LonCray

I hope this isn't a stupid question, but what should my (bone stock) oil pressure gauge be reading? When I start the truck, it immediately goes to the very top end of the center section - sometimes a little above. I had thought that it would stay low until it warms up but I'm seeing just the opposite. Truck is an '03 2500 HO 6sp. Oh, and the dipstick says the oil level is just fine.

BRDIESEL

That`s normal. Cold oil will make it read higher and after warmup it will drop at idle it should read about mid gage on average ;D

Badunit

Well, this is a debatable point. I haven't tested this myself but have been told the following (which also kind of matches what's said about the gauge in the factory service manual):<br><br>The gauge is really just an idiot light. If you have more than 6psi, the gauge will shoot up to somewhere in the middle range. Apparently the computer also varies it by RPM and temp too so that it appears to operate like a real gauge. Someone at TDR disconnected their sending unit and grounded the sensor wire and the gauge acted exactly the same. I want to duplicate that test but it's been cold and wet here so I haven't yet done it.<br><br>Here's what the manual says:<br><br>&quot;The instrument cluster circuitry restricts the oil pressure gauge needle operation in order to provide readings that<br>are consistent with customer expectations. Each time<br>the cluster receives a message from the PCM or ECM<br>indicating the engine oil pressure is above about 41<br>kPa (6 psi) the cluster holds the gauge needle at a<br>point near the middle increment within the normal<br>range on the gauge scale.&quot;

LonCray

Thank you gentlemen! I just want to make sure I'm not fixin' to burn up my very expensive toy!

danlit

Are you talkin 03s or all gen2 up? Today I drove my truck about 65 miles the gauge was about 40psi, went into the garage quickly dumped the oil and installed new oil &amp; filter thats been sitting on the baseboard heat since yesterday (nice &amp; warm).Oil pressure is atleast 10psi higger today then yesterday.thats after warm-up and a 30 mile ride.
If its a faker,its d**n good enough to make me think its real.
Danny

GrandpasRam

Same here Danny. Mine starts cold at about 60 pounds, varies after warmup based on whether I'm at idle (35 lbs.) or running 2000 RPM (reads about 50 lbs.), then after 5 minutes of idle drops to about 30 lbs. That is on my '99; don't have the '03 yet so can't speak about that one. :-[

Badunit

I was refering to the '03s. Looking at my '00 service manual it appears it has an actual gauge. Earlier models probably did too; maybe all the way up to '02.

cp

This is the same crap Ford did with its oil pressure gage. In the late '80s, early '90s they had a problem with oil pressure sending units which wore out quickly and showed low oil pressure. I had two trucks that did this and two friends whose trucks did the same thing.<br><br>Ford's fix? Get a better supplier for the oil pressure sending unit? Of course not. Instead, they made the oil pressure gage an idiot gage. It shows dead smack in the middle, hot or cold, thick or thin oil, idling or 4000 rpm. All to meet 'customer expectations.'<br><br>This is most emphatically NOT what I want in a gage. I want the actual reading, good or bad, not some worthless piece of crap needle pointing to a spot 'where I expect it to be.'<br><br>It's very disappointing to hear that Dodge is going the same route.

Badunit

Yeah, I have to agree with you there. They could have used that space for a real gauge (EGT or tranny temp) and had an oil pressure idiot light.

bulabula

I never thought the oil pressure guage in my '03 was like the old idiot light guage where the needle reads in the middle as long as the engine is running. I thought I finally had a &quot;real&quot; OEM guage installed. Some of you think its a &quot;virtual&quot; reading? Created by the black box for our driving comfort? I don't think DC would do that. I am not naive, and I'm not worrying about it.<br><br>FWIW, I see the same type of movement in the Dodges' oil press guage as I do on both my mechanical oil press guages on the boat - and they are real.

Badunit

One day when it's warm and I have some time, I'll check it out myself. All I can say for sure now is that the service manual makes it sound like a virtual gauge (reads according to &quot;customer expectations&quot and I read about the test someone did that showed it to be a virtual gauge. I'd still like to verify it for myself, though.