How to change the oil pressure sensor

[Reppr]

If you've gotten the 0520 error code, it is time to replace your oil pressure sensor. The tools to use are:
15mm socket wrench and open end wrench
foot long extension for 3/8" drive
10mm socket
cheater bar (approx. 1 foot long)
car jack
jack stands
electrical tape
First things first. Get the front of the car off the ground and on some jack stands.

Remove the four 10mm bolts holding the belly pan to the car. The belly pan is located directly under the engine of the car. Set it aside, out of the way from the work area. Next, pop the hood and lift it up. Crawl under the passenger side of the car and locate the bolts holding the alternator to the engine.

In the above picture, there are two bolts that are already loosened. One is attached to the black bracket. Take these completely out using a 15mm socket and extension. I had to use a cheater bar and a 15mm closed end wrench to break them loose and then used an articulating knuckle and socket to take them out. The socket extension will stick out into the fender well. When those are out, stand up and look down into the engine compartment. You will need to remove the serpentine belt by putting your 3/8" rachet into the square hole in the automatic belt tensioner. It is located in the front middle of the engine and is aluminum in color. With the tensioner moved toward the passengers side of the engine, remove the belt from the alternator.Locate the 15mm bolt at the top of the alternator.

Once the bolt is out, remove the cables from the back of the alternator. ***CAUTION*** The cable in the picture above is HOT. It has 12volts on it and it will spark and short out the battery. Either wrap the 15mm extension with electrical tape or disconnect the battery. I wrapped my extension. When the cable is loose wrap the end with electrical tape. The oil pressure sensor is now easily visible. The wiring is connected to the sensor with a special plug. You may have to turn the sensor a bit with a crescent wrench to get at the release.

This picture shows the plug in the released position. The red button slides from left to right. Once this is off, the sensor can be removed using a crescent wrench. The picture above shows the plug in the released position.

Here is a fuzzy picture of the sensor.

The plug has three wires in it. I found oil in this plug and may be the source of the problem.
To replace the sensor, just do everything in reverse. Good luck!

[moaugust88]

Nice if I ever get a bad sensor, I'll change it. Great write-up!!!!

[stanleyds88]

Thank you!! Gotta do this on my buddys magnum for her, this will help a lot!

[Reppr]

Check the plug to see if there is any oil in it. If there is, you want to clean it out with electronics cleaner. It will help to keep it from happening again.

[HemiR/T]

thats the exact same way i replaced it as well. great write up!

[GoMan1315]

Check the plug to see if there is any oil in it. If there is, you want to clean it out with electronics cleaner. It will help to keep it from happening again.

DO THIS!!!!

Cleaned mine to what I thought was good enough but didnt have any good electronics cleaner on hand so just put it all back together with a bit of oil and residue still in there. 3 months later. Sensor is acting up again!!!

I knew better.

[ravenkeeper98]

Well, after 53000+ miles I now have the P0520 and a high oil reading, MDS will not work. My oil pressure reads 29-30psi with the key on, and engine not running, guess I'll be changing out the pressure switch this weekend. Thanks for the write up, it will help.

[Reppr]

Get a can of electronics contact cleaner and a can of compressed air. clean the connector with the electronics cleaner and then blow it out with the canned air. Trust me, it will help.

[iceman-5076Hemi]

I'm just curious....why wouldn't you just remove it from the bottom of the car so you don't have to take off the alternator. I would think it would be easier to just remove teh oil filter and replace it with a new one, just seems easier to do this than to remove the alternator etc. but then again, I have yet to change mine out. Again, just curious.

[DrgnWagn]

Very handy write-up. I threw that code so I bought a Haynes mnaual to figure out where the sensor is. The manual is dead wrong - points to the sensor in the block beside the oil lifter, which I believe now is a temperature sensor. I gave up and took it to the dealer. A $400 bill for a $37 sensor.

[KStryker]

Suxs...this is still greek to me, and I got the code awhile back. Pulled the negative battery, and after powering it back up it has not come back again. I will print and read this a few hundred times.

[dodgemahal]

I have a code P0523: Oil pressure sensor/switch circuit High input. Would this be a bad sensor too? Or bad wiring?

[MrNell06]

Very handy write-up. I threw that code so I bought a Haynes mnaual to figure out where the sensor is. The manual is dead wrong - points to the sensor in the block beside the oil lifter, which I believe now is a temperature sensor. I gave up and took it to the dealer. A $400 bill for a $37 sensor.

I have had this problem also.
I took my Charger RT to my neighborhood mechanic to have him replace the oil pressure sending unit. He has done work on this and other vehicles of mine in the past. His labor charge is alot less than the dealership and he normally doesn't charge anything if he doesn't actually fix anything.
I drop the car off, walk down the street to eat a quick lunch and read the newspaper. As i'm about finished eating, i get a call for the mechanic about my car. He tells me that i bought the wrong switch. I told him i would be back to the service bay in a couple minutes. I get there and he says to me again, that is not the right sensor. I look under the car and he shows me a wire connector sticking out just above the oil filter.
He says the switch you bought has three prongs and the one that's on the car only has two. He then says that i needed to get the right sensor and that he would put it on for me. He even shows me a picture/diagram of two different oil sensors for the 5.7 engine. I also noticed that one said oil pressure sending unit and the other said oil temperature sending unit
So as he's putting everything back together, i called the Dodge dealership parts dept. to ask what part number they had listed for an oil pressure sending unit on a 2006 Dodge Charger RT. The parts guy comes back on the phone and reads back the number for the part i requested. It was exactly the same as the one i bought from them. By then i had already concluded that the mechanic who attempted to replace it didn't know what he was looking for. He went through the trouble of taking the belt off and taking the alternator loose and everything else, but was unable to locate the right pressure switch. I am 99.5 % sure i brought him the right one to put on.
If i go back to the dealership on this issue, then i might as well get them to replace it while i'm there. It didn't seem to make sense to remove the alternator to get to the sensor right above the oil filter.

BTW I had this sensor replaced before about 6 months ago. I had no problems for about 4.5 months and then the P0520 returned. Maybe the other mechanic neglected to clean the connector, or the NAPA replacement part was inferior. I'll see what happens when i get the Mopar part put on.

[Reppr]

I followed the directions in the shop manual and added the pictures to show how it is done. The oil pressure sensor is located directly behind the alternator.

[blaspHEMI]

Got a low oil level warning and the CEL came on with a P0520 code. Bought a new oil pressure sensor and changed it a couple of days ago. Sure took a lot longer than I expected, and it was freezing cold. Anyway, now the pressure is back to normal and no more codes. Later, when I looked at the old sensor I saw there were no threads for the last 1/4". I snugged the new one it up until it was flush with the block and the connector was in the right position, but it makes me wonder, if got in too much? Haven't found any pictures in the SM or on the net with the sensor in place.