Hey i'm a bit of a novice here, i hav a VS commodore, but i have an oil leak coming from just above the oil filter. There's a clip of wires just above the filter, which i can only guess are to do with the oil gauge?? but anyway yer its leaking oil pretty bad... so was wondering should there even be oil there in the first place? can i replace the fitting? do i need the wires attached, or can i live with out the warning light and fill the leak? any help would be greatly appreciated... as to wat these wires are and how i can fix this stoopid leak. thanks
the thing with the wires is the oil pressure switch. easy screw out/screw in replace. pretty sure it won't run without the wires connected as it thinks there's no oil pressure (safety feature) but i could be wrong but as gendi said, it could be leaking power steering pump also. what colour is the fluid? if it's red it's steering fluid, if it's brown it's oil
in my thoughts, its most likely power steering fluid, just go and buy power steering leak fix fluid and see how yoo go after a few days.
If there is any doubt about the source of the leak, wash clean - degreaser is best but dishwashing liquid pre-mixed in a spray bottle works (and smells lovely, keeps you hands soft...) - drive and look again. The area needs to be clean before opening up the oil system, even just to replace the switch, anyway. The car will run and start normally with the switch disconnected.
I always thought the fuel pump gets its power thru the oil pressure switch so in theory no oil pressure = no fuel pressure = no go. Designed this way so if you have a prang and the engine stalls the fuel flow stops plus if no oil pressure due low oil the fuel pump stops to prevent engine damage. Which is correct?
I reckon its the power steering pump, mine does the same thing. Wipe your oil filter clean and check it after a few days. If there is red oil on it its from the PS pump above. From memory the fule pump is wired through 2 circuits in case one fails so you can still drive. The oil pressure switch is the secondary one.
The oil pressure switch only comes into play if the fuel pump relay isnt working. If the relay doesnt work, power is supplied through the oil pressure switch but the oil must first be up to pressure for the switch to close - which means extended cranking until the oil is up to pressure. Gregorys gives a better detail of what happens if youre interested. The car will run without the switch (assuming the fuel pump relay is working) but you will get the oil light on. If the car relied on the oil pressure switch to start, you would be cranking for several seconds everytime you wanted to start the car waiting for the oil to come to pressure. Although I do like the idea that you have mentioned about the engine dieing if there was low oil pressure - maybe the ECU, which is tied in the system, monitors and takes care of this if it finds that the oil pressure is low for a preset amount of time?
thanks guys. yer its definately oil, and definately comin through the oil pressure switch thing... so i guess a trip to the wreckers or somewhere is needed. i thought it may hav been power steering fluid myself, but definately oil.
Hmmmm...Gregorys says that when you turn the ignition on the ECU powers the fuel pump for 2 seconds (to prime the fuel lines and allow car to start) Once the engine is running the oil pressure switch closes and supplies power to the pump thru the normally closed section of the fuel pump relay. The wiring diagram on page 105 indicates that if there is no oil pressure the fuel pump relay cannot be powered by the oil pressure switch as its open circuit when no oil pressure exists.
Last i heard the fuelpump relay was just to prime with(or 5 sec), it cuts out after engine starts and oil pressure switch takes over.
