Hella-Buggin'

Last weekend after washing the car I went for a drive around the hills and too the family out to dinner. I noticed that it took a long time for my oil gauge needle to start climbing off of the 150 peg. Once it did it got to 175 and hen just dropped back down again. It kept doing this so I figured the sensor got wet.

Today I go out with the above in mind and keep a diligent eye in the gauge. It acts normally accept the temp never got above 200. Even on some mountain climbs with higher rpm ranges. Normally on this drive I wold expect to see temps of at least 225 o occasion. And my ol pressures were in line with what I would expect.

Granted the amb temp was around 55 degrees this morning.
It just seems atypical.

Any ideas?

Macster

My cars do not have oil temp gages but I know from experience closely monitoring the coolant temperature via the OBD2 port a 55F degree day can keep the coolant temperature down to the 190F even a bit lower and thus oil temperature down as well.

(I get some indirect confirmation of this with my Turbo as the "hot" idle oil pressure is higher than it is at other times in hotter ambient temperatures.)

This is especially true (at least in my Boxster's case) if I have the A/C on as the radiator fans run all the time and these keep the coolant cooler than usual.

In your car's case the connection may be slightly corroded so if you want find it and disconnect the connector then reconnect and make sure the connector latches securely. This action removes the surface corrosion that develops and can fix an odd reading behavior.

Hella-Buggin'

I tried a search but couldn't find a location for the sensor. I found a diagram of a 996 which said you need to remove the intake to get to it.

I'll keep an eye on the situation and dive it to work tomorrow.

M

Spiffyjiff

in my parts catalog there are a crapload of other "temperature sensors" but this is the only one i find near engine oil (others are near intake, near AC, near coolant, etc). #27 on the diagram and part is 996.606.410.00. good luck.

Hella-Buggin'

I drove it into the city this morning and although it's not bouncing around erratically, it seems to be reading 25 degrees lower than expected. Even with bridge toll traffic and some minor congestion getting through downtown, it still only got up to 175. I always notice the oil temp as that's my guide on the engine being warmed up for shifting points. It's always gotten up to 200 in a few minutes and then regulates there.

gpjli2

Can't explain 175 sustained temp. To say the obvious, LL gauge is probable culprit.

Hella-Buggin'

Called the dealership today to see if I could swing by and confirm that what was going on was indeed a gauge / sensor issue vs. a faulty thermostat. The tech asked some questions over the phone and said it sounds like a bad connection somewhere between the sensor and the gauge. This was in line with my opinion based on the issue. So, I dug around the engine compartment this morning and unplugged and reseated all of the connections I could reach. Took the car gout and everything behaved normally. Ether I had some corrosion on a connector like suggested above or perhaps something just got knocked loose. Either way, it's working now but we'll see.