No oil pressure causes soiled underwear? CONFIRMED!

[InFiD3ViL]

So yesterday I got a little too cocky too soon after my LS3 swap and decided to remote start my engine, while still in the house, to get the oil warm before a drive. I should have known better to do any unattended starts this soon after the swap. I heard the engine shut off after about 5 seconds. I know that with remote start, it will do this if a code is thrown after the start, as it will not remote start if a fault code already exists.

Second mistake...I started the car without checking the code first. Car starts and sounds fine, but check engine light is definitely on and flashing, which is never a good sign. By habit, I check the 4 pack gauges and my heart drops. No oil pressure. ZERO. This is exactly when shat meets pants. The engine has been running amazingly for the 60 miles since install and all of the worst possibilities came to mind. But I did find it weird that it would just stay right at zero psi with no previous signs or sounds of failure with a crank driven pump. I tried to reason with myself that O-ring or pump failure will usually start with abnormally low pressure, not ZERO.

I immediately turned the car off and checked the code with my scanner, showed a P0523 - Engine Oil Pressure Sensor/Switch High Input. Did some research on it and realized that most cases of this were electrical in nature. Either the wire being shorted to ground or sensor failure. I made the mistake of reusing the oil pressure sensor from my grenaded L99, like a total moron, not having thought about any of that exploded rod material, bad juju, or anything else making its way into the sensor. The LS3 I bought came with one, but when time came to install it, I just grabbed the closest one to me. The one from my L99 was shinier after all.

So I swapped out the sensor with my spare, checked the wires for any damage (none), and cranked it up. Still no oil pressure but the code was still set. I immediately cleared the code and the needle rose instantly. Weird engineering decision by GM. I wonder how many pulled engines that has caused?

$6000 into this LS3 swap and my car’s life (and my wife’s fists) flashed before my eyes. But it all worked out in the end. Finally.

Originally Posted by InFiD3ViL

So yesterday I got a little too cocky too soon after my LS3 swap and decided to remote start my engine, while still in the house, to get the oil warm before a drive. I should have known better to do any unattended starts this soon after the swap. I heard the engine shut off after about 5 seconds. I know that with remote start, it will do this if a code is thrown after the start, as it will not remote start if a fault code already exists.

Second mistake...I started the car without checking the code first. Car starts and sounds fine, but check engine light is definitely on and flashing, which is never a good sign. By habit, I check the 4 pack gauges and my heart drops. No oil pressure. ZERO. This is exactly when shat meets pants. The engine has been running amazingly for the 60 miles since install and all of the worst possibilities came to mind. But I did find it weird that it would just stay right at zero psi with no previous signs or sounds of failure with a crank driven pump. I tried to reason with myself that O-ring or pump failure will usually start with abnormally low pressure, not ZERO.

I immediately turned the car off and checked the code with my scanner, showed a P0523 - Engine Oil Pressure Sensor/Switch High Input. Did some research on it and realized that most cases of this were electrical in nature. Either the wire being shorted to ground or sensor failure. I made the mistake of reusing the oil pressure sensor from my grenaded L99, like a total moron, not having thought about any of that exploded rod material, bad juju, or anything else making its way into the sensor. The LS3 I bought came with one, but when time came to install it, I just grabbed the closest one to me. The one from my L99 was shinier after all.

So I swapped out the sensor with my spare, checked the wires for any damage (none), and cranked it up. Still no oil pressure but the code was still set. I immediately cleared the code and the needle rose instantly. Weird engineering decision by GM. I wonder how many pulled engines that has caused?

$6000 into this LS3 swap and my car’s life (and my wife’s fists) flashed before my eyes. But it all worked out in the end. Finally.

So happy yours worked out better. Happy driving with your changes! Mine wasn't so lucky

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

I love it when it’s something easy and Armageddon is avoided! Glad you got your beast up and running again!

[Moto-Mojo]

Good info. Wonder how many pulled the oil pump w/o checking codes? Just curious, what happened to the L99? Racing? Driving to church?