When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a 1997 XL F250 California Truck 5 speed 7.5L. The truck did not come with a Tach from the factory, so I am trying to install one from another cluster...when I did the tach did NOT work, so I want to make sure I did this correctly...can anyone help:
The pictures with the green back are my original cluster (I have installed the tach into this one) and the pics with the red back are from a donor truck...I want to make sure I got everything lined up or if you could help diagnose my issue...what could be the reason the tach doesnt work?
The instrument clusters have to come from a similar year vehicle. A 1994 cluster doesn't work in a 1997 vehicle. For a 97 gas you would need a 96 or 97 gas cluster only for it to work. I don't know what year the cluster you picked from is or if it is gas or diesel but the fact that the circuit is a different color would throw me off.
The way this is actually accomplished is you install a complete cluster with tach from a donor, it's not possible to put a tach into a non tach cluster... the cluster circuitry is different. This should be obvious when looking at where the individual gauges are on the two versions, the tach cluster has all 4 smaller gauges(temp, oil, fuel, volt) to the left of the speedo instead of two on each side.
If you want to keep the correct odometer reading for your truck(most do) then your speedo section gets swapped into the donor cluster. The gauges just unplug from the front once the clear besel is removed.
The way this is actually accomplished is you install a complete cluster with tach from a donor, it's not possible to put a tach into a non tach cluster... the cluster circuitry is different. This should be obvious when looking at where the individual gauges are on the two versions, the tach cluster has all 4 smaller gauges(temp, oil, fuel, volt) to the left of the speedo instead of two on each side.
If you want to keep the correct odometer reading for your truck(most do) then your speedo section gets swapped into the donor cluster. The gauges just unplug from the front once the clear besel is removed.
Ok, so I did that, I swapped the Speedo into the donor cluster...and while everything else worked, including the speedo, the tach did not. I also noticed that above the F6 part number on the back of the cluster there is an A vs B...does that have something to do with it?
The instrument clusters have to come from a similar year vehicle. A 1994 cluster doesn't work in a 1997 vehicle. For a 97 gas you would need a 96 or 97 gas cluster only for it to work. I don't know what year the cluster you picked from is or if it is gas or diesel but the fact that the circuit is a different color would throw me off.
So both part numbers start with an F6, which tells me that the gauge clusters should be the same year right? However the donor cluster has a part number that ends with a B and the original Cluster has a part number that ends with an A...does that matter?
It looks like BA is tach cluster and AA would be non tach cluster. F6 should be a 96 designation, if I remember correctly. If the tach is not working, try to remove it and reset it in the keepers. It might not be making good contact, or possibly dead tach. When I did mine on the 96 without factory tach, I had sourced 2 factory tach clusters. One was a 96 F250 and the other was a 97 F250. The printed circuit boards that I had collected were more of a light green color. I removed my original cluster and plugged in each cluster to test them. Then I dissembled all 3 and picked the best looking tachometer circuit board and housing, installed my original PSOM / speedometer and then picked the best looking gauges for the install. This way I kept my original odometer. Went together relatively quick and easy. It didn't matter if it was a V8 or inline 6, just don't use a diesel cluster for gas engines. Also perfect time to replace the dash lights. It is a good upgrade, good luck. Hopefully it is just a bad connection on seating the tachometer.
To my former '97, I had added a tach using a similar-year cluster but incorporated my original speedo/odometer section instead of the donor's to maintain my truck's original mileage. Thankfully, my current '95 already had a tach dash!
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
