78' PW oil pres. issues and dim lights and dash

[slaabercc21]

Had an odd occurence today, started the truck today, warmed it up for a few minutes, came back outside turned the headlights on and they were quite dim along with the dash instruments. Also noticed the oil pressure was low, 10 instead of the normal 40. I had added some oil the previous day due to slightly lower than normal pressure but pressure did not change. I did notice the other day that the valve covers had a pretty significant amount of build up on the inside of the covers. Which got me paranoid about the oil passages being clogged up. So i drove the truck for about 5 miles and decided to check battery connection. shut the engine down and checked battery connections. tried to start the truck and it turned over very briefly and then made a clicking noise. I was late for work and had to just get to work so i hitched a ride and left the truck. Came back a few hours later , with out touching anything, truck fired right up. still had the dim guages and low oil pressure though.
Now is this 2 seperate problems? I am not sure where to start at the moment. Any input will help.
thanks

[74w300uteline]

grounds, grounds,grounds

Good clean ground connection points are a troubleshooting lifesaver.

[DODGEBOYS]

l,d pull your dash apart and fix the AMP meter before your truck burns down while your driving it / a bad connection on the AMP meter will cause your problem

[n1265]

These guys are right, you are looking at an electrical problem. Find and fix it first and you oil pressure gage should return to normal.


If you suspect the AMP gage being bad ( and they are noted for it ) you can bolt both wires together with a 1/4 bolt and bypass the gage to help DIAGNOSE the problem.

HOWEVER be careful NOT to let these wire ground out, otherwise they will start calling you "sparky-poof-flame"

[Don Williams]

Could also be the wires going to the above mentioned ammeter where they pass through the firewall. The bulkhead wiring connector terminals tend to corrode and make poor connection. When I found and fixed mine the headlights worked like aircraft landing lights compared to what they were before.

[califJeff]

amp gauge fix

Check out this web site, this is how i fixed my 73 W200 amp gauge wiring. http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...p-gauges.shtml
Jeff