Oil sensor wiring

[SwiftE30]

I pulled a 3pin connector from my s52 harness to wire in oil sensor, but one of the wires (not ground) was to short to reach so I spliced in a long piece of same gauge wire. After wiring it up to the correct pins I was not gettin a Reading. Would splicing in the wire extension cause a bad reading? I've heard that splicing wires can cause it to not have the right amount of resistance.

[drez14]

+1. I did the same thing. I just assumed that my sensor was bad.

From reading the ETK, im pretty sure the sensor runs by simple continuity. When pan is at normal levels, 1 wire is grounded, and when it is low, it grounds the other wire. The system doesnt really know the exact amount of oil, it just when it is normal or too low. If that is the case, then resistance wouldnt affect it.

I could be wrong.

[!kid]

Did you use crimp style connectors or did your solder it?

[SwiftE30]

i just twisted them together and taped it up. This wasnt a permanent fix, i just didnt want to spend the time feeding it through the harness just yet. Im a noob when it comes to wiring.

+1. I did the same thing. I just assumed that my sensor was bad.

From reading the ETK, im pretty sure the sensor runs by simple continuity. When pan is at normal levels, 1 wire is grounded, and when it is low, it grounds the other wire. The system doesnt really know the exact amount of oil, it just when it is normal or too low. If that is the case, then resistance wouldnt affect it.

I could be wrong.

did you get a new sensor or something then? I'll have to check those ETK's out i guess

[Jand3rson]

i just twisted them together and taped it up.

Seriously.

I'll bet you a million e-dollars that's your problem.

[browntown]

Do you have a multimeter? I have a autoranging digital fluke that I like a lot, but a ten dollar one will suit you fine too. Get one with a continuity setting.

That way even with your super ghetto twisted wire apparatus, you can see if electricity is flowing through the joint.

You put one lead on one end of the wire (say a pin on the harness), and the other on the opposite end. If electricity can flow through, it'll beep for you. I use it all the time. Then if it is something that is sensitive to resistance, you can swap your meter over to ohms and see how hard that electricity has to fight through your wiring to get to the other end.

You can start eliminating possible problems quickly that way.

[SwiftE30]

Do you have a multimeter? I have a autoranging digital fluke that I like a lot, but a ten dollar one will suit you fine too. Get one with a continuity setting.

That way even with your super ghetto twisted wire apparatus, you can see if electricity is flowing through the joint.

You put one lead on one end of the wire (say a pin on the harness), and the other on the opposite end. If electricity can flow through, it'll beep for you. I use it all the time. Then if it is something that is sensitive to resistance, you can swap your meter over to ohms and see how hard that electricity has to fight through your wiring to get to the other end.

You can start eliminating possible problems quickly that way.

I just picked a multimeter up the day before I left for
School so I never got a chance to use it. I'm heading home again this Friday so I'll check that out. I'll be getting rid of this pin connector and just pulling another one off my old harness to eliminate any possibilities.

Thanks for the info guys.

[TwoJ's]

Or you could try fucking at least doing a hack wiring job properly. Use a butt connector since I highly doubt you can operate a soldering iron. Then put the multi meter across the splice and measure resistance. If you're over like 50 ohms on the extreme high end, you've done something terribly wrong.

[Mr.SWISS]

Or you could try fucking at least doing a hack wiring job properly. Use a butt connector since I highly doubt you can operate a soldering iron. Then put the multi meter across the splice and measure resistance. If you're over like 50 ohms on the extreme high end, you've done something terribly wrong.

Some of us cannot operate a butt connector and just solder everything.

FYI I did mine straight from the engine harness bypassed the c101/x20 and ran the ground to the aux power provision in front of fuse box for the ground only, green and blue back to harness.

What wire do you have going to what pin on the 3 prong connector? it should have the pins numbered on the plastic part.

[328ijunkie]

pin 1 goes to 2
pin 2 goes to ground
pin 3 goes to 10.


There ive helped someone today.

[browntown]

Solder isn't always the best answer in cars. Butt connectors are more vibration/corrosion resistant, and if you buy nice ones will work just fine. You can call Luke and ask him. He has messed with more automobile wires in his lifetime that anyone here.

[328ijunkie]

+1 i never solder. I use heatshrinked butt connectors. You crimp and then heat them up and theyre good to go.

[SwiftE30]

Or you could try fucking at least doing a hack wiring job properly. Use a butt connector since I highly doubt you can operate a soldering iron. .

No need for you to be such a dick, man.

pin 1 goes to 2
pin 2 goes to ground
pin 3 goes to 10.


There ive helped someone today.

thats how i have it. i'll use a heat shrink now, or just use another 3 pin connector with long enough wires.

just as an FYI, i wired this sensor up like an hour before i left to go back to school. I didnt have high expectations of it working, this thread was basically to get feedback on what i assumed the problem was.

[Jand3rson]

No need for you to be such a dick, man.

When your "wiring" consists of twisting the ends together and taping it, you leave the door wide open.

[DaveSmed]

Least he admits it. I'd venture 3/4 aftermarket headunit installs and 1/3 engine swaps are guilty of crap splicing.