Member Since: 09 May 2021
Location: Caithness
Posts: 221
Stone cold oil pressures (now I know to peer closely at the gauge for tiny movements).
Stone cold
Pressure appears after approx 5 seconds (start, peek to check for leaks, pressure there when I look at gauge)
Approx 20psi at idle
Approx 35-40psi at 2.5k-3k rpm (hose on gauge not long enough to see both together, no helpers)
If I can nip the joint up a bit tighter (seriously, who designed it to be so crowded around there?) then I might risk a run with it connected, get it up to heat and see if I still have pressure, though lower than 20psi is hard to read.
Back to thinking and hoping it’s electrical based off of that cold pressure test D3 HSE - MY05 - Java black
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer
GAP IIDBT G3
2x Colliewobbles and a Kelpie
18th Feb 2022 3:59 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10365
Sounds ok. Within limits.
18th Feb 2022 4:20 pm
Shealesy
Member Since: 09 May 2021
Location: Caithness
Posts: 221
Todays fettling is off to a poor start after leaving the ignition on all night and the drivers window down through a reasonable amount of snow…. Seems to be confined to on the (leather) seat and the window switches D3 HSE - MY05 - Java black
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer
GAP IIDBT G3
2x Colliewobbles and a Kelpie
19th Feb 2022 11:43 am
Shealesy
Member Since: 09 May 2021
Location: Caithness
Posts: 221
So getting my use out of the last of this battery before I replace it, I’ve been hooning about and recalibrating my steering angle sensor (without much luck, going to check for slippage on that next) while getting the engine up to heat.
Once up to heat I swapped the oil pressure switch for a gauge and behold! A bit fat zero. I’d be sceptical of revving the engine, if I hadn’t been driving with an invisible oil pressure warning light for months, so I gave it a boot to around 3k rpm, still a big fat zero.
Put the switch back in and watched the live value on my phone, engine at idle. Erratic would be a kind way of describing its behaviour. I tried a jump lead from batt neg to anywhere metal I could find including the switch itself and at first I thought I had it, then I didn’t, it’s still erratic. I’d say more erratic when the engine fan was running, but I may have imagined it. I also thought, briefly, that I could trigger it by opening and closing the drivers door, but that didn’t follow pattern either.
Have I got a one of a kind TDV6 that will seemingly keep running with low/minimal oil pressure when hot? Blockage in a gallery somewhere? Aliens?
I can at least shut it up but unplugging the switch. But I’d rather fix it and have the bong in place of a light, should anything ever actually go seriously wrong.
Erratic screenshot
Click image to enlarge
Edit: I might pinch the battery out of the Insignia next and see if that cures anything, but SWMBO is away in that today so it’ll also have to wait.
Edit2: final thought before lunch, does the oil path have any kind of thermostat arrangement to stop it going through the cooler before it’s up to temperature?D3 HSE - MY05 - Java black
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer
GAP IIDBT G3
2x Colliewobbles and a Kelpie
22nd Feb 2022 1:17 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10365
maybe you need a gauge that reads lower ranges ?
22nd Feb 2022 1:29 pm
Shealesy
Member Since: 09 May 2021
Location: Caithness
Posts: 221
I was glaring at it as hard as I could (standing on the sill, leaning over the windscreen) as I put my foot on the throttle, not a twitch. Stayed firmly on the zero bar, which does play in perfectly with the switch activating at (usually) engine killing pressures.
I’ll order up a lower range gauge This one was cheap (£12 for the full set I think), so it may be wildly inaccurate and take some pressure to even lift it off zero. Especially as it’s meant for higher pressures.
I also ordered a fuel pressure gauge which I may be able to swap it over to… pretty sure that’s a lower range. More tire pressure range. Came with the wrong size Schrader valve to fit the disco so it’s never seen fuel. Another case of buying first, reading the description after it’s arrived. D3 HSE - MY05 - Java black
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer
GAP IIDBT G3
2x Colliewobbles and a Kelpie
22nd Feb 2022 1:54 pm
Shealesy
Member Since: 09 May 2021
Location: Caithness
Posts: 221
Insignias former battery in. This one holds its voltage a lot better…. Crank is a little slower but it starts, and seems to have a running voltage of 15.1v/15.2v over the old ones (pre-destruction) 14.8v. This one is an AGM though so maybe that’s the difference in the voltage coming off the alternator.
Awaiting a paycheck before ordering any more parts or tools so the gauge will come after that, along with a suitable bottle jack and axle stands (I can’t currently get a wheel off the ground without using the scissor jack, which I don’t fancy on gravel), and if the oil pressure behaves with a new gauge, it can have a new battery and front struts too. And if not, I’ll have to keep digging!D3 HSE - MY05 - Java black
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer
GAP IIDBT G3
2x Colliewobbles and a Kelpie
24th Feb 2022 4:14 pm
Pete K
Member Since: 15 Jan 2016
Location: GL
Posts: 10365
Discovery’s spec a high CCA battery. So high it’s difficult to find them.
24th Feb 2022 7:26 pm
Shealesy
Member Since: 09 May 2021
Location: Caithness
Posts: 221
This one actually has a higher cca (and Ah) rating than the one I took out, and the one recommended on the Tanya website for the D3! But is a little old and was replaced because it was a bit slow turning the Insignia over. The Insignia has stop-start so requires the big battery for that. Not that stop-start works even with a new battery. No idea what’s wrong with that, but we don’t often stop at traffic lights up here. Theres only 3 sets within 100 miles
It’s in a better state than the one I tried to kill… It’ll do for a couple of weeks. It does at least hold its charge!D3 HSE - MY05 - Java black
Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer
GAP IIDBT G3
2x Colliewobbles and a Kelpie
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This one was cheap (£12 for the full set I think), so it may be wildly inaccurate and take some pressure to even lift it off zero. Especially as it’s meant for higher pressures.
