Issues with VDO oil pressure/sender gauge

[liilpa09]

:help
I recently installed VDO oil pressure, temperature, and voltmeter gauges in my 97 M3 that i purchased from BavAuto.
The oil pressure gauge is working fine, but when the car is warmed up to proper temperature and at idle rpm (oil pressure at its lowest) the dummie oil "genie" lamp light comes up on my dash.
I installed the oil pressure gauge using a VDO pressure sender: http://www.bavauto.com/lview.asp?imgfile=assets/imglib500/360_023.jpg
and the supplied oil distribution block from BavAuto:
http://www.bavauto.com/lview.asp?imgfile=assets/imglib500/240_043.jpg

As you can see, the ODB only has one port which is filled by the vdo pressure sender. I installed the ODB in the same place as the factory oil pressure sensor that controls the dummy "genie" oil lamp on the dash of my car located off the oil filter housing. In order to hook up my factory sensor, i cut the plug off the end of the wire and wired it to one of the terminals on top of the VDO pressure sender. The other terminal I used for the VDO gauge.

Now I'm not really sure why when I'm at low pressure (engine at idle rpm and warmed up) the light is coming on on the dash. Everything seems to be wired correctly, and it only comes on at low pressure. As soon as i give the car a tiny bit of gas, the light goes off, but then goes back on as soon as the rpms go down.
I read that the factory sensor makes the light go on if pressure is at 5psi or lower....however my vdo gauge reads roughly 10psi when the car is fully warmed up and at idle rpm.

I was thinking of buying a different oil distribution block so i can plug the factory sensor into it instead of having it cut and attached to the oil pressure sender as it is now (i dont see why that is an issue though) and seeing if that fixes my problem:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-Oil-Distribution-Block-Gauges-E36-M3-325-ODB-JTD_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33676QQihZ020QQitem Z300228494797QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

this block seems much easier to use and i wish i had it seen it before since i could've put my temp sensor in it as well instead of replacing the oil drain plug, but i'd rather not go through the hassle of moving everything around unless i have to.

It's obvious everything is working, but that the factory oil pressure signal is somehow out of wack. It's not the end of the world, but the dumb genie lamp is really annoying going on and off all the time.

My question is, has anyone ever had an issue like this, and if so, how did you solve it?

Thanks!!

[killerM3]

I had the same problem your having after instaling my gauges except my car was actually reading low oil pressure at idle when the engine was warmed up (about 7 psi) I eventually changed my oil pump which was beat up after an over-rev and it solved the problem. I find it intresting though that my dummy light was not going on at all until I put the gauges in, then once I did the light would go off only when I was at idle. Anyway hope you find the problem.

[liilpa09]

I had the same problem your having after instaling my gauges except my car was actually reading low oil pressure at idle when the engine was warmed up (about 7 psi) I eventually changed my oil pump which was beat up after an over-rev and it solved the problem. I find it intresting though that my dummy light was not going on at all until I put the gauges in, then once I did the light would go off only when I was at idle. Anyway hope you find the problem.

thanks for the info. I'm just wondering though, do you have the same ODB as i'm using? or do you have the one that has a direct port for the stock sensor like the one in the ebay auction i listed?

[mproved]

I had the same problem a while back. the idiot light would go on once the engine hit operating temp. My problem was the VDO's oil pressure sending unit had gone bad. I knew this because everytime the idiot light is on, my VDO oil pressure gauge is at 10psi. Check what your psi is at the next time your light goes on, if it's low, then you have some serious problems. Good luck.

[liilpa09]

I had the same problem a while back. the idiot light would go on once the engine hit operating temp. My problem was the VDO's oil pressure sending unit had gone bad. I knew this because everytime the idiot light is on, my VDO oil pressure gauge is at 10psi. Check what your psi is at the next time your light goes on, if it's low, then you have some serious problems. Good luck.

yes my vdo oil pressure gauge reads roughly 10psi...isn't that what is supposed to be at idle though with the engine warmed up? also, what ODB do you have? the one i have, or the one with more ports like the ebay one linked?

[bmwpowere36m3]

Well the OE sensor for the idiot light is set to "trip" at 3-7psi and BMW's recommendation for minimum oil pressure @ idle is 10psi. So what might be causing the problem is the VDO oil pressure sender, since it *might* a warning pressure closer to 10psi... essentially tripping the oil light "prematurely". So either live with it, or get a real ODB so you can use the oil pressure sender and OE sender.

[liilpa09]

Well the OE sensor for the idiot light is set to "trip" at 3-7psi and BMW's recommendation for minimum oil pressure @ idle is 10psi. So what might be causing the problem is the VDO oil pressure sender, since it *might* a warning pressure closer to 10psi... essentially tripping the oil light "prematurely". So either live with it, or get a real ODB so you can use the oil pressure sender and OE sender.

yea i think i'm going to try the other ODB, if it doesnt work, o well!

[liilpa09]

anyone else? i guess i'll just buy the other ODB and see if that works...

[chadwick405]

Whats ODB?

[bmwpowere36m3]

Whats ODB?

oil distribution block

[chadwick405]

Thank you.