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View Full Version : Setlting Argument Oil pressure switch/sender

deadtrend1
02-26-2007, 05:29 PM
on thirdgens,

The "oil pressure sending unit and switch" combination, didnt start out till pretty much 1989 right?

Moving on. Before 1989, with the seperate sender/switch setup, the Oil Pressure Switch is beside the distrubutor on the back of the block. It is responsible for telling the computer that there is oil pressure and has nothing to do with the oil pressure gauge. It's job is to allow the fuel pump to run if the fuel pump relay ever quits. The combo unit does both jobs.

The Oil Pressure Sending Unit for the gauge is screwed in the drivers side of the block just above the oil filter boss.

Am I correct with all this? I accidently knocked this wire off the switch (behind the distributor) once on the old 1987 GTA and didn't know it. The fuel pump would not turn on without this wire connected. Thats why im 99.999% sure I'm right, but I keep getting conflicting information.
The Fixer
02-26-2007, 06:11 PM
I'm using an '87 TPI harness in my Monte. I'm not sure what the correct location for each part is from the factory, but the oil-pressure Switch is a 2-wire weather-pak connection, and the Sending Unit is a single-wire attached to a large canister. And you are correct, if the switch is unplugged, the fuel pump won't run. Conversely, if that switch is dead, it will cause the fuel pump to run all the time, even with the key off (BTDT).

In my car, I put the Switch on the side of the block, above the oil filter, and the sending unit behind the intake manifold. It fit better that way with my mechanical clutch linkage.
deadtrend1
02-26-2007, 06:15 PM
The canister on the top of the block behind the dizzy is the wire i knocked off. And that made my fuel pump not work.
The Fixer
02-26-2007, 06:32 PM
The canister on the top of the block behind the dizzy is the wire i knocked off. And that made my fuel pump not work. The single wire? That's bizzare, because that's only hooked to the gauge cluster. It's independent of the ECM. If it was that 2-wire connector, that would make sense.
deadtrend1
02-26-2007, 07:42 PM
The single wire? That's bizzare, because that's only hooked to the gauge cluster. It's independent of the ECM. If it was that 2-wire connector, that would make sense.

tomorrow after work ill look at my car and see what one was what. Its cold and dark now so i was hoping someone ere would know for sure