gauges

[myold96]

i noticed on my 96 ranger two of the gauges go up halfway then stop they are the battery gauge and the oil pressure gauge i read somewhere that ford put gauges in and put sending units from a idiot light i also read somewhere i could put the right sending units in but it is complicated due to space problems so whats the skinny or was i just seeing things

 

[RonD]

Voltage/amp gauge measures voltage on the system, when key is turned on it should be about 1/2 way(12volts), when engine is cranking it should go down a bit(10volts), when engine starts it should go above where "key on" was(15volts), after battery is recharged from starting it will drop down a bit but stay above "key on"(14volts).

The Ford oil pressure gauge was changed to an "indicator" in the '80s.
The sender was replaced with a switch, OFF = below 5psi, ON = above 5psi
On the back of the gauge they added a resistor, 20ohm I think.
So when the switch is ON gauge is Grounded and 12v/20ohms shows about 1/2 on the gauge needle.
Needle can fluctuate with RPM..........but that's voltage from alternator not oil pressure, lol.

'96 and older Ford oil pressure gauges had the external resistor, in '97 they changed the gauges so no easy conversion is possible.
For '96 and older you can get a PS60 sender(variable ohms based on pressure) and put a jumper on the Fixed 20ohm resistor on the back of the gauge, so you now have variable ohms going to the gauge, this will give you back the "real time" oil pressure gauge.

This is still not a "real" oil pressure gauge, that requires a tube from oil pressure hole in block to a pressure gauge on the dash, but better than a switch