I have a 96 Safari Sahara dp cat with a magnum chasie. Just wondering if anyone has had any problem with the gauges. For example the oil gauge flicks back and forth from 0lbs to 50lbs, but most times it lays on the on the 0 with the warning light on. I just don't know if its the gauge or the sending unit. Also have a problem with the tranny temp gauge. It usually lays on the high side, but if I knock on the gauge it goes down to where it should be. If anyone has experienced the same problems with these type gauges I would appreciate any feedback on what you did to rectify the problem. Just need to know where to begin Thanks in advance
Sending unit is a common problem with these units. There are two sending units, one for the dash oil guage and one for the rear guage in the engine compartment. Check to see if the back guage is working. I had to order a sending unit from Monaco. Fixed the problem.
I had an oil pressure gauge problem on my 96 Beaver Monterey. The warning light would turn on when the dial was within an acceptable range. My concern was which (the red light or the dial) was correct.
Or did I have a sensor problem. The rear gauge in the engine compartment was reading just fine.
I decided to test out my problem by removing the rear gauge and installing it in the dash panel. It worked just fine so I concluded that the problem was not the sensor but the front dash panel gauge. I ordered a new gauge and everything has worked great since.
The Magnums use Teleflex gauges. My tach reads high sometimes. I know good 'n' well the Cat isn't really running at 3,500 RPM. I thump it, and it settles back to the reality of 1,800 RPM. The oil gauge in the engine bay sits on zero all the time. Once in a while, (on a bad bump) the MagID resets itself. It's a quirk of the Magnums I guess.
One thing to remember, the Caterpillar ECM will shut the engine down should it REALLY lose oil pressure or the coolant temp rise too far, so the gauges can be pretty much ignored. The Cat engine manual actually says it's best to ignore the oil gauge because the ECM will protect the engine at all times. (The book says this because the low oil pressure at idle scares some drivers)
If you have a MagID system, read the engine params from it. If they're normal, then the gauges or sending units are the problem. The MagID gets its info from the ECM's diagnostics port, so that's the one to pay attention to.
You might crawl around and 'exercise' any connectors you can find. Unplug and replug them in, and maybe spray contact cleaner while you're at it.
FMCA# F355513. 1997 Safari Continental, 40 foot, 1 slide. Cat 3126B, Allison MD3060. 2000 Durango SLT 4x4 toad with a Blue Ox Aventa II and stopped with a Brake Buddy. Seen on the Road Photo album
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I thump it, and it settles back to the reality of 1,800 RPM. The oil gauge in the engine bay sits on zero all the time. Once in a while, (on a bad bump) the MagID resets itself. It's a quirk of the Magnums I guess.
