I have a small oil leak coming from (I think) the oil pressure switch - see picture. Am I correct …is this the OP switch? If so, how should I fix it?
Thanks
Howard Whittaker
StrayCat #18
N26
Prince Edward County. ON
Oil pressure switch.pdf (1.41 MB)
That is an oil pressure sender – assuming you have removed the wire as it’s not in the photo.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Interesting, I don’t recall ever seeing a wire going to it.
Note: it’s only my 3rd year with the boat.
Should I replace the sender?
Strange. Do you have a buzzer when the key is on and the engine not running?? What model Westerbeke engine is it??
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
No buzzer….its a 13 Westerbeke
Well, pull that sender and replace it with a plain bolt of the proper size using Teflon tape.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Thanks I will give it a try
I should mention that not having a buzzer is very dangerous to your engine. If for some reason you lose oil pressure of overheat the engine, it will normally self destruct before you know enough to shut it down. I once delivered a boat and that’s exactly what happened. That is not a fun phone call to make to the owner, believe me!!
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
Howard,
On the W13 I had in our 26C, the buzzer was on the aft end of the electrical panel - not a place that one would think of looking. It’s a small black thing, about the size of a plastic cap for a pill bottle or something equivalent.
The wires for it went right up through the space between the inside and outside cabin mouldings.
You might want to see if the buzzer is there, and maybe look for the wires coming out of the space just where the inspection light should be by the forward end of the engine.
BTW, when I got Cat’s Whiskers, the oil sender was disconnected; maybe I did it, reaching back to find the dipstick the first time.
John A. Stewart
NS26C 046
Kingston
The connector should be a small rectangular plastic connector that slides on to the end of the sender. The sender can be had at any auto supply store. Look around they tend to fall off when you change the oil filter. As Joe mentioned not having a functioning one can lead to a very expensive repair…