[northernsight]

When the oil pressure sensor fails, the oil goes fast, apparently. There might be some warning signs, but it sounds like this could be a weak spot of the engine. It's a diaphragm, and when ruptured oil runs out through the sensor.

The guy at the dealership also referred to it as the oil pressure switch. Anyone else had one give out? I heard it's the same on other Hondas, or at least that the oil dumps out as quick.

Car had 120 000 kms on it, a friend was driving, so I'm not sure if you can catch it before damage is drastic, but the engine now has no compression.

The oil can gush out over a distance of ten feet or so, so I don't even know where the oil slick is. The dipstick had foam on it, and when I got there it was not starting, and made a vicious noise, like a large truck or a belt large enough to turn a cement mixer. About half a liter of oil was left when it stopped running.

4300 for a used engine, and 7000 Cdn for a new engine. With labour, it won't be less than 7000 total, for the used engine that has 75000kms on it.

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Sad but true.

Any number of parts can fail allowing loss of oil volume. Although _most_ of the time there is some warning (e.g. a leak preceding the total failure point).

Your Insight's model year would be of some help too. And the type of failure, physically separated (with a possibe rust/corrosion contributing factor), diaphragm rupture, or the more common evidence of a long term leak preceding the total failure point :?: Usually road "gunk" build-up sticking to the oil seepage trail.

It's always good practice to get in the habit of frequent oil level checks on a higher mileage car.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. And AFAI remember the first of its kind reported in here.

Sincerely,

 

[Willie Williford]

oil sensor

I would like a picture of the sensor before commenting. It would have to be blow out of the block to lose that much oil so quick.

 

[Aaron Cake]

I agree. The feed tube to the sensor is only about 2MM wide in almost every oil pressure sensor I've ever seen so there's no way to loose 2.5 litres of oil in 10 feet. You would have to drive for probably several minutes at least and the oil pressure warning light would illuminate.

The Insight doesn't really have a variable pressure sender like most other cars, it is simply a switch that controls the "Low Oil Pressure" light.

 

[AbCaRed00]

Low Oil Pressure Switch Light Appeared.

My oil pressure switch failed quite recently and it took 250km after a fresh oil and filter change to 'oil light on', whereupon I stopped immediately, checked oil, [none on stick!] and installed the half liter from the last change that was carried in the back of the car. Oil Light went out on restart.

Drove a few km at low rpm and added some available 5-20 to make it another 10km to destination. On re-check level was down again but not all gone. More oil added again to make it home and got there ok with some still showing on the stick above the level in about 25km travel. A visible 'slick' was evident in puddles leading to the parking space.

The rate of flow was approximately 1drop per second seen at the base of the oil pan at idle rpm at this point. At running speeds it would be pulsing out there faster no doubt. Oil didn't leak with engine off, and I turned off with key where autostop didn't, coasted etc. I had visions of a main seal blown, gasket, bad filter and even fumbled around the Fumoto in the dark but it was ok.
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Up on ramps next morning, viewing the oil pressure sensor source of the flow directly was difficult: it required both flashlight and trouble light to locate after wiping the surfaces clean with a paper towel.

The oil tracked downwards and along seams in the block,with road dust and muck accumulating down low as noted above. Rate of loss appeared consistently bad drip but certainly not a gush.

I initially suspected I messed the oil filter installation because of the aproximate location of the leak but the leak was determined _above_ the filter.

Viewing the pressure switch in place with a small flashlight, showed damage apparent from prior installation on part of the plastic back of the metal hex nut meant for installing the sensor.
The unit may have been damaged on installation at some point prior and slowly failed. Perhaps the marks are inconsequential, however, torquing on the plastic part of the unit may or may not have contributed. I'll try and post a pic later once it's out.

The oil was seen flowing from the junction of the plastic and metal hex nut backing the threaded part.
The flow arises only with the engine running.
It may be issuing from an atmospheric vent at back of the diaphram, or perhaps from the join of the hex nut and plastic itself.


Removal of the oil pressure switch requires taking off the throttle body as the repair manual indicates; ...
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2015 EDIT: Not necessarily: See Rainsux post below - remove oil filter, then remove sender with open end wrench using short turns
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... access seems tight without removal of the TB, which hopefully will only require removing a few hoses and not having to mess with the cables much.

Walking a ways to a NAPA, found an inexpensive aftermarket part available. I would have preferred to get an AirTex 1S6782 like the one on the vehicle but obtained a DREIK DOP1160 143-1065 by SANTEI Manufateo Co. Ltd. out of OSAKA. $11. CDN. The DREIK unit is shorter not having the plastic section after the metal hex nut, but the electrical connection appears identical. Installation tomorrow hopefully and will try for a few pics.
The original Honda part number is 37240-PHN-003.

R&R entails removal of throttle body according to instructions in the online repair manual.

 

[jime]

I'm just happy you apparently shut it down quickly enough to preserve the engine. It only takes a few seconds, under load, to wipe the crank bearings. Hopefully, they are undamaged. I suppose this might be another good reason to check oil level daily, as "old" car owners manuals stated. A car car live a few minutes without water, but damage from lack of oil is almost instantaneous. Keep us posted.

 

[NorthwestIL]

What Picture????????

I would like a picture of the sensor before commenting. It would have to be blow out of the block to lose that much oil so quick.

its too low inder my car Willie! My mechanic found mine because my wife (personality Type A) complained about the oil on the garage floor and he put it up on a hoist and found the leaking sensor. (also when I quite going back to the dealer because the brakes were shot too and they didn’t find it when they replaced my AC compressor { which they said would only be the belt and idler arm}and did a 30,000 mile check up[ At 300,000?]

 

[AbCaRed00]

. A car car live a few minutes without water, but damage from lack of oil is almost instantaneous. Keep us posted.

Ya! Soon as I saw that light I got out of traffic and pulled over in a safe location ASAP, like 20 secs max and it sounded normal, no chuffing sounds, so crossing the fingers.

Well, I had a couple of days of adventure in fits and spurts trying to get to the oil pressure sensor but it still isn't out.

Plan was to do as the repair book advises 'remove the Throttle Body [TB]': 2 long bolts, two nuts atop long bolts, a couple coolant hoses, the rubber air intake, etc and remove the old unit, and then replace it with the new. Seemed simple. Not today, or rather at time of writing, yesterday.

Unmentioned in the repair manual, I had to remove a few more 10mm bolts to get some flex in an electrical conduit just above the TB to get it moved up and off the long bolts. Easy enough, minor. A bit of short sharp tug straight up got the TB removed; no need to mess with the cable, Rostra the same.

Spurts part started when failing to first remove the plate and the razor-like gasket under the top of the TB.
Wiggling the hand in and around budged up the gasket a tiny amount with not a lot of room for hands in there. In a twisting motion trying to locate and get a purchase to remove the electrical connection of the failed unit, the thin metal gasket bit me twice in quick time in a small clean laceration that sliced a small artery. It bled enough to make the grip slippery and add more aggravation, so, a heads up for that sharp gasket. Should'a removed it first. Hindsight's 20-20.

Insult to injury, knocked one of the 'carefully propped' small coolant hoses removing my hand, with antifreeze flowing into the cuts [zingers!] and then flipping down the hose poured I'd guess quarter coffee cup or so into the open base of the TB before I righted it. I should have plugged these small coolant hoses off too and may well have do an air purge later while Opening the Heater Valve to Max Heat. Though with a quarter cup only displacement it may prove inconsequential. Then again .... better safe then sorry. All this for a stinking oil pressure swtich!
[I hope not to have to replace the thin metal gasket although the book calls for it. If i get an erratic 'hunting' idle I'll know where to look first. ]

Should mention I stuffed the TB opening with paper towel to block it lest anything else fall in such as a nut or bolt.

With a bit of trial found the correct angle of the push tab to depress and pull off the electrical connector to the sender unit. Immediately tried the new Dreik replacement part. Yippie, connection's a fit for that brand, if in fact quite snug.

Found next that removal of the failed AirTex/Wells unit on the car required a longer socket than I had on account of the length of electrical connector.
Using the replacement Dreik unit for reference, 1.25", set off a few miles walk on a beautiful sunny day to look for a cheap deep socket. Soon found a suitable deep and voluminous impact socket on sale to fit the protruding plastic electrical connection.

Wouldn't you know it but the socket that fit the Dreik replacement switch was either too big; the AirTex hex was maybe metric size; or, the failed one car was stripped...It did have a roundish smooth feel to it which may present a problem.
{EDIT: another PIC OF AirTex Oil Pressure Sender 3-Way. Appears fairly round to begin with. No numerical data found}

At this point, I did utter some oaths concerning the placement of the oil pressure switch and servicing, and short of having a fit, wondered if an impromptu EGR cleaning would be in the works as the intake manifold may need be removed anyways for use of vice grips on a well rounded hex.
At this stage, more determined than disillusioned, I figured that intake removal be my next step, but paused for consideration as dark clouds from the west started to spit then rain down breaking up the amateur mechanicing fun session.
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Remembering the credo, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" from a seasoned workplace mechanic in waygone earlier years, and with no herky-jerky, down to 1200rpm with no issues thus far, I began to ponder another option:

Since the failed sensor is broke, I might be able to safely remove the long plastic section off the back of the sensor thereby gaining enough space for a socket to grab the shoulders of the hex nut saving cost of an additional socket.

I don't favor my gut feeling of smacking the plastic off with a blunt instrument for fear of inadvertent damage to the threads in the aluminum block, but if I can get a small saw blade in there at some angle, or nibble it off with some cutter...well, that's for later today.
_____________________________________________
Round 2 this day goes to the oil sender unit and the rain. I'm guessing there may be some dog-legged or stubby wrench that would make it a cinch to remove, but for now, its a bit of a struggle.

 

[AbCaRed00]

NorthwestIL
Hey friend, I think Willie's post was in ref to 2006 post by northernsight the OP.
The oil pressure sensor's tucked to the passenger side behind the throttle body and behind the intake manifold about midway up the block vs low down the way I see it; I myself had the car on ramps and wish I could have got at it that way vs. the factory recommended method from the top.
If there's an easier way I'd sure love to know! Maybe they had a special wrench or other way of turning it from below.

[EDIT: See Rainsux comment - access easier with removal of oil filter - repair manual method is rough]

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The service checks go in cycles as required with some things getting skipped for a long time, such as engine air filter, so, in theory the 30K checks would be done say 10 times or so when the odo reaches 300k.

For when a car 'marks it's spot' kitty litter ground-in with a boot and swept around works great; and there's a domestic product [can't recall the name of off hand] that are capable of removing oil off concrete, though it takes a bit of effort. Pressure washers are what we used industrially in plants; in an oilsands plant we used a citrus based product called 'envirosol' soaked for 30 minutes or more to get an entire building squeeky clean of heaps of bitumen caked on the floor. It required a fan jet at over 1800 psi to almost roll the oil off, worked in one direction. [the hotter the water the better, but be safe with high pressure]

 

[AbCaRed00]

Oil Pressure Sensor Switch Removal and Replacement

Third go round resulted in success going in from the top left and above as noted above with the Throttle Body [TB] moved sideways out of the way; no need to mess with the intake manifold.
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The removal of the failed AirTex Oil Pressure Sender was accomplished after acquiring a deep 24mm socket, in conjunction with a swivel socket, 3/8" ratchet and 6" extension. A rubber mallet was used initially to tap and break loose any possible 'crystallization's' between the aluminum block's threads and the AirTex unit's threads. A light but a short sharp shock via tap to the ratchet handle was sufficient to get it moving. I worried turning it slow would result in thread damage. After a half turn it spun out by hand with no drama and Happy Day!

I haven't looked at the failed AirTex unit really close yet myself, or tried to test it to see were it failed, but it also was possibly a replacement from previous times. There was clear silicone at the base where it threaded in around the sender's boss on the block. Some clear silicone remained stuck on the sender's boss on the engine block after removal, and was scraped off with fingernail easily prior to reinstallation. A pic of the threads inside the mounting boss was taken and blown up on the computer in a graphics program at that point. The threads look ok on removal, and with being careful on install hopefully will be good for a while.

The lengths of the two units weren't 't all that much different as I first thought as can be seen in the picture by comparison.

'Replacement is Reverse of Removal" with the exception of using the different sized socket; a couple of wraps of teflon tape was used for a good seal. To get the part lined up with the hole, I stuck one hand down first, located the hole by feel with my hand forming a cup and dropped the part into the cup of my hand then located it with the cupped hand closely in position. Getting it in any reasonable angle trapping it in a socket was unproductive for me but ...'whatever works'.

After well seated in the threads and hand snugged the new DREIK- SANKE MANUFATEO from Osaka was spun in by hand with the 1.25" socket taking care not to use too much force.

The 1.25" socket used for the Dreik replacement was difficult to get a proper angle with the swivel joints to turn effectively once hand snugged, so I had to resort to a small adjustable crescent wrench to fit to the end of the impact driver socket hex and that worked well. Again trepidation over the potential for stripping but with the teflon tape in place it spun in well without that sickening feeling of it suddenly getting easier to turn and any more adventures chasing threads or such. It's really hard to see what's up other than looking between the gap in intake manifold runners 2 and 3 with a small flashlight when turning.

I could imagine how if somebody cross threaded one of these units on replacement and stripped out threads that a catastrophic sudden failure could be possible, but hopefully that is an unlikely scenario.

After cleaning up the throttle body plate and sharp gasket carefully with some alcohol, most of the black stuff is a rubber coating, the electrical were similarly cleaned and blown out, then the hoses reattached. Double and triple checked then turned the key. All was well, so far.
_____________________________
I note the price of the "DREIK Parts from Japan" sensor unit available was very low compared to others. I would have gone with the best quality possible given the hassle but was restricted to what was within walking distance. Most of the hassle was just not having the proper sockets in my possession at the time.
I was a bit worried from previous vehicle ownerships of German cars, on the name similarity to "trash or rubbish" in that language and 'worse' in a couple other derived languages.
Hopefully since SANKEI's been in business for 70 years and I couldn't find any negative reports on premature failures for their DREIK line of parts, it will be alright for a time. Nonetheless, I'll be watching it very closely though, and carry on board a litre of oil always 'just in case' and stop the vehicle at first sign of "Oil Light On!"

 

[Thermactor]

For those looking to replace their oil pressure switches, don't go cheap - just buy OEM, if it is available. It is cheap, as cheap as Chinese knockoffs, but genuine and engineered in this application to last a very long time. Here's one link, you can use many others, as the part number is 37240-PHM-003.
37240-PHM-003 - Honda SWITCH ASSY., OIL PRESSURE

 

[AbCaRed00]

For those looking to replace their oil pressure switches, don't go cheap - just buy OEM, if it is available. It is cheap, as cheap as Chinese knockoffs, but genuine and engineered in this application to last a very long time. Here's one link, you can use many others, as the part number is 37240-PHM-003.
37240-PHM-003 - Honda SWITCH ASSY., OIL PRESSURE

Unfortunately a lot of places won't ship across borders.
re: Inexpensive parts: I checked further on the DREIK [est. 2006] and parent SANKEI [c.1940] parts company and pretty sure it's as you indicate: ie. with careful wording like 'Parts From' on the packaging , which may indicate only a transit point; and the 'Made In' refers to the blister pac card the unit's mounted on for trans-shipment. The key to the puzzle is in company listings of divisions squirreled around the business locator listings and the use of the word 'unit' vs. 'sensor'. It's a worldwide venture.
I'll be hoping at least they've got newer manufacturing equipment in ‪Fuzhou‬, Cn, where the stuff likely imo most very likely manufactured originally. No issues there with me on that account for the most part.
________________________

It would be interesting to know what companies supply the myriad of parts to Honda. Looked but found no list.
________________________
fwiw: A friend who was decades in the parts jobber business, trusted O.E.M. branded parts more vs the parts that actually get the car manufacturers logo's: When the OEM sells them to the public they're more apt to have the best quality control on the production run with their own stamp.
fwiw: Buddy didn't have any problems ordering Chinese parts for quality, in fact preferred Chinese made bearings better than from older previously established locations because of newer manufacturing equipment and machine tolerances. Quality can be excellent with newer equipment, but it often depends what spec parts were ordered by foreign buyers. Since many people buy on price point alone, the cheap stuff does the volume with some major discount outlets and national chains we all know.
_________________________________________
Hard to say what price those parts will cost in the future with wages increasing rapidly over there planned to double in 5 years and the bent towards fluctuations in world economies, but the gap is decreasing with more and more outsourcing by large corporations including Honda.

 

[AbCaRed00]

Test Drive after Reinstall, Purge Requirement and Oil Up Belt Issues

Finishing up on the oil pressure switch unit change, on a short initial test drive, as there were no leaks in the sender, I decided to go to a close-by car wash to clean the engine bay then change back to Mobile 0W-20 and do an air purge.

Surprisingly, in only 2 miles, along with an uncharacteristic few minutes warming up while idling to check for leaks first before setting out there was a problem detected by the OBDCIIC&C Gauge, whereas the car's instrument cluster reflected nothing at all in blissful ignorance.

Day was warm, but nothing out of the ordinary on the car's gauge was noted. Suddenly, and to my consternation, the OBDIIC&C warning tone was heard and the Red LED warning lamp suddenly indicated. WoT NeXt! was the reaction at the initial alarm! A litany of possible fails fleeted across the mind, but not too hard to guess the issue, recalling the perceived coolant loss estimated from the TB.

Observed: ECT [engine coolant temp] on the 'Gauge was spiking for only a second or so from airlocked superheated steam pockets. Still, cluster gauge totally normal and non-indicative.
Digital temp spiking was 'on-again-off-again' but more or less persistent. ICT on The 'Gauge was up bobbling 5-6 degrees C over the 'normal 91-92' when the red light and tone was 'Off', but spiking up and indicating to a reading of 186-187C quickly, then back down to a high 95C-97C.
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Seeing the above, stopped immediately at roadside & popped hood and checked: the rad cap was cool to the touch. Airlock in the coolant system no question. Car wash was only a few blocks away, so glided in to commence cleaning the blown out oil and grime coating the engine and surroundings and let things cool a bit.

Sprayed the areas most affected on the warm block avoiding the head as best as could; but by necessity getting some of the engine bay parts wet that likely shouldn't have been*.

Firewall and right side of the block was so much heavily coated from the prior AirTek/Wells oil pressure sensor spew; that in the spraying and rinsing process, the oil and crud loosened by the pre-soak got inadvertently splashed back onto the fan belt with predictable slipping/squealing right away at anything over about 1800 rpm. Chirped rapidly like a failing ball bearing in a small way.

Not totally convinced it was just a wet belt after it persisted longer than just plain water on a belt, and with my mind thinking it could be a bearing after the low oil issue, or the maybe even water pump gone on account of the steam pulses, I pulsed and glided with shutting the engine off intermittently for the bulk of the way home. btw: What a great method to save fuel and wear
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[*Anecdotally, I likely got some water/presoak stuff or the spotless wash stuff on the injector connections as well: for at the very same time, the first letter of the 'INJ' parameter disappeared while the Red LED and Alarm Tone were doing their thing.
Got no codes thrown on the OBDIIC&C fwiw, but the gauge wasn't liking the signal from all the wet in the engine bay and I got the two solid bars on the 'Gauge whereupon pulled the plug and reinserted after restarting. All was again normal save the still spiking temperature on the OBDIIC&C.
_______________________

Anyways, … got home and posthaste changed out the mix of oils that were in there from the emergency top-ups earlier, back to try Mobile 1 brand, 0W-20 again.
Displacing the air from the coolant as planned following the oil change, …level was down about half a liter, …which amount of air in the coolant system is obviously more than enough for this small engine's 4L total capacity to form an airlock and cause spikes seen only by the OBDIIC&C.
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[Again, don't forget to turn that Climate Control Heater Temperature Knob to Maximum Hot during the air purging process! I was already primed for that to be sure. lolz]

Temperature level after purging as registered on the 'Gauge was totally rectified after air purging the coolant, but the squealing from the pulley area persisted. Ditto for cluster happily reading normal.

Not totally sure if it was the water pump taking a hit from the spikes of hot steam, or maybe some other component failed because of potential oil starvation so .....went out for another test drive on the ring roads. I thought that belt sounded a bit like a dry bearing and wanted to be sure it was just the belt, by trying to dry it out.

Having in mind the credo: "Drive it until it Breaks!" [from the same workplace mechanic, who said "If it Ain't Broke Don't Fix it."], and more or less figuring it _had_ to be due to the car wash, I took a moderate speed cruise at low rpm, with a few spurts of acceleration into higher rpm to test the squeal again.

No probs: The noise was diminishing more and more with further travel and time.
Ramped up the speed on the ring roads, 'in the wind, so to speak' and in only about 15 minutes, the high pitched squealing required even more rpm to duplicate. The sound was hardly discernible at a half hour, only at full song, with a few peeps only at [near/towards] the top rpm then, with nothing to hear an hour later.
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In the case of an oil leak from the oil pressure sensor, this would be one case where 'drive it until it breaks' would surely be a false economy; and change it out ASAP for as best as you can obtain to get back on road and stay there as RedJellyBean recommends.

[EDIT - refilled coolant overflow container prior to next cold start. Check for a few days and top up as required for an air free coolant system]

 

[AbCaRed00]

Avoid running any revs with cold oil, warm up oil

Hopefully since SANKEI's been in business for 70 years and I couldn't find any negative reports on premature failures for their DREIK line of parts, it will be alright for a time. Nonetheless, I'll be watching it very closely though, and carry on board a litre of oil always 'just in case' and stop the vehicle at first sign of "Oil Light On!"

Oil Pressure Sensor unit replacement - The 250k km car is on it's third replacement oil pressure sensor.
2nd time around in my ownership of the vehicle : Cheap Dreik oil pressure sender fails suddenly and put the car up on the ramps after 3 years use at just over 50K km travel. DTC P1259 indicates immediately on OBDIIC&C. Cold climatic conditions may exacerbate oil pressure sender failures.

Chronic cold starts no doubt contributed to early part failure; and in the final moment, failure was likely due to too much rpm before the oil properly warmed. I thought I heard it 'let go' at the top of a shift when accelerating, then immediately got a P1259 [22] DTC P1259: VTEC System Malfunction and CEL and OIL light fluctuating off/ on.

A quick roadside stop showed about 1 drip/sec @1000rpm dripping onto the ground. Arg. nurse it home, FAS etc. Later with lower engine cover removed and small flashlight shining sideways, oil was spotted running down the electrical wiring connection of the oil pressure sender this time. [dropping straight down the wire vs. traveling right tight along the front to side of the block/pan like last time the AirTex-Wells failed.]
[nb. Safety glasses when looking up to spot the oil leak are a good idea. Best done with a cold engine and drip pan in place.]

[edit:the factory repair manual way is indicated below; [see Rainsux post following: remove oil filter for better access.]]

Procedure:
remove engine cover
remove top half of throttle body TB: gaskets; hoses; clamps; electrical connections; plug water lines for coolant leak [<important]; shift parts carefully out of the way up and to the car's left for access: unbolt a small plastic harness protector part and budge it up from block so to clear the TB removal up and left side. Throttle cable and Rostra cruise control cable and bracket thankfully remain intact.

The top of the sender boss might be seen [barely] from above via the hole looking straight down between runners 2&3 of the intake manifold, with a small flashlight shone from the right side. [Visibility is a pain when working on this switch. Small hands and/or good tools would be an asset and as RJB/Thermactor noted above get a quality piece as R&R is a chore. The price in the link he provide seems reasonable for the Honda part [usa].]
[a view of the airtex-well switch installed with the electrical connection removed is was obtained with a camera held into the area.]
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After checking the local dealership price [~$147cdn] no thanks.
OT: high fixed Canadian prices : i.e. spark plugs ~$68cdn each last time checked, >$50usd ea.],

I traveled to a well trusted local parts jobber I&M Imports, and voicing concerns over quality issues of the previous low cost 'Dreik' part obtained elsewhere, was assured that the FAE brand [Made in Spain] was good OEM quality. Cost turned out to be only 1/10th dealer price and only a couple hours to wait for pickup.
____________

Installing the new part was anticipated to be straightforward but was not as the boss's threads were galled at the top, as can be seen in the inset image.
[This can be compared with the inset view of the oil pressure boss's threads from three years ago when threads were passable.
It is likely damage occurred at the last stage of removal this last time where the socket trapped over the loosened part was hard to remove because of a rubber hose just behind it [hose can be shifted backwards and down; nb. do not forget to unkink upon reinstallation]

A 1/8" NPT Tap was readily obtained and the treads carefully chased with some trepidation. Easy tapping worked out the gall in a few shallow passes of the tap partially into and back out of the hole rocking it circularly a bit..
With the oil pressure sender now teflon taped, fitting and threaded finger tight, a 7/8" deep socket was turned by hand until the threads bit well. [Nothing stripped thankfully!] ...Brake cleaner fluid was used on the saturated electrical connection and reassembly ensued.

Had some trouble with plugging in a connector and 'key-on' got a DTC P0113: Intake Air Temperature (IAT) Sensor Circuit High Voltage on the ObdiiC&C gauge which was the sensor not snapped into it's connector properly.

Idling/revving test showed no leaks. Time out, then later a successful road test.
If I have to do this again I will remote mount the sender via a T-fitting or somesuch.
[nb. see Rainsux comment below - save time and trouble!]
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I observe the FAE unit has apparent better construction than preceding units, i.e. note hex nut quality vs. AirTex-Wells unit [see 3-D view]; and the FAE unit definitely functions better as a low oil pressure sensor than the preceding Dreik branded unit:
fwiw: The latter unit would not trigger the oil light on the dash when FAS [Mima version] was used; whereas others were indicating the oil light went 'on' during FAS. [Commentary made in FAS related posts].
With the FAE brand oil pressure sender installed, the oil light definitely indicates promptly, as soon as the engine stops and oil pressure drops, as it should.
_____________________________________

In short, I would not recommend the Dreik part unless stuck somewhere and needing to bung the 1/8"npt hole; or, as a special fix for the 'oil light on' when the FAS is used and the engine stops turning.

The FAE brand hopefully will meet or exceed OEM.

Care will be taken to limit rpm with cold oil as much as possible and/or implement better warm up procedures.

 

[Rainsux]

-Procedure:
remove engine coverremove top half of throttle body TB: gaskets; hoses; clamps; electrical connections; plug water lines for coolant leak [<important]; shift parts carefully out of the way up and to the car's left for access: unbolt a small plastic harness protector part and budge it up from block so to clear the TB removal up and left side. Throttle cables thankfully remain intact.
HONDA INSIGHT 2000 - Throttle Body Removed - Oil Pressure Sender Replacement Photo by AbCaRed00 | Photobucket
The top of the sender might be seen [barely] from above via the hole looking straight down between runners 2&3 of the intake manifold with a small flashlight shone from the right side. Visibility is a pain when working on this switch. Small hands and/or good tools would be an asset and as RJB/Thermactor noted above get a quality piece as R&R is a chore. The price in the link he provide seems reasonable for the Honda part [usa].

I had this apart when I installed my turbo. I easily removed the sending unit from the bottom. I think all I removed was the oil filter. Then I used an open end wrench making short swings.

Sam

 

[AbCaRed00]

Thanks much Sam for the better way in. Not liking the approach from above much at all, and if ever required to change out a sender again I'll definitely attempt access as you suggest!