greetings maximaliens:

my oil pressure gauge does not seem to be functioning. i accidently ripped the wire off the original one when i was replacing the oil filter. damn little wire isn't noticable until you break it. anyhow, i replaced it w/one i scrounged from the junk yard. it's not reading at all. any ideas? i left the original one connected even though it didn't work, so i don't think the connection was dirty or soiled.

 

yeah I did the same damn thing changing my oil. I about flipped when I was doin 85 on the highway and noticed my oil pressure gauge at 0.

anyway, you probably got a bad sending unit. take that little black wire that goes to it (the one you ripped), strip about 1/2" of insulation from the end, and touch it to something metal... get a good ground.. then go inside the car and turn the ignition on. your oil pressure gauge should skyrocket past the H mark. if it does, get yourself a new sending unit. if it doesn't, you've got a broken wire. problem is, a new sending unit runs about $40 through auto zone, and it's a special order part. but it's justa matter of unscrewing the old sending unit, putting the new one in, and plugging it in.

if you're good, you can probably solder the wire back on. if you don't wanna spend the money, you can do like I did and drill a 1/2" hole in the switch panel near the steering wheel, pop a 12v red light in there and get an oil pressure switch for an 89 maxima (6 bucks).. and have an oil pressure warning light instead of a gauge... I literally had a round red light and written on masking tape next to it, "OIL PRESSURE".... hey, it worked. I am so far the only maxima owner who added an oil pressure light to their maxima... and got a T-fitting so that the gauge and light both worked...