Steve 88

My oil pressure gauge used to pin like other sharks with a bad sender. I replaced the sender and began to get the oil pressure warning light along with the pinned gauge. I reversed the wires, but no improvement.

30 minutes of driving later, the T-belt warning came on. My interest in the oil pressure gauge was quickly replaced my larger concerns for the belt (12,000 miles - 5 years since replacement). The car is in my garage now and I am checking tension, tensioner oil and the wire. But I was wondering if the belt warning could be somehow related to the oil pressure gauge problem?

Thanks

Mrmerlin

the T belt also drives the oil pump.
who was the person that did the WP/T belt job??

Steve 88

The previous owner had a non-dealer garage in Chicago do the job. The car was hardly driven for a year following the work. Then I bought it, drove it to Virginia, and had to have the tension adjusted about 1500 miles later.

Thanks for any/all information.

no doubt

When the local Porsche dealership did my timing belt job, they told me that the tension was actually good on my old belt, but that the Timing Belt light was on because of my failed oil pressure sender.

That timing belt light kept coming on even with their new belt until I got around to replacing the oil pressure sender and cleaning out the device under it that it is connected to. I also installed better metal locking tabs on the electric wires going to the oil pressure sender, and I put electrical tape over the connections as further (some!) insulation.

Now I only get the warning lights if I let my battery drain too low (my inner red door lights are always on).

Mrmerlin

you may have to replace the thermo springs in the oil sender housing

Steve 88

Wow, I am surprised that one could be related to the other. I will look at the pieces behind and around the sender. Thanks Very Much for the help.

cold_beer839

I would not risk the 5 year old TB either. Replace it and the WP.

Ditch that stock tensioner for one of Porken Products PKsn'rs (http://www.liftbars.com/).

SharkSkin

I seriously doubt that one is related to the other, unless it is a wiring issue. All 3 wires go through the same harness and the same 14-pin connector near the jump post, but the oil pressure has no effect on the tensioner and a tensioner issue will not affect the oil system unless the belt is so loose it's skipping teeth on the oil pump sprocket -- which is a remote possibility.

I would expect the cams to start skipping before the oil pump. My money is on the harness and/or plug, but you might want to pull the distributor caps and upper cambelt covers and make sure that the belt system is OK, proper timing, tension, etc. since you were getting a tension warning. Tension warning could be nothing more than a loose connector, but assume the worst until you positively identify the problem -- meaning don't drive it.

davek9

I absolutely agree w/ Dave A.
Don’t run it and start pulling belt covers and get a look inside to see what is going on w/the belt. If all looks good and checks out (timing marks and tension) then look at the electrical.