T&T: Fluctuating oil pressure guage on Ford-Lehman 135

[Bob/Myrna Siegel]

If the fluctuations dropped to near "0" but the alarm did not sound, the
likelihood is that the sending unit is at fault.  If the alarm sounds, oil
pressure is almost certainly actually falling.

We had a sending unit give fluctuating results (often dropping to "0").  For
some reason, a previous owner installed it with Teflon tape on its threads.  A
very fine thread of tape (thinner than a human hair I think) kept waving in
front of the pressure sensor tip on the sending unit causing the gauge to read
anything from "0" to normal PSI.  When you get a new sending unit, you must
specify how many readout stations it serves.

It really is unsettling to have that gauge give questionable readings when
underway--especially in a single-screw vessel.

Bob Siegel Annapolis