Oil pressure gauge goes to ';high'; when driving my truck, but at a stop, pressure goes to normal. why?

I own a Dodge Dakota with 80k miles.





When I am driving, the oil preassure guage goes slightly past the ';high'; level.





But at a light or a stop sign, the oil preassure drops down to normal.





What is the cause of this?





Is it bad?





Could this be causeing me to burn much more gas?





What could be wrong with it?





What can I do to fix it?Oil pressure gauge goes to ';high'; when driving my truck, but at a stop, pressure goes to normal. why?
1st off, Without proper diagnostics you cannot get a proper repair.





2nd, with that being said, your oil pump is designed to put out a certain minimum amount of pressure and the higher the RPM's the the quicker it runs, the more fluid it pumps, the higher the pressure.





3rd, being as it is an older vehicle(with an unknown engine) it would probably be a safe bet that it might be in need of a rebuild soon because your pump should not go above a certain pressure point unless something is wrong nor should it go below a certain point either.





4th, the most logical place to start would be to replace your oil pressure sending unit and see what it does then. If it continues then the problem is internal, if not, then its fixed.





Good luck and hope this helps.Oil pressure gauge goes to ';high'; when driving my truck, but at a stop, pressure goes to normal. why?
Sticky oil pressure relief valve may cause this. However I do not think you have a problem. Did you ask another Dakota owner if the gauge reading is the same? Low oil pressure would be much more worry some. The Dodge Dakota is not known for gas mileage any especially if it has the V-8. All I would do is make sure you use good oil filters ';Name Brand'; and make sure your oil is the right weight for your climate and temperature
Probably a bad oil pressure sensor----only way to tell is to remove it and replace--- or hook up a mechanical type pressure gauge to the oil fitting hole on the engine and see what readings you get from it---a mechanical gauge is more reliable than an electrical one. Sounds like the internal electrical resistance of the oil sensor is fouled up at high pressure.
bad gauge. but, for the piece of mind get a mechanical guage and hook it up. this will let you know if you other guage was reading accuately. Also determine the type of oil in your engine. which would cause you to burn more gas. and also it would give you a higher reading on your pressure guage. Newer engines are designed to run on thinner oils. usually a 5w30.
first question is when is the last time you changed your oil? it could be as simple as a very dirty oil filter, as for burning more gas, no i wouldnt worry about that but think of oil pressure as your bodies blood pressure, if the oil pressure is truly high it could be slight clog somewhere