[MikeW]

Yesterday the above mentioned item failed on me, as they are wont to do, lighting up alarms at a rather buttock clenching time.
I can't believe there isn't something better than this primitive, expensive VDO resistance track slider device, that will work with an MGL monitor. I can easily put in a 12V supply to (e.g.) a strain gauge or capacitive transducer if necessary.
However I haven't so far identified one. 10Bar range, 1/8NPT connection.
Any suggestions please?

[cockney steve]

Don't know your setup, but how about adding a tee-piece and a standard oil-pressure-switch which usually earths a warning-lamp. If your gauge drops to zero, but the light doesn't illuminate, you probably have enough pressure. I suspect it would classify as a minor-mod. Highly unlikely that 2 different technologies would fail simultaneously, but a LED warning-lamp would add yet another layer of redundancy, compared with a filament-lamp.

[mikehallam]

When my oil pressure on/off switch failed (Rans S6-116 with Rotax 80 hp) over Bembridge two yrras ago I lost nearly half the oil without knowing till I landed & saw the a/c covered in oil. The switchon the engine faces forwards and was only used to start/stop the Hobbs, nothing else !
The Americans (Rans USA) had put out a mandatory warning to remove it as they had several switches blow through. I used a blanking screw. The LAA belatedly added this to the TADS but never as far as i know ever wrote to the Rans fleet owners to warn them, nor the Inspectors in their own check sheets.
In self determining what to do I came across a USA kit for remote mounting the oil pressure sender on the firewall via a pressure flexible pipe. May that's a way for you ?

[MikeW]

Don't know your setup, but how about adding a tee-piece and a standard oil-pressure-switch which usually earths a warning-lamp. If your gauge drops to zero, but the light doesn't illuminate, you probably have enough pressure. I suspect it would classify as a minor-mod. Highly unlikely that 2 different technologies would fail simultaneously, but a LED warning-lamp would add yet another layer of redundancy, compared with a filament-lamp.

The suggestion has merit but leaves you with this prehistoric device.
In fact my indicated pressure went alarmingly high. This is the normal failure mode (in my experience) as the track wears with vibration and goes high resistance = high pressure or over-range, hence my panel flashing red LEDs at me!

[MikeW]

When my oil pressure on/off switch failed (Rans S6-116 with Rotax 80 hp) over Bembridge two yrras ago I lost nearly half the oil without knowing till I landed & saw the a/c covered in oil. The switchon the engine faces forwards and was only used to start/stop the Hobbs, nothing else !
The Americans (Rans USA) had put out a mandatory warning to remove it as they had several switches blow through. I used a blanking screw. The LAA belatedly added this to the TADS but never as far as i know ever wrote to the Rans fleet owners to warn them, nor the Inspectors in their own check sheets.
In self determining what to do I came across a USA kit for remote mounting the oil pressure sender on the firewall via a pressure flexible pipe. May that's a way for you ?

Yikes nasty! That presumably wasn't the VDO sensor, I haven't heard of one losing oil.
I had considered remote mounting to minimise vibration but it's a clumsy solution with its own risks.

Btw did you sort your tacho out, did you try a resistor?

[cockney steve]

I suppose you could substitute a traditional mechanical (bourdon-tube ? ) gauge connected with nylon-pipe....but that's another (very low-risk) potential failure-point.