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Autometer Tach

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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 01:37 PM
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Autometer Tach

My friend replaced his 3 3/4" tach with a 5" tach and he gave me his old one. Unfortunately he left without telling me how to hook it up. If anyone has ever installed an aftermarket tach on a Ranger with distributor-less ignition (coil packs), which wire on the primary coil pack do I hook the tach on to?
 
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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 01:58 PM
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You should have a tan/yel wire running from the PCM to the instrument cluster, thats the tach signal.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 05:21 PM
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My truck never had a tach, but hopefully that wire is still there.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 07:13 PM
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There are a lot of wires in that loom...I sure hope I pick out the right one. Also, on those Rangers with a tach, where is the beginning of the redline?
 
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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 07:35 PM
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It should be there, if your still not sure just let me know and I'll find the pin number at the PCM for that wire.

I'm not sure about the red line on the 2.5, none on the tachs.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 11:34 PM
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If you could find that number it would be great. I don't feel like splicing into the wrong wire and permanently fubaring my truck. Since I don't have a tach, though, where would that wire end? Hopefully not behind the dash.
 
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Old Jan 13, 2004 | 11:56 PM
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Here's what I did...

On my 1992,on the driver's side fender,the tan/yellow wire was in that loom of wires.There's about 10-12 in there.Pretty easy to spot.Then,I just ran the tach wire into that loom and back into the truck.Worked out pretty good.All of these Ranger's have the wires for the tach signals.Kinda makes you wonder why Mr. Ford didn't put them in there from the factory...

I don't know if your's will be in the same place that mine was though,your's being a 1998 and all.Once you find the wire,the rest of it is easy as pie .

Nightrain
 

Last edited by Nightrain; Jan 13, 2004 at 11:59 PM.
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Old Jan 14, 2004 | 08:06 PM
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My 2000 manual says pin 48.
 
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Old Jan 15, 2004 | 12:22 AM
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As long as there is no other wire that looks similar, I think I have the right one. Thank you for all your help guys! I'll let you know how it works out, maybe tomorrow if I can clean the pools fast enough.
 
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Old Jan 15, 2004 | 10:33 PM
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Thanks to all for your help! I spliced and cut and routed wire and in the end it actually worked! I was surprised considering how ugly the job was since I was losing sunlight fast. My friend was expecting the truck to explode when I turned the key and I expected nothing to happen because I cut the wrong wire. Thanks again to everyone who had any input on this!
 
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Old Jan 15, 2004 | 10:59 PM
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Sounds like all went well for you .I love to see another Ranger with a tach lol.These things are pretty fun.I bought my SunPro 3 1/2" off of eBay for $50 brand new.It even has a little LED shift light that I jjust love lol.The only problem that I have now is that the light on my tach is "white",my gauges can glow in 6 different colors,and I have a CD player that has those screensavers on it.The colors get pretty freaky when I'm driving down the road.I think that I'm going to try and find a blue bulb for my tach .

The splicing and cutting of these wires is pretty simple.As long as you know what the correct color is,you're golden.I tell you one thing,cutting,stripping,twisting,capping,etc. wires is a thing of the past.They have these little clips now that you can slip over the wire,put the new wire in the other side,press it down till it snaps,and you're done!It's as simple as that.I always keep some on hand.

Nightrain
 
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