one80

Ive just got my first fd so im a bit of a newb with them, and the oil pressure gauge seem to be having a problem. My gauge seems to stay quite low and sits there when driving gently, sometimes going to almost zero. when i accelerate hard it goes right up to the top then drops right back again.I check the oil level regulary, but this is always at a good level. I have heard they have problems, and was wondering if this is normal?

BoostCrzy

maybe consider temporarily hooking up an aftermarket gauge to see if the stock gauge is truly the problem...just a thought...better to be safe than sorry...

n$a

Mine has always behaved the way you described, though oil changes and oil types seem to affect it a bit. I wondered as well...

mad_7tist

welcome.. i like starting new so when i got mine the second day i had it i changed my oil for the piece of mind. also the stock gague is not exactly linear and readings of near 0 at idle are common. thus all of the after market gagues you see in our cars

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

The gauge is not the problem. The problem is the "oil pressure sending unit". The contacts get dirty and can send bad readings (or the unit just fails altogether).

The first thing is to clean the contacts and see if that fixes the oil pressure readings. If not, just replace it.

revsteve

iTrader: (6)

Not to mention the stock sender unit is known to be faulty - may want to clean it/replace it as well. An aftermarket gauge would be the way to go.

Dont forget boost and Water Temp

one80

Thanks for all the help. How do i clean the unit itself, is it an easy job?

Mahjik

iTrader: (1)

Pull it out, hose it down with some carb cleaner to get any excess oil/dirt off. Scrub the contacts to make sure they are good to go and put it back in. It's located down under the oil filter so sometimes oil drips on it (as well as collecting dust).

93silverbullet

iTrader: (7)

I had the same problem. Tried cleaning the contacts, didn't work. I replaced the sending unit. Works like a champ! Even compared the stock guage readings with an aftermarket Autometer Oil guage, they were the same.

If I recall cost of a new oil sending unit was $89.00 directly from Mazda. Do a search on the web, I'm sure you can find it cheaper.

whitelight7

iTrader: (5)

I had the same/similar problem: oil pressure was fine when the revs were up, but at idle the pressure was very low or sometimes zero on the gauge, it seemed to be worse on hot days. I cleaned the connection on the oil pressure sender unit and it helped a little, temporarily. Finally put in a new OEM sender unit and the oil pressure reading has been normal - very comforting.
Bought my oil pressure sender from Mazdaformance (http://www.mazdaformance.com) for $71 - p.n. N3A1-14-820.
Yes it is a late post, just contributing my 2 cents.