Author Topic: High pressure oil alarm, cluster problems, oh my  (Read 4361 times)

July 03, 2017, 12:11:30 pm

Spokerider

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High pressure oil alarm, cluster problems, oh my
« on: July 03, 2017, 12:11:30 pm »
Guys,

I have done a bunch of work to my [ new to me ] 1995 golf diesel......pinned the crank, new sprocket, bolt, belt, clutched alt pulley, front crank seal, flush and refill cooling system, etc....... Driving it as a DD to / from work for 2 weeks now, no problems, engine temps not getting above 90C even on a 25 deg C day in crawling traffic...

 Took it for it's 1st 4 hr hwy run and after 2hrs of hwy driving, the high pressure oil alarm and light sounded / lit, when I came to a stop at a traffic light with  the rpm's at idle. The alarm and cluster light would go off if I slightly sped up the engine rpm's, waiting for the light to change. No alarm or light went off at any driving speed, only at idle while sitting at a light. I checked the oil level and it was good.

 I know that the high pressure oil system factors in engine rpm's, and will only alarm if the rpm is at 2000 or greater. There in lies the problem, me thinks. The tach and speedo in the original cluster were not working, so I replaced it with what turned out to be a gasser cluster. The speedo works on it, but the tack needle goes hard over, as in full-on, the moment the engine starts and runs. So, i figure with the speedo working, I'll leave the gasser cluster in until I find a diesel one. I did not know about the high pressure alarm and how it is tied in with the tack until researching this now.

  Now I don't *think* there is an oil pressure problem, but, when I did the oil change [ with the other engine repairs ] I did add a can of sea foam to the crank case oil, and it's still in there.....dunno if that has thinned the new 15 40 oil somewhat or not. I will do another oil change soon as I've been meaning to anyway.

  If I put the original non working cluster back in, [ with the vibrating tach needle that goes nowhere and non working speedo], will this silence the alarm problem I've been experiencing, provided that there IS sufficient oil pressure? Can I achieve the same result by just removing the W wire from the alt?

  I'll look for an oil pressure gauge / sender unit that I can install and verify the actual oil pressure at idle.
 


  Thanks for your thoughts.



Reply #1July 03, 2017, 03:20:48 pm

vanbcguy

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Re: High pressure oil alarm, cluster problems, oh my
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2017, 03:20:48 pm »
The oil pressure alarm is getting the tach signal and thinking you're spinning at high speed when you're actually just at idle. More than likely you have no actual pressure problem.

You might be able to mix and match pieces between the clusters to get you what you need?

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Bryn

1994 Jetta - AHU M-TDI - Jezebel Jetta
2004 Jetta Wagon - 1.8T - Blitzen

Reply #2July 04, 2017, 08:19:03 am

Spokerider

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Re: High pressure oil alarm, cluster problems, oh my
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2017, 08:19:03 am »
Thanks for answering Bryn.
 Thats kinda what I was thinking was happening too.
 Maybe I can take the speedo from the gasser cluster and put it into the oem diesel one as mentioned.

 With the diesel tach needle not moving.......does it essentially disable the high pressure system alarm? Since the tach is not sending a signal of greater than 2000 rpm as it's supposed to when driving. If so, I may as well just pull the W terminal lead from the alt, as that too will disable the high pressure alarm.......not something i *really* want to do, but, nor do I want to hear that alarm go off at every light on the hwy either....

Reply #3July 04, 2017, 11:15:51 am

vanbcguy

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Re: High pressure oil alarm, cluster problems, oh my
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2017, 11:15:51 am »
The signal from the alternator to the dynamic oil pressure warning system is what matters. The tach simply receives the same signal.

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Bryn

1994 Jetta - AHU M-TDI - Jezebel Jetta
2004 Jetta Wagon - 1.8T - Blitzen