same issue with my 01. I don't know the remedy, but mine does it very erratically. If I locate the problem, I will post my findings.

 

As far as I know there is a recall for the intermitten oil pressure gauge. You can have the PCM reflashed to fix this problem.

I would use a mech. (sp?) oil pressure gauge to check it out first to verify it is the problem and not the oil pump. I've seen oil pump gears that have broken.

Just my .02

 

Hey guys...thanks a mil for the info. I knew that someone out there had to be having the same problem, or at least encounter it.

I have a mechanical guage I can attach to the motor so that I can check that out.

I would rather have it be a PCM problem that an actual oil pump problem. So should I just call a dealer and ask if there is a recall on this? I bought the truck used with 26,000 miles on it about a year and a half ago. The truck now has 62,600 miles on it. I guess the question is... IS this a problem that can/would be warrentied?

thanks again for the replies..I appreciate it. Now all i gotta do is figure out why the radio is flaking out on me -

al

 

Don't get the reflash.

All it does is make the guage read in the middle all the time.

You could lose oil pressure and not know it till too late.

Replace the sender and it should fix it, and still have a guage that actually means something (more or less)


phox

 

Hey Phox - thanks for the info. I will replace the oil pressure sender and see if that solves it.

Can anyone provide any truth to what I was told about the ignition switch and harness in the column. I was told that it has a problem shorting out.

Thanks a bunch
Al

 

I had the same problem on my 01. I replaced my sender and the oil pressure gauge work great again. Try finding a better price on the oil pressure sender than what you get from a dealer. On this part the dealer is truly a rip-off!