davedutch Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Engine management light is on permanently and oil gauge stays at 6 o'clock, engine runs okay and idles fine, drove the car round the block but I'm afraid to take it any further in case there is an actual oil pressure issue. Has anyone else experienced this or any ideas what might be causing it, I'm assuming the two are linked but have no idea where to start looking, also skills are limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 (1) Dip the engine oil. (2) Pull the code and report back here with the code number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedutch Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) Engine oil is fine, level near full mark, no signs of contamination round filler cap or dipstick. How do I get codes on a 370? Hear lots about peddle dance on 350 is it similar and if so is there a guide? I can't find anything under 370z fault codes or peddle dance. Edited January 1, 2016 by davedutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I've a obd to pull codes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedutch Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) Thanks Nic but until I know what's wrong I don't fancy driving it just in case, the are plenty of code readers on ebay, just looked at one that links to a smart phone so I think I will order one, get the codes then take it from there. Unless anyone else has any thoughts? Edited January 1, 2016 by davedutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Yeah of course mate there cheep enough Hopefully something silly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedutch Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 I'm sure it will be Nic and probably safe to drive but I can't afford to risk it, might phone A A to take a look while I'm waiting but will be ordering a code reader tonight. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Sorry to hear this Dave, hope it proves to be just a sensor fault and nothing more serious. Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 (edited) Why have they put an oil temp gauge in the 370s doing away with the oil pressure gauge the 350 had? Edited January 3, 2016 by 370ZRDevon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Oil temp is much more useful than oil pressure. Means you can keep a balanced eye on the overall running of the engine that you can have practical control over, rather than worry about whether it should be 20psi or 30psi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Why have they put an oil temp gauge in the 370s doing away with the oil pressure gauge the 350 had? You would think both would be progression 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Personally I would much rather know what the oil pressure was, rather than the temp, on an N/A engine it very unlikely to get to temp that would cause concern unless you wringing its neck on a track day. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Temp you can control, pressure you can't. Knowing the temp is too hot allows to back off until you've seen it drop a bit, or drop right down, whatever you feel happy with. Pressure knowledge is only needed to know if you have it, or you don't. A simple red light works just as well, and would lead to far less worrying from owners who don't really understand it. How many people have we had here over the years worrying about their oil pressure, when all they need to know is that anywhere between on the scale is perfectly fine? Granted, that same group of people may well panic if the oil temp hits 110c or whatever, so you can argue the same applies. Still, I know what I'd rather have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Never had an oil temp gauge on any of my rally cars or my hill climb Lotus 7 but an oil pressure gauge and a b****y big warning light! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I don't agree, pressure is a very useful gauge of engine condition, a gradual drop in pressure could indicate thinning of the oil from over temp, or over a longer period bearing wear, and a sudden drop oil pump or pressure relief problems, oil temp will alert you to none of these, sure a pressure triggered low pressure light will tell you that you have low oil pressure but that's all, and it will likely be too late to stop damage, oil temp gauge will only tell you its too hot too cold or correct, nothing more unless you know your engines behavior. If its a worry for some owners having a pressure gauge to monitor, its just the same with a temp gauge, so they are probably better off with neither. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissanman312 Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I'd like both 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedutch Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I had the A A out yesterday as I couldn't be bothered to wait for an obd reader to arrive (on order) The throttle body was/is carboned up, he reset and said to take it for a blast to get everything hot (good excuse for a drive out) Regarding oil pressure/ temp gauges, it doesn't actually matter what you have if you don't know what they mean or are telling you - my daughter continued to drive her Fiesta with the oil can light on figuring it was still okay to drive until she blew the head gasket ! My temp gauge looks like a separate issue, pressure is okay and as A A man said the red light would come on if there were a real problem ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Good news Dave Edited January 4, 2016 by 370ZRDevon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlh Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Why have they put an oil temp gauge in the 370s doing away with the oil pressure gauge the 350 had? Here in the States, when the 370 first came out, several folks had oil temperature problems during track days, resulting in the engine going into limp mode. The 370 makes more power, therefore more heat, than the 350, and doesn't even have the oil-to-water cooler that the early 350s have. Nissan may have felt that oil temperature had become a serious enough issue to warrant a separate gauge, since oil pressure at leas has an idiot light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JurassicZ Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Why have they put an oil temp gauge in the 370s doing away with the oil pressure gauge the 350 had? Here in the States, when the 370 first came out, several folks had oil temperature problems during track days, resulting in the engine going into limp mode. The 370 makes more power, therefore more heat, than the 350, and doesn't even have the oil-to-water cooler that the early 350s have. Nissan may have felt that oil temperature had become a serious enough issue to warrant a separate gauge, since oil pressure at leas has an idiot light. good info as to Nissan's reasoning, maybe they should have done away with the clock or the volt/ampmeter, both pretty useless. Edited January 4, 2016 by 370ZRDevon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Why have they put an oil temp gauge in the 370s doing away with the oil pressure gauge the 350 had? Here in the States, when the 370 first came out, several folks had oil temperature problems during track days, resulting in the engine going into limp mode. The 370 makes more power, therefore more heat, than the 350, and doesn't even have the oil-to-water cooler that the early 350s have. Nissan may have felt that oil temperature had become a serious enough issue to warrant a separate gauge, since oil pressure at leas has an idiot light. Interesting! first I knew about the HR motor not having an oil modene, if that's the case I'm not surprised that cars overheated when driven hard on a track day, however just because an engine develops more power it doesn't necessarily follow that it will also produce more heat. However the reasoning behind Nissan's decision to fit an oil temp gauge in place of an oil pressure gauge is not very sound IMO, and I am surprised, as practically all modern oils are rated up to and beyond 120-130c, generally speaking engines are designed to maintain a hot oil temp of 90-100c in order to evaporate any water vapor formed at lower temps, along with other acidic compounds formed as a by product of the combustion process that gets into the crankcase and consequentially into the oil. So quite why Nissan would choose to fit a temp gauge over pressure I don't know, and if the temp probe is indeed linked to the ECU and prompts limp mode due to over temp, rather than coolant temp which would also rise if oil temp was indeed way too high, it would also result in lower oil pressure too....I am baffled as to Nissan's reasoning. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Basically, p*ss-poor engineering by Nissan with the 370. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebized Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 How about this? Nissan knew the the DE engined dipstick would not work well and figured that an oil pressure gauge would be the best early warning of problems. But when it came to the 370, and after experience with the the HR engine in the last 350 offerings, in their efforts to save costs they ditched the oil cooler knowing the far better dipstick would not cause reading issues but knew the oil temp would be borderline, as many owners across the pond then found out without even going on track, hence the oil temp gauge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roscoe Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Or Nissan realised they had a problem with the oil gallery gaskets blowing out on the HR and early 370 engines so decided to put in a temp gauge instead so you would never realise that pressure had dropped. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlh Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 just because an engine develops more power it doesn't necessarily follow that it will also produce more heat. Unless there is a corresponding increase in engine efficiency, more power will always equal more waste heat (basic thermodynamics). Just as a matter of background, oil temperature sensors were not installed on early VQ37DE motors, but were installed on the Rev-up and VQ35HR versions. There is a fault code for engine overtemperature - P1217. This code has a one-trip detection logic for turning on the CEL, but as pointed out, does not result in the engine running in limp home mode. The service manual lists several possible caused, but concentrates on the cooling fans as the most likely cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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