93 302 tach not working

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

Jun 29, 2023 | 09:46 PM

Andrew Losinno

Thread Starter

5th Wheeling

Joined: Dec 2019

Posts: 43

Likes: 2

93 302 tach not working

Hi all, have been trying to figure this problem out for years, ever since I got my truck 3 years ago my tach has never worked. When I first got it if I banged on the dash a little it’d go for a little amount of time but then get stuck at 1300 rpm and only shoot up to around 5-6 grand when I really get into it. Just wondering if there is some sort of sensor somewhere I could check or if it’s just the gauge itself that is busted. I was thinking about just swapping in a gauge cluster w/o a tach and getting an aftermarket auto meter one.

Jun 30, 2023 | 06:36 AM

My4Fordtrucks

Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2015

Posts: 12,837

Likes: 2,437

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew Losinno

I first got it if I banged on the dash a little it’d go for a little amount of time but then get stuck at 1300 rpm and only shoot up to around 5-6 grand when I really get into it.

I don’t know what it is with people beating on the dashboard of their vehicles.

To me, it sounds like there is a bad connection or the gauge is bad. Take the cluster out and inspect the connections for corrosion or loose terminals. It would be easier to replace the factory tachometer than it would be to replace it with a non-tach cluster. You don’t even need to remove the cluster to replace the gauge. Not only that but than you mentioned installing an aftermarket tach which would require you to wire it up and install it somewhere.

Jun 30, 2023 | 07:22 AM

Prototypemech

Logistics Pro

Joined: Nov 2013

Posts: 3,928

Likes: 1,198

From: Mojave, Ca

If the needle is getting stuck, then that sounds like a gauge issue, not a wiring issue or sensor issue. Just replace it with a eBay or junkyard gauge cluster.

Jun 30, 2023 | 09:02 AM

manicmechanic007

Hotshot

Joined: Jul 2020

Posts: 10,471

Likes: 2,633

From: Near Salt Lake City

That is why you smack the dash
Now you know the signal is there and you need a new tach

Jun 30, 2023 | 10:36 AM

toolman60

More Turbo

Joined: Apr 2018

Posts: 551

Likes: 151

From: King and Queen Virginia

On my daughter's Ranger her tach was doing same thing. I took tach out of dash and cleaned the pins and contacts with a

Fiberglass Scratch Brush Pen

been working great since.

Jun 30, 2023 | 02:07 PM

My4Fordtrucks

Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2015

Posts: 12,837

Likes: 2,437

Nope. Not convinced that beating on old plastic parts is a good diagnostic procedure. If the window sticks, I suppose you would advise someone to punch the door a few times?