Hey hey!
In the last few days I have noticed my fairmont running with a lower then normal oil pressure, Also it seems to heat up to the 'M' or NORMAL coolant temp quicker then it should.
After 10 hours outside my work without being turned on it was up to the 'R' within 7-8 mins...

Im not sure what the problem could be, the low oil pressure warning light came on yesterday so I added abit more oil but it was VERY close to coming on again on my way home today.

Im thinking it could either the oil itself, 10w-50 Magnatec (Too thin??).
Or it could be the oil pump going.
The battery in the car at the moment is an absolute piece of s**t that cant hold a charge for more then 4 mins with the car off, I noticed when I went to put the drivers side window down, not only did the battery level drop fast enough for me to see it moving (Normal with this car since I got it, dud battery) but I looked across and saw the oil pressure dropping when the dash lights dimmed.

Connected maybe?? Dunno, Maybe the alternator is buggered too, car cant keep the dash lights from dimming @ idle if i put a window down...

Oh yeah almost forgot ...

 

 

Attachments:

File comment: Battery level sits about here, drops almost instantly if I try to wind down a window... Battery.jpg [ 37.77 KiB | Viewed 161 times ]

File comment: While driving, this is as high as the oil pressure got ... DrivingOilPres.jpg [ 29.8 KiB | Viewed 170 times ]

File comment: Sitting @ a set of lights ... Normal Idle pressure for this car was atleast a full bar higher then this... :( LowOilPres.jpg [ 38.06 KiB | Viewed 165 times ]

It seems that the voltage to the cluster and possibly everything else is low, as shown by the window problem.
If you can monitor the voltage at the battery with the engine at idle and then at say 2000rpm, see if the volts go up and to what voltage. Should be maybe 14.5-15volts.
Replace the shagged battery anyway. If the volts dont go up whan doing 2000 rpm or so the alt is most likly shagged.
Check battery terminals for corrosian or bad connection. check engine earth etc.
Hope this helps

cheers

clive

possibly batery get rid off that one and get a new one i have never heard of a battery doin that with the voltage maybe shld be bout 13-13.5 volts once ya get a new battery jst monitor the oil pressure cld be oil pump but ur car isnt that old jst monitor it

Ive been watching, sitting in my comfy fairmont seat isnt gunna get things done tho, its time for action

Is 10w-50 Magnatec too thin maybe???
The pressure seems to keep dropping the warmer the car gets, unless ive got a mad trail of oil from granville to engadine that I dont know about.

Lately the car seems to feel pretty gutless when it gets warm, like tonight, an hour in traffic and it felt like my old EA climbing (Struggling) up heathcote road.

If your voltage is down all or most of your instruments will read low and may be very sensetive thus not giving a reading anywhere near the correct one. Also your ignition will not be giving a good spark hence bad power output. To many things point to a voltage problem. If the oil pressure was down it would not effect the window not haveing proper power or affect the cluster. I still go for battery/alternator etc. It is also possible for the alt to be crook and not have a warning light.
Remember if the voltage is low then it affects a lot of things.

Yeah, I was wondering more along the lines of when I put my window down and there is a huge power loss why is my oil pressure dropping...
Like electrically powered oil pump or the likes, in which case i'd have the day off work and replace the battery and check everything out ASAP.

the oil should be fine.

temp- how old is the thermostat, when was the coolant changed, when was the last time the radiator was cleaned??

i think your just low on voltage and this is causing everythin to muck up.

Radiator, Coolant, Thermostat all only about 3-4 months old, all changed for new when I had the head gasket done.
Oil change probly almost 5000 k's ago, but the oil is still very clean so im not worried about that

This is the last time I will sat this. Look at what you have said and what I have said and then tell me its not electrical. Yes the engine could get hot and the oil pressure go down. But your windows would still work.
Deduction and clues say that the battery/alt or bad connections on the main power leads are the problem. ( you would think my name was Holmes.
cheers

i dont think you oil to thin at all. i use 5W40 and my gauge reads higher than that. but to be sure hook up a good mechanical gauge to be sure.

you battery volts gauges seems to be reading under 13V this is not right it's way to low.

if you battery is not holding charge junk it first and get a good battery not a cheap a*** one from supercheap. a minimum of a boch silver.

when you put in clean all the terminals realy well or replace them completly.
take the wiring off the back of the altinater and clean all the contacts.
It would also pay to undo the eath point and clean them too, i'd go as far as adding an other eath strap from the battery to body. super cheap sell premade ones.

do all of that then check what you gauge says

I agree mate, but im also looking for as many opinions as I can get, I like to be well informed before I start doing anything to my pride and joy

dont use magnatec.. way too thin.. its an oldish engine needs thicker oil. battery is DEF a prob too

I'm having the exact same problems at the moment, however I did change my oil pump on the thought it might be that... But it wasnt, the problem has returned.

However, my battery is brand new and works fine. I'm now persuing electrics due to the fact that the oil pressure stays perfectly high as the car warms up, until it gets to just over 3/4 of its normal operating temp.

My dash voltage gauge shows exactly what my multimetre shows on the battery (14v) until the engine temp rises to a certain amount. When the engine is at full operating temp, my gauge indicates about 13v, but the multimetre shows 14v still.

The gauges on these clusters are 100% accurate, as I have tested. So if the gauge is showing wrong, there must be a voltage drop somewhere, presumably on the ground wires. The resistance of the wires may be increasing as the temp goes up. Considering that the oil gauge is 5v (I'm pretty sure), if there is a large voltage drop caused by a bad ground, then it will have a greater effect on the oil gauge, and show some strange indications.

Your battery is definately a problem, so swap that first.

As for Magnatec. Some people swear by it. i dont... I was getting some knocking noises from my car on cold start which didnt impress me. So out it came, noises never to be heard again.

Just an extra titbit.

On EF/EL the temp gauge is controlled by the EEC computer. The temp sender sends its voltage to the EEC and the eec sends data signal to the gauge along with other data for the trip comp etc.