Compressor pressure gauge issue

[alanchang]

Hello guys,
So I was working on a Bauer IK120 compressor a few days ago and I replaced an oil pressure gauge that looks like this. Everything seems fine after I replaced it but I couldn't figure out how this gauge was broken. Anyone could tell how this gauge is broken by its look? This is a second-hand compressor so I don't know the full history of it.

 

[broncobowsher]

Best guess, pressure pulsations that let the pointer beat against the post. Can't say if you were really getting pressure drops all the way to zero, probably not. But probably getting pulsations that matched the natural frequency of the gauge.