1952-59 Ford Oil pressure dummy light came on

Hey guys.
Hope all is well.
I was driving the Ford to work this morning and the oil pressure dummy light came on. I dont have a pressure gauge.
As I was only 1km away from home, I drove it back.
Oil level is just bellow max, but that doesnt even matter because the light indicates lack of pressure, not oil volume.
I'm thinking the likely culprits might be the oil pump or the pressure switch.
Any other options?
Thank you.

 

You can test the circuit with a piece of wire. Disconnect the sender and tap the wire to ground. See how the light reacts. You can also test the sender itself with an ohmmeter. If those check out good then the next thing is to remove the sender and install an oil pressure gauge and run the engine briefly. Good luck

 

Thank you for your answer Adriatic Machine.

 

If you able to drive the car some distance without any strange engine noises, take off a rocker cover and start the engine and check for oil at the rockers and overflow tube. If you see good oiling, then the problem is the sending unit.

 

Thank you for your reply Paul.

 

Good morning guys.
Later I'll be picking up a pressure reading gauge from a friend and do a brief test to exclude a faulty switch.
From what I've read, for this 223 I6 it should be 10 psi minimum per thousand rpms. So at 1000 rpm, not less than 10psi.
Is this correct?
I cannot find the specs values on the 50's Ford engine manual.
Thank you again.

 

That’s about right as a general rule more or less. I have the manual at home I can check when I get home. More importantly, the switch triggers at a specific psi I think around 5 and below.

 

Thank you. I do have the 50's car manual, but cannot find the specification in there.

 

Found an old post at the Ford Barn regarding the hexagonal shaft at the bottom of the dizzy that would not drive the oil pump anymore, because it got worn and rounded. Another thing to check.
1954 Ford 223-6 no oil to rockers - The Ford Barn

 

Good call! I’ve used an old 1/4” Allen key wrench to replace them but I had to use a carbide drill to make the hole but ther are other ways to secure the shaft.

 

Yes, this Ford Barn member brazed it. Good thing I dont know if I would have remembered to look at that.
Ill take care of it this coming weekend.
Regards.

 

Good morning.
We've got about 3 Kg/cm2 at idle, about 40 psi, so I guess it is not bad. Gonna try another pressure switch.
Thanks for the input guys.

 

My 223 is very fresh with less than 10k miles and I’ve got about the same, maybe 45psi at cold idle. Glad to hear.

 

I was trying to post a link to a youtube video, but its not working, so i took a screenshot (below).
I think I made my conversion right. 3kg/cm2 = about 42 psi. Cold idle.
Tomorrow I'm gonna test it more carefully (yesterday night I could not resist hookin it up in a hurry and firing the engine) and try an old pressure switch I have vs. this newer one that supposedly has gone bad.
Have a good weekend guys and thanks for the input.