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No oil pressure


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Have 2003 Response LXi with 335hp Monson, 127 hours and I am having oil pressure problems. When starting oil pressure would spike to 80psi and then drop to zero pressure. Dital readout shows 0 oil pressure. Have been to dealer twice with this problem They checked oil sending unit, oil pressure guage and replaced ECM. Indmar suggested using 20w50 oil instead of 15w40. Problem still exits for the third time this year, anyone have a suggestion?

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being totally illiterate about engines and the dealer not being able to figure it out, I would phone Indmar directly, tomorrow.

edit: oops didn't see that you already called indmar.

Edited by Cervelo
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The spot where the sending unit is screwed in could

have an obstruction. There are other places to check pressure

on the small chevy.

I hope your mechanic replaced the sending unit

anyway and checked pressure in another location.

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I had a similar problem with my LS-1,Captain Blood suggested hooking up an analog oil pressure guage to get a true reading, sure enough it read normal, so I mounted the analog guage permanetly between the speakers below the back seat of my LSV. I bought a new sender for the dash guage, but I rely more on the analog.

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Have 2003 Response LXi with 335hp Monson, 127 hours and I am having oil pressure problems.  When starting oil pressure would spike to 80psi and then drop to zero pressure.  Dital readout shows 0 oil pressure.  Have been to dealer twice with this problem  They checked oil sending unit, oil pressure guage and replaced ECM.  Indmar suggested using 20w50 oil instead of 15w40.  Problem still exits for the third time this year, anyone have a suggestion?

You mention "Dital readout" - I assume you mean Digital readout (?), but I'm not aware of a digital oil pressure display. Can you clarify for me?

I would imagine that the dealer perhaps changed the MMDC for the guages, not the ECM. The ECM doesn't have anything to do with the oil pressure gauge.

Is this a constant issue or intermittent? Does the low oil pressure alarm sound?

If you are mechanically inclined ground remove the lead off the oil pressure sender and ground it. With the key on the oil pressure gauge should peg out on the high side. If it does not, the issue is in the wiring (doubtful but possible), in the MMDC, or the gauge. If it does peg out then I would suspect the oil pressure sender of being sticky. Replacing it is the best solution, but you can remove it and try to squirt a little solvent in the pin hole to free it up. If you replace the gauge and you still have problems, the very next thing to do is hook up a mechanic's oil pressue gauge to see what the engine is really doing.

With the low hours on the boat I would suspect sludge/deposits/crud being the issue. Oil needs to be changed every 40-50 hours or 3 months at a maximum, and sometimes boats don't run enough to keep everything in good condition.

Hope that helps.

Peter

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Usually the boat is fine when you first start it, then as it warms up you start having oil pressure gauge and/or alarm problems???? 03' was the last year for the cannon plug on the back of the motor, held on with a hose clamp, remove it, clean the male side of each connection and then spread each male connector apart slightly with utility knife, plug it back in. I have seen this solve all kinds of gauge fluctuations, but mostly it cures the oil pressure problems for good.

I hope this works for you as well. Good Luck.

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You probably have a sensor/gauge problem. When I had aobut 15 hours on my 2004 VLX I had a similar problem - pressure would go to "zero" on my digital dash and audio warning. Very disconceritng when this happens to you on the water. :) My dealer said they had run into this problem before on my model and it was one of 3 things - the oil sender was blocked by a piece of teflon tape they used on it - the sender or engine block had paint on it, or - the cable/wire from the sender to the dash was bad. Since Malibu was paying for it, they just replaced/repaired all 3 possible items. I have not had a problem since.

PS - It is very rare for an oil pump to fail. If you really had "0" pressure for more than 30 seconds you would know it. Biggrin.gif

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PS - It is very rare for an oil pump to fail. If you really had "0" pressure for more than 30 seconds you would know it.  Biggrin.gif

Not if he had Slick 50 in it. I saw it on an informercial, so you know it's true. Crazy.gif

kidding aside, it sounds more like a sender issue than a pump issue. If it has pressure at startup, when the oil is the most difficult to pump, then I'm guessing the pump is OK. I'd concentrate on the sender, wiring and guage.

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so I mounted the analog guage permanetly between the speakers below the back seat of my LSV. I bought a new sender for the dash guage, but I rely more on the analog.

That's got to be handy to glance at while you're pulling a skier. ;)

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Have your dealer put a mechanical gauge on it to check it. I used to have one under the hood on the intake so I could see what was happening in the pits.

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so I mounted the analog guage permanetly between the speakers below the back seat of my LSV. I bought a new sender for the dash guage, but I rely more on the analog.

That's got to be handy to glance at while you're pulling a skier. ;)

Is oil pressure is your primary focus when pulling a skier ? Biggrin.gif

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You mention "Dital readout" - I assume you mean Digital readout (?), but I'm not aware of a digital oil pressure display.  Can you clarify for me?

I would imagine that the dealer perhaps changed the MMDC for the guages, not the ECM.  The ECM doesn't have anything to do with the oil pressure gauge.

Is this a constant issue or intermittent?  Does the low oil pressure alarm sound?

If you are mechanically inclined ground remove the lead off the oil pressure sender and ground it.  With the key on the oil pressure gauge should peg out on the high side.  If it does not, the issue is in the wiring (doubtful but possible), in the MMDC, or the gauge.  If it does peg out then I would suspect the oil pressure sender of being sticky.  Replacing it is the best solution, but you can remove it and try to squirt a little solvent in the pin hole to free it up.  If you replace the gauge and you still have problems, the very next thing to do is hook up a mechanic's oil pressue gauge to see what the engine is really doing.

With the low hours on the boat I would suspect sludge/deposits/crud being the issue. Oil needs to be changed every 40-50 hours or 3 months at a maximum, and sometimes boats don't run enough to keep everything in good condition.

Hope that helps.

Peter

I think you meant "I would not suspect" :unsure:

Now thats dealer talk. Fingerwag.gif Who ever changes there oil every 3 months?

Usually the boat is fine when you first start it, then as it warms up you start having oil pressure gauge and/or alarm problems????  03' was the last year for the cannon plug on the back of the motor, held on with a hose clamp,  remove it, clean the male side of each connection and then spread each male connector apart slightly with utility knife,  plug it back in.  I have seen this solve all kinds of gauge fluctuations, but mostly it cures the oil pressure problems for good. 

I hope this works for you as well.  Good Luck.

These two post are great and one of the biggest reason that this site is so super Yahoo.gif . Were else can you get this kind of info. certainly the dealer didn't have it.

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Chauncemaster - same thing for you.  Check that cannon plug.  Your oil pressure gauge should be very stabile.

That is an excellent suggestion. I will definitely try it out. There is something funny going on with either the sender or reciever and the connection you described could be the culprit.

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Have your dealer put a mechanical gauge on it to check it. I used to have one under the hood on the intake so I could see what was happening in the pits.

Were were you racing your Malibu at? ROFL.gifSurprised.gif

Well, if I wanted to race my Bu, I would go to Firebird Raceway where Firebird Lake is in Phoenix AZ. You can race a boat, a car, or a motorcycle there.

Tongue.gif

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