oil pressure gauge

Hi all dont know if im going mad or paranoid about my 996 turbo just noticed my oil pressure gauge seems to be flicking up and down when im driving at normal speeds between 1500 to 3500 revs. the oil pressure needle still goes to the top when the revs are above 4500rpm. the engine warning check light came on 2 weeks ago and since then ive not seen it and theres no warning in the instrument display any advice out there denzilla

NORMAL

If you get a fault thrown up and the gauge drops to zero it's 'probably' the sender. Mine is doing it and I plan on changing the sender but it seems like a bitch to get to without dropping the engine. If anyone has any hints it would be appreciated.

oil pressure many thanks for info ill chech it out

Oil gauge fault? Hi folks, I had the same experience yesterday a warning indication came up on the display stating indicator failure with the oil can symbol next to it. I then looked at the pressure gauge which had dropped to zero. It frightened the living daylights out of me, then within 20 to 30 seconds the gauge started working again. Reading the thread is it just likely to be a sender/sensor that is failing? How easy are they to change? Any help appreciated George 2004 996

....try cleaning the terminals and connectors on the sensor first.....it worked for me :thumb:

Re: Oil gauge fault? I had the same thing a coupe of years back. i think the technician said it was the 'oil pressure switch', which i guess is similar to sensor/sender? Do you hav extended warranty? Mine was replaced by OPC under warranty.

I had the same thing 6 months ago. It was the sender that was faulty. don't know if you have warranty but it IS covered under warranty so took it to main dealer and they replaced completely free of charge. It's been fine since. I think the replacement part itself would have cost me around £30 but it's the labour cost that would have made me think twice about doing at main dealer. If you don't fancy the idea of replacing yourself, take it to your preferred independent - or wait until you're having service/other work done - I expect it'll be cheaper if the engine is already partially stripped.

It's a 30 minute job (book time). You just need short spanners, long skinny arms, and a grip like a gorilla.

Richard Any chance of a quick run thru of what needs to come off to get to it? Cheers

+1 for the sender - if the guage is flickering then a very good chance the sender is faulty - Simon

IIRC, you don't need to take anything off to get at it, althogh it's a while since I did it. The sender is located between cylinders 5 and 6 (driver's side of the engine compartment), pointing vertically upwards, on the cylinder head. There are two wires attached, and you can just see the connections in the photo. Before you do anything else, try unplugging and reconnecting the two wires. It might be just a bad connection, which is common. If you have to take it out, you will need quite a short spanner, or better still a crow's foot spanner. Like I said, small arms and hands helps! (Mine aren't!)

Richard Cheers, I'll take a look. There doesn't seem to be a lot of space in the back of a turbo though so I might have to start teaching my 8 month old son how to do some work on the car

Sorry, I didn't realise you had a Turbo, and the oil pressure sender isn't where I told you. I was describing where it is on a 996 Carrera. On a Turbo it is somewhere on the top of the engine to the left of the oil filter. Looking at the parts lists, it looks easier to access.

I might put might other half down for a job at a opc then