Ferrari Mailing List: Mondial owners - electro-technical question

[Rick Lindsay (rolindsay]

Hello Friends,

As you know, the Mondial was the first of the "modern" V8 Ferraris.  In 
designing this car the makers included every gadget known to '80s-man.  And of 
course, some of those doo-dads systematically fail.  The oil level sensor is 
one of them.  So I ask:

How does the engine oil sensor work?  The "Wiring Diagrams" booklet for the car 
shows this circuit on Figure 6, item 135.  The sketch shows a two-wire circuit. 
 Inside, the cartoon shows a coil (or perhaps a resistor) in series with a pair 
of contacts.  Both wires go to the Monitor Check Control.  That is, neither one 
is obviously connected to ground or Vcc.  I have made no measurements.  So, in 
one state, the circuit is "open".  In the other state, the circuit completes 
through the coil/resistor.  Problem is, I don't know which state reflects 
proper oil level and which indicates low oil.

And of course, there is another sensor of this kind monitoring the gearbox oil 
level.  I've never seen that warning light on but the 'low oil' warning light 
remains on under all oil level conditions.

So your advice is requested.  And yes, I want to repair the circuit, not just 
learn how to measure one's oil level.

regards,

rick