how to install a electronic oil pressure gauge

[denmah]

this is a stewart warner 0-100psi electronic oil pressure gauge. and the "how to install it"

Tools neded:
mostly anything you can get your hands on
channel locks.
anything to remove your filter if you have the stock one on. (if you change your oil hopefully you dont kill the filter on like honda does)
you will also need a jack or anything you can get your car way up on.
assorted wire working tools; strippers, crimpers, cutters wire etc etc.

you will also need some pipe fittings, reason being, the SW unit has a different signal than the stock honda unit. when you hook up the SW to the honda sender it pegs off. so you need both.

so get to sears or home depot and get a brass 1/8th inch nipple. and a 1/8th inch t connector. take a look at the pictures for why.
while your at it get some sealant.

so anyways lets get workin

get your car off the groud and crawl under there. this is directly above the oil filter for you guys who know where it is.
anyone who doesnt just crawl under there and if your on your back just look strait up to your right. you should see the blue honda filter. take it off note some oil will spill. so be prepared to check your oil and fill as neded when your done.

anyway after you get the filter off get yourself a small set of channel locks. and get to work on that sending unit, i tried all sorts of sockets and neck connectors and it was just rounding it, it was tight as hell because honda puts some kind of white adhesive on it and it sticks really well, so once you get that off get your nipple and brass T connector, put some sealant on all pieces being screwed together, put the nipple and the t connector together, then screw the honda oil pressure sending unit on the other side...
next take that whole mess and screw it into the side of the engine.
then get a wrench that fits around the brass t connector and tighten it down.

when your done it should all look like this from underneath.
http://www.herrforce.com/misc/oil_press/oildiag.JPG

now... goober up your aftermarket sending unit with some sealant and screw that back into the bottom of the T connector. and dont forget to hook up the factory sensor again.
http://www.herrforce.com/misc/oil_press/oildiag2.JPG

now you need to get a wire out of your car, to the sending unit.
i reccommend bringing it thru where that blue wire is, this is also where my vaccum line is coming thru. here is a pic from the engine bay of where that wire is.
http://www.herrforce.com/misc/oil_press/wirethru.JPG

the easiest way to get a wire out of that is to unscrew the drivers side lower storage thing. and if you get a flashlight and look way back behind the steering column there is a blue wire going out, you can just jam your hand in there and pop the wire into the engine bay.
and thats that, get a little circle wire connector and attach it to the sending unit. pull it tight inside and run it wherever you want to go in the dash. or in a gauge pillar.

then get that oil filter back on!
http://www.herrforce.com/misc/oil_press/donefilter.JPG

ok now hook up the rest of the wires to the gauge and fire her up, havent gotten to play with it yet because there is too much snow and ice and im in my garage where its 72 degrees lol (wood burning stoves rule!) anywas i started her up and she was at high idle and 80psi. i would assume after its warmed up that would calm down considerably.

anywas i have a triple gauge pillar and this is how that looks when shes all said and done.

http://www.herrforce.com/misc/oil_press/incar.JPG

imma take it out tmro and let you all know how it worked out.

let me know what you think of if you need any questions asked!

[denmah]

so i guess it sucks lol.
:p

[denmah]

it seems when the car is warmed up and idling nicely it hits 25-35psi

when you tap the gas it jumps right to 80psi

when you really hammer on the gas it goes to 90

[fsugatorbait]

Denmah,

Great write-up! What gauge do you plan on using for the last blank spot. I just won the auction for the same 3 pillar pod on ebay. I read in your other thread that you had to drill into the frame of the car to mount the pod, other than that, how was the fit? Does it stay secure? Anything you can recommend for making the install of the pod a little easier?

In one of your threads there was a pic of the boost gauge lit up with an orange ring that matches the dash color. What series gauge did you find that has that option? Im trying to find the best series of gauges that would gives the closest look to OEM.

[denmah]

Originally posted by fsugatorbait
Denmah,

Great write-up! What gauge do you plan on using for the last blank spot. an air fuel ratio im pretty certain.

I just won the auction for the same 3 pillar pod on ebay. I read in your other thread that you had to drill into the frame of the car to mount the pod, other than that, how was the fit? Perfect!
Does it stay secure?
-Yes VERY secure it doesnt rattle or anything.
Anything you can recommend for making the install of the pod a little easier?
-get a really sharp drillbit, the honda frame is extremely strong. and get a deckmate screw or anything like that to mount it, there is a metal tab in the fiberglass one unlike the stock one that has clips to hold it in place. but the problem is the metal tab in the fiberglass doesnt touch the metal frame of the car. the more i thought about it the more i thought this was a good idea, it probably would make vibration noises. so you need a screw that can bridge a 3/4 inch to 1 inch gap from the tab to the hole you drilled in the frame. and hand tighten the screw into the hole you drilled. if you use anythin powered and you go to far youll most likeley destroy your fiberglass pod.

In one of your threads there was a pic of the boost gauge lit up with an orange ring that matches the dash color. What series gauge did you find that has that option? Im trying to find the best series of gauges that would gives the closest look to OEM.
- i bought AUTOMETER PHANTOM series for the volts and boost. the gauges come with a white "normal bulb" and they have little "condom" like covers that come with it, a green and a red...
all i did was pop the red bulb cover condom over the light and it matches almost perfectly with stock color.
however the sw is a darker red color and doesnt quite have the stock oragey (sp?) look.



any other questions, be it the gauges or the pod installation, ide be glad to answer.