1.6K Low oil pressure when warmed up

[itchen7]

I'd welcome some help please.. had the 1.6k supersport for 2 years and it's been running well. Oil pressure on start up and for 15minutes is around 4 bar, but just recently, after 15/20 mins the OP falls away to just above the red even when hign revved. Going to replace filter, oil and baffle, but Caterham are out of pressure senders.. Does this feel like a sender problem?.. or any other ideas? Any suggestions welcome

[Risky]

Could be sender - they are very unreliable, but could also be baffle which has deteriorated and blocked pick up. You could try Redline for a sender - 01883 346515.
Ditch the baffle and modify the gasket by putting a couple of holes in it above the pickup. If you insist on retaining the electric guage (mechanical is much more reliable), suggest you seal around the male connector with silicon sealant - water ingress seeems to be what causes problems.
Search on Blatchat (L7C forums) for more info.

[itchen7]

thanks for response Risky... Baffle's only 2 years old/3000 miles so shouldn't have deteriorated...but who knows...but if it's blocking the the oil flow, wouldn't it happen at all temperatures? (I'm not a techie!!!)

[Risky]

I've seen baffles at 2 years old in poor condition - you never can tell. Oil pressure is always higher when oil is cold and therefore lower when hot. I suspect however the sender is at fault - they are very poor.
Good luck.

[croftsj]

Fit a mechanical oil pressure gauge & ditch the chocolate electronic sender.
My old electronic gauge never went above 4 bar cold or 3 bar hot, now I get 60- 70 psi all day long on track or road, best £50 I ever spent including the ancillaries & it took 30 mins to fit.

Edited by croftsj on Wednesday 22 July 10:20

[BadgerBill]

When was the last time you changed the oil? I had a similar issue and it was just because my oil was a touch low and old (only 3500miles, but there you go.). A quick oil and filter change (£40 total £35 fully synth motorsport oil from halfrauds and a genuine OEM filter from Rover Link www.roverlink.co.uk/ ) and all was well again. Foam baffles seem to be a real potential issue, mine has not had one on for 8k miles and not suffered. When they do fail, (go brittle and break up in the sump) if can be curtains for the engine...

[BertBert]

Sorry BB, but there is no way that oil that is a "touch old" will cause the OP's problems. Also if the oil is low, then on cold starting all the oil will go up into the engine and if the pump has nothing to suck on, you'll get low OP immediately. As the oil warms it'll drain quicker so the chances of sucking air will diminish. Of course I am sure the OP has checked his levels!!

The OPs problem sounds more to do with dodgy sensing equipment that is temp sensitive. However, when the caterham OP sender goes it normally just goes (in my experience).

I think it's very likely to be the OP sender, but the symptoms are not quite right for my liking. Need to binary chop. Is the pressure low or is the sensing equipment duff.

Bert

[itchen7]

Thanks for responses.. took car to James Whiting in Sunbury... what a fine chap! He put a remote pressure guage on to show oil pressure was fine.. so it was a duff sender. Rather than muck about with another sender James fitted a new traditional gauge driven by direct pressure.. nothing to go wrong.. Job done... and great service