Quick oil sender question

[chalet2506]

On the phone the guy at napa is telling me this is the sender for the idiot light, and gauge senders have one terminal. The plug was disconnected and over time melted into something unidentifiable. Seems I can't get the plug, but I can get a one terminal sender and just a solder a spade onto the sending unit wire. Just making sure it will work with my gauge.

I'm guessing one of the p.o's replaced the sender with the wrong one, tied the plug out of the way temporarily, then never bothered to fix it.

Truck is a 76 K5, 400sb with gauge cluster, no idiot lights.

 

[dyeager535]

Early gauge senders have one plug. (TBI eventually went with a three wire sender/switch, but not relevant here)

That looks like an electric choke oil pressure switch (wrong year obviously), I *believe* even the idiot light switches are one wire.

 

[chalet2506]

thanks. I swear next time I'm building a truck from scratch.

 

[dyeager535]

You simply cannot mistake the sender for the gauge. One single blade connector on top, large (4" tall with fitting?) bell shaped piece.

 

[chalet2506]

Is there any other place the gauge sender might be? I pulled this off the passenger, rear side of the block next to the dizzy.

 

[dyeager535]

AFAIK all small blocks had it mounted there.

Physically it could be mounted above the oil filter or in front above the timing cover, as there are ports in both of those locations (in many blocks) that would allow one to be installed there.

 

[chalet2506]

Its been so long since I've driven this thing that I can't remember if the oil pressure gauge worked or not. I'll check around to make sure there's not a sender somewhere else before I wire in a new one. Thanks for the help Dorian.

 

[4X4HIGH]

On a 76 the sender is next to the distributor just to the driverside of it. Sometime people use the port just above the oil filter.

 

[chalet2506]

On a 76 the sender is next to the distributor just to the driverside of it. Sometime people use the port just above the oil filter.

There's a hardline out of the block right there that disapears into the firewall - maybe a mechanical oil pressure gauge?

If so, what's the little booger in the o.p.?

 

[4X4HIGH]

There's a hardline out of the block right there that disapears into the firewall - maybe a mechanical oil pressure gauge?

If so, what's the little booger in the o.p.?

Well sounds like you have a mechanical oil pressure gauge. If the gauge doesn't read or isn't accurate then swap it for a known good working gauge for test purposes (you can do this under the hood just to test if it's YOUR gauge that's faulty).

That hard line carries oil directly to the back of your oil pressure gauge. Gauges do go bad but not that common.

 

[chalet2506]

Well sounds like you have a mechanical oil pressure gauge. If the gauge doesn't read or isn't accurate then swap it for a known good working gauge for test purposes (you can do this under the hood just to test if it's YOUR gauge that's faulty).

That hard line carries oil directly to the back of your oil pressure gauge. Gauges do go bad but not that common.

So what's the sensor I pulled off the block? The oil is mechanical, water temps on the water pump, and voltmeter works. Dorian thinks it looks like an electric choke, but I thought 70's quadrajets were mechanical choke? The truck ran fine without it, guess I could just find a plug to put in that hole.

 

[British Slave]

Looks like someone added a mechanical gauge (the hardline) and left the electrical sending unit in the block.

 

[4X4HIGH]

The plug in your hand threads into the back of the head. I'm not sure exactly what it was for but i know on some of the newer (80's) trucks it was used as a knock sensor.

 

[chalet2506]

Will try tracing the wire on Monday and see where it goes. I'm curious if nothing else.