Oil Pressure Sending Unit: Converting from Light to Gauge

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bonnewagon

Lost in the Labyrinth
Supporting Member
Sep 18, 2009
10,564
14,298
113
Queens, NY
OK- I got it. This is how it works. With idiot lights there are four wires at the oil pressure switch- two sets of two. The two brown wires are at one tab- one is a hot coming from the C/H fuse- the other goes to the CCC for Idle Speed Control.The other tab gets two wires- a lite blue goes to the choke heater and the tan goes to the idiot light bulb. When the oil switch is open the bulb sees 12 volts from the instrument panel and lights up. It is fed by the gauges fuse and the ground is though the choke heater to the carb. When the oil switch closes the ground side of the bulb then sees 12 volts from the C/H fuse- which cancels out the circuit and the bulb goes out. The choke heater still sees 12 volts and operates. Now- WITH gauges- there is instead of the oil switch a choke heater relay. It works off the generator brown wire and when the motor is not running the "Choke Warning" bulb grounds through the choke heater. It means your key is in the ON position but the motor is not running so shut it off. When the motor runs and the generator is producing 12 volts it activates the relay and powers the choke heater. That cancels out the bulb's ground and it goes out. The oil pressure gauge uses the same tan wire as the idiot light but it is the only wire going to the sending unit. WHEW!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users

FL85GrandPrix

Apprentice
Nov 10, 2016
71
28
18
Tampa, FL
Thank you!!! ^^^^^^ Yes I'm doing factory gauge swap from idiot lights. And I have the OEM tach cluster ready to swap in in place of the clock dash.

So from what I've learned today I take the tan wire from the oil switch connector (1 of the 4) and extend it down to above the oil filter and install a "for gauges oil press sender (PS155) into the block. Oil switch stays with the 3 remaining wires in factory setup powering the choke and idle speed. If my block does not have the provisions of that tap, then I have to tee it at the back of the block where the switch is. Leaving the oil press switch and choke wired in replaces the need to retro fit a choke heater relay.

As for the tach cluster swap, good to know about the white wire. I believe I am missing the "tach filter" though.
 

Bonnewagon

Lost in the Labyrinth
Supporting Member
Sep 18, 2009
10,564
14,298
113
Queens, NY
I don't have the filter either. In fact Pontiacgp is the only person I have ever known to have one. I guess his car came with gauges stock. Mine did not. Let me find the posting by G-body_vet. He found the white wire and posted pics as to where it is hiding.
 

TomDisab

Apprentice
Nov 16, 2016
69
67
18
It's going to take a guy with an unmodified setup like ed1948 to comment on how they were setup stock. My car was a diesel, but it had a gauge. The wiring is very different from the gas engine harness though. I suspect that the stock SBC setup was as I described above, with the switch in the port near the distributor for the light and with the sender in the port near the oil filter for the gauge. Having the sender near the oil filter can be a problem for mechanical clutch linkage but since none of the cars past about 81 had manual transmissions, this isn't an issue. I overcame it with brass fittings, since I will be running mechanical clutch linkage.
View attachment 62575


could you tell me what size brass fittings you used to convert. I am swapping out my sending unit on my SS and the bushing seems to be stripped out. I went out and bought another 1/2" brass fitting but the same thing happened. I checked the block with a 1/2" tap before I installed the new brass bushing and it was fine but when I installed the bushing it stripped out. Is the block side metric and the sender side SAE??
 

TomDisab

Apprentice
Nov 16, 2016
69
67
18
It's going to take a guy with an unmodified setup like ed1948 to comment on how they were setup stock. My car was a diesel, but it had a gauge. The wiring is very different from the gas engine harness though. I suspect that the stock SBC setup was as I described above, with the switch in the port near the distributor for the light and with the sender in the port near the oil filter for the gauge. Having the sender near the oil filter can be a problem for mechanical clutch linkage but since none of the cars past about 81 had manual transmissions, this isn't an issue. I overcame it with brass fittings, since I will be running mechanical clutch linkage.
View attachment 62575


could you tell me what size brass fittings you used to convert. I am swapping out my sending unit on my SS and the bushing seems to be stripped out. I went out and bought another 1/2" brass fitting but the same thing happened. I checked the block with a 1/2" tap before I installed the new brass bushing and it was fine but when I installed the bushing it stripped out. Is the block side metric and the sender side SAE??
isn't it pipe thread on the brass fitting?


I am not having a problem with the sender side of the bushing. I cannot get the bushing to thread into the block. It's the block side I am having trouble with
 

pontiacgp

blank
Mar 31, 2006
29,270
20,391
113
Kitchener, Ontario
I am not having a problem with the sender side of the bushing. I cannot get the bushing to thread into the block. It's the block side I am having trouble with

I was not talking about the female threads on the brass fitting, I was talking about the male threads. If they are not pipe threads then how do the threads seal
 
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 user

TomDisab

Apprentice
Nov 16, 2016
69
67
18
I was not talking about the female threads on the brass fitting, I was talking about the male threads. If they are not pipe threads then how do the threads seal

that's what I am asking. I don't know if the block is metric or sae
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor