[/// M5]

Though i'd share this with you all as i haven't seen one done like this before.
The objective was to fit an oil pressure gauge which was easy to view and which didn't mean having to sacrifice the foglight switch as i need that
It needed to illuminate the same colour as the dashboard dials, and I wanted to simply replace the OEM pressure switch - this meant it would have to include a low pressure light.

So...
After a lot of research I went with an SPA Design electronic unit which is one of few that can be dismantled in order to change the backlight LED's for amber ones. It also has a programmable warning light and a peak memory recall.

I made a pod on the driver's door air vent where the unused speaker grill is. Plenty of plastic welding, filling and painting later...

The pressure transducer supplied has an 1/8 BSP thread which isn't the same as the OEM pressure switch so I had the sensor manufacturer make an identical one but with an M12x1.5 thread instead :cool2:

Overall, this was quite an intricate and involved job and not one that i'd been keen to repeat in a hurry, but i'm very pleased with the results.

If you are thinking of doing this yourself, i'd be happy to provide some more details.

 

[ger]

That's very neat and a good use of a redundant feature.

Was rod bearing failure a large contributing factor to you fitting the gauge?

Thanks for sharing.

 

[ger]

Double post, sorry!

 

[/// M5]

Thanks for the kind words.

I just feel better knowing what the oil pressure is to be honest. I don't know whether impending rod bearing failure would be detectable by measuring oil pressure on the oil filter housing - now that would be a good question for the engine builders on this forum...

The values i'm seeing appear to be ok, 2.2 bar at idle and 4.2 bar other times - these are 'warm' pressures using Castrol 10W60. From cold they are elevated by about 0.6 bar.

Cheers
Ben

 

[2010Rph]

very nice. I hear you on the need for an oil pressure gauge.
I just finished something similar only my gauges sit in the cupholder try next to the cig lighter.
I went with oil,coolant temp and volt gauge

 

[bimmerule]

The values i'm seeing appear to be ok, 2.2 bar at idle and 4.2 bar other times - these are 'warm' pressures using Castrol 10W60. From cold they are elevated by about 0.6 bar.

When you say "4.2 bar at other times" do you mean anything off idle (e.g. > 1500rpm), is there a range when the RPM climbs towards redline?

 

[/// M5]

It's been a while since I've driven the car (shame on me) so my recall maybe a little off but I seem to remember that just above idle the pressure would be 3.8 bar up until 3k then it would rise to 4.2 bar above that engine speed.