Drop in Oil Pressure as Engine Warms up

Asked by Jared Apr 23, 2018 at 10:57 PM about the 2000 Dodge RAM 1500

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 1500 with 5.2L V8
engine. The truck sounds greaf, but after it warms
up for a bit, the oil pressure drops a bit. When it is
first turned on, the pressure reads great on the
gauge on the dash. After it begins to warm up, the
pressure drops a bit, but still in the good range. But
within 5-10 minutes after it has been idling, it drops
to zero when I get the engine to 3000 rpms and
goes back to in the “good range” at idle. After doing
that a few times, then the gauge just stays at zero.
Any thoughts on what this may be? Is the gauge
faulty? Or is there a bigger problem?

1 Answer

4,780

Sounds like the electrical oil pressure switch mounted to the engine. Everyone wants to call it a "switch", not a sensor...meaning roughly, it's either open or closed. If the switch is going bad or the connector is "flaky", check 'em both out. Not unusual for the pressure switch to go AWOL...harsh environment, that kinda thing.

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