One tach not working
 

The last time out (368 days ago according to the Cuda Count) I noticed my starboard tach would quit working, then come back, quit working, then come back. When I fired the motors off yesterday the starboard tach never moved. Obviously probably a bad connection or ground somewhere.

Where's the best place to look, I'm not sure where the tach wire would be at the motor, at the distributor? Anybody dealt with this before. I've got a feeling it's probably at the motor and not the dash.

Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks. Russ

Re: One tach not working
 

same one ....Starboard side ....you have to tap it on mine and it fires right up ....

Re: One tach not working
 

I tapped the drumbeat to "Wipeout" and it still didn't move. :D :D

Re: One tach not working
 

well fug ....post it on Tech ... this place is a Ghost town Lately ....Cuda's lost to the Biker Babes ....

Re: One tach not working
 

I posted on the runnin thread russ, its usually tan on Chev, and runs from the dist. very easy to knock around, especially with all the work youve been doing on it....Rob

Re: One tach not working
 

Remove the face of the instrument panel. It should tilt back from the top. There are three wires on the tach. +12v , ground and ignition. Make sure you have 12v and ground. Easiest way is to put a volt meter across the two. If you have that , take a hand held tach/dwell meter and attach to the ignition lead and ground , if it works , it's a bad tach , if it doesn't , the troubles back toward the engine somewhere.
Still lost??? Give us the results and ask again. :cool:

Re: One tach not working
 

Check the connections on the top posts of your Coil. Hit them with some emery.

Re: One tach not working
 

I know this may sound stupid, but take it out for a couple of runs! When I bought my boat, many gauges didn't work, and I kinda freaked out a bit. My mechanic who has owned many Formulas told me that is common after sitting for long periods. My boat had sat for almost 2 years at that point. I didn't like that response, but after a couple good days of use, sure enough everything worked!

So you could try that, or start taking more things apart....

Re: One tach not working
 

This is true ....my star tach that I refered to tapping to get it to work seems to be pk now ......

Re: One tach not working
 

...Don't forget to check the big round connector where the boat harness plugs into the engine.

Re: One tach not working
 

Russ,
Had the same problem last year with mine. One tach would work sporadically when I agitated it, then it just didn't work at all. Checked/cleaned all connections at gauge and engine, no response. Turned out to be a bad tach. Bought one used of the right type and vintage ('89 VDO) from a guy on this site. Works perfectly!!

Found out later that the movement within the tach is fairly delicate and gets frigged-up after years of service. New vintage tachs from VDO cost a bundle, like 400 bucks!! :eek:

So, find a used one. Lots of guys here have swapped out their gauges for new styles. Good luck.

Re: One tach not working
 

Thanks guys. I'll try the above suggestions.

For four hundred bucks I'd replace all the guages with Livorsi. Want to at some point anyway. I want white faced, red needle, and black numbers.

Re: One tach not working
 

Anybody have trouble with their fuel gauge? Mine went on the fritz towards the end of last summer. IF I remember right, it would stay towards a quarter tank with speratic bounces all over.

Re: One tach not working
 

Knock on wood (as I knock on my head), that's okay on my boat.

Re: One tach not working
 

I second this one. Pull the plug apart, clean the contacts and coat with dielectric grease.

Re: One tach not working
 

Ran a "continuity" test yesterday. One of the light grey wires, the one that runs back to the dash, failed the test. Checked it to the connector, and okay to that point. So I just ran a new wire from the dash back to the coil, clipped the light grey wire and wrapped and wire tied it to the new wife to designate it's replacement, and the tach is now working perfectly. Thanks for the suggestions guys.