🚀 go-pugleaf

well, I hate to differ... ok, I love to differ, I admit it.
[on oil lights being useless]
I have saved an engine by shutting it off immediately when the oil light
went on while cruising down a strait road. it turned out one of the oil pump
rotors had broken into three pieces.
I replaced the pump, and ten years later the old dear is still getting me
around.
I've also had the oil light on another vehicle go on only after I smelt the
smell of smelting bronze; the bearings. high speed kept the pressure switch
happy with air pressure for that crucial half minute.
a blinking oil light when you turn a corner will alert you of a bad
situation [low oil, possibly a leak] in plenty of time.
all my engines have oil lights, and I make sure they work. my ship engine
has a [very annoying] buzzer,  and my generator shuts itself  off.
the system that does this was a bit difficult to make [it's a diesel]. there
are off the shelf systems, but I find them a bit pricey.
regards, Mark Holden

"Bob Wilson" <rfwilson@intergate.nospam.bc.ca> wrote in message
news:uk8bt1bod6doda@corp.supernews.com...
> In article <TWq09.102$El3.78159@sapphire.mtt.net>, levy_jeff@hotmail.com
> says...
> >
> >
> >"John Harvey" <no_one@home.au> wrote in message
> >news:pq44kuoa602ltm81ujh262avl7l6og4phd@4ax.com...
> >> DaveC wrote:
> >>
> >> >Would like to have in my car a high coolant temperature alert and low
> oil
> >> >pressure alert combined and automated. Coolant monitor input should
have
> >> >calibration ability for custom adjustment for each vehicle. Pressure
can
> >be
> >> >simple zero volt input trigger (I think most oil pressure crises are
the
> >> >result of loss of pressure, not simply the lowering of this). Output
> >could be
> >> >either an audible alert or relay contacts to break ignition supply (or
> >reduce
> >> >the supply voltage so as to get your attention) or sound an alarm.
> >> >
> >> >Does such a thing exist?
> >>
> Right on. Besides, if the threshold for shutting down the engine was
hitting
> zero oil pressure, as the OP wanted, damage has already been done. So
there
> is no particular rush to kill the engine.
>
> In fact, there are only 2 reasons for the oil pressure to hit zero. The
> first is if the oil pump shaft somehow breaks (basically impossible), and
> the second is if you are so low in  oil, that it momentarily sloshes away
> from the pump inlet. The latter is better addressed by paying attention to
> basic car maintenence, and keeping the oil level where it should be,
rather
> than attempting to throw technology at the problem.
>
> Otherwise, no amount of wear on the oil pump, or any other similar
scenario,
> will result in a total loss of oil pressure.
>
> Bob.
>