My new gauges!

[AJ]

i'm not 100% sure, but i think there is a light as well............i'm only going on hazy memory from what i've read on here........basically your gauge is a glorified idiot light

[JBT]

The oil pressure gauge changed to an idiot light type gauge from 1995. The earlier cars had real gauges.

The NC has one that moves up and down but it is a glorified idiot light in that it artificially acts like a real gauge - gets input from RPM, ECU and oil pressure. It will, like the other cars, read zero if oil pressure fails.

I don't think the NC has an oil pressure light as a back up warning and the NA/NB models certainly don't. However, I have only heard of one oil pressure failure. It was in the US - mechanics didn't tighten the sump plug and it unscrewed on a freeway - one dead NC.

[AJ]

wouldn't matter how good your pressure gauge is in that case tho, no accounting for idiots

[TieNN89]

hang on let me get this right

so if my oil pressure is low then the needle would be on the low but other than that it would just be where it is
right?

[Ajay]

FYI: Gauge on the left is Oil Temp

[JBT]

wouldn't matter how good your pressure gauge is in that case tho, no accounting for idiots

Absolutely correct AJ. However, a warning light might catch one's attention early.....but even then not enough to stop permanent damage. IIRC, this car was dríven until significant loss of power was evident.

...so if my oil pressure is low then the needle would be on the low but other than that it would just be where it is
right?

The "idiot light" oil pressure gauge on the NA/NB will always indicate the same pressure (normally over half way across the gauge face) once it rises above a few PSI. If it reads 0 (zero, far left of gauge) then the gauge and/or sender is screwed or you have no (nil, zero) oil pressure.

[AJ]

the thing that amazes me john, is that people can drive a car that is spewing oil out underneath which would a) stink like a bastard, b) get plastered along the exhaust of the car & smoke like a chimney & c) the temp gauge would pretty much immediately start to rise with the loss of oil.....along with what you said, a significant loss of power, but they can blithely keep driving it till it stops

[JBT]

Yep, some people have such a lack of mechanical empathy and common sense that they'd need an automatic engine shutdown device to save them.

[TieNN89]

hehe maybe i should get some gauges in
with a working oil pressure gauge

[Benny]

the thing that amazes me john, is that people can drive a car that is spewing oil out underneath which would a) stink like a bastard, b) get plastered along the exhaust of the car & smoke like a chimney & c) the temp gauge would pretty much immediately start to rise with the loss of oil.....along with what you said, a significant loss of power, but they can blithely keep driving it till it stops

I don't think that most normal drivers even look at their instruments, and if they did, they wouldn't know what they were looking at anyway.

That's why you see so many people driving at night without their lights on.
They don't bother to look at the dashboard, and don't even realise they can't see their instruments.

[lowmiata]

FYI: Gauge on the left is Oil Temp

FWIW I had a vacum gauge in my car once!

the rest is history! look forward to changing that puppy!

[Uncle Arthur]

FYI: Gauge on the left is Oil Temp

FWIW I had a vacuum gauge in my car once!

Technically speaking - you still do - only now it reads BOOOOOST!!!!!!!

[Ajay]

vaccum is the only one i have hooked up atm as it was easy to do.. they look good at night though ..

too bad i cant understand them

[lowmiata]

too bad i cant understand them

Vaccum SUX literally!

(vaccum pressure is the amount of pressure your engine is sucking in)
@ WOT it will read high as your sucking lots of air

@ Idle it will show close to 0 as your sucking very little at cruise depending on gear/rpm it will be in the middle

Vaccum gauges were OE on 4cyl commodores in the early 80's (useless fact)

turbo the puppy and get a boost gauge which is a vaccum gauge which will read boost as well
it just sweeps from boost to vaccum when the throttle body is closed

[JBT]

@ WOT it will read high as your sucking lots of air

@ Idle it will show close to 0 as your sucking very little at cruise depending on gear/rpm it will be in the middle

Other way around LM. High vac at idle and over run, low vac at WOT.