I want to add a Tachometer to my truck so I can tell what rpm I'm at as well as redline, etc.

Do they make aftermarket tachs for our 6.9s? Where do I get them and who is a good brand.

Thanks


Jeremy

 

P.S. how do I delete a post/reply?

 

Your truck didn't come with a tach?

I would think the easiest way would be to go to a wrecking yard and get the entire guage cluster + the wiring from a wrecked truck....

 

where is your tach? the middle of my dash cluster is blank. no tach. is that where your's is located?

 

That's where mine is - in the center. Speedo to the left, and Oil, Temp, Amps, & fuel to the right.

I'd bet the wiring is already there - you just need to get the guage cluster with the tach...

 

You will also need the magnetic Tac adapter that screw into the Injector pump gear housing. I got one off a 7.3 and bought a tach cluster off ebay.

 

funny, today my friend asked what the middle of my dash was for since it was blank...wierd.

anyway, so all I need is a dash cluster from another 1985 Ford Diesel Automatic? Are the wires already routed and just not connected? Or do I have to route the wires and connect a new wire..?

Thanks

 

I found my factory harness on the passenger fender well and it hooked right up to the tach adapter. I believe all the wiring goes to the stock instrument cluster. Ill know by friday(tach cluster is on its way). I have the Tach adapter hooked up just need to plug in the new cluster and fire it up.

Steven

 

ZPI28,
Welcome to FTE and the IDI diesel forum.



Make sure your IP drive gear cover has a plug where the tach sensor goes.
Also look near the IP for the connector that I have zip tied to my wiring harness in the picture.

If you find the conector, the wires are in the harness.
When you change the cluster, all the wiring is done in the printed circuit on the back of the cluster.
You can not just add the tachometer to your cluster, if the cluster does not have a tach, the printed circuit does not have the tach circuits.

 

I also don't have a Tach in my E-350. I found a F-250 Dash Cluster on eBay with a tach. Anyone know of any reason that It won;t work to just replace the cluster?
1989 E350 IDI 7.3 AUTO with tach sensor installed, just no Tach!

 

ok can anyone tell me if a tack cluster from a gaser will work just a thought

 

dwaymar, I'm sure the physics are different, but maybe not. imagine at the motor you have a little generator at one end and at the tach you have a motor. they are hooked up together with no efficiency loss. you turn the generator at 100 rpms and this will power the motor to turn at 100 rpms. I think this is the basics of our tachs, although the newer rigs are electronic/digital.

If the synchronous motor and generators are different between the gasser and the diesel then you will have an erronous reading. i think they would be different just because the ranges are different, thus placing the needles in different places, which would show a difference.

if they are the same the reading will be correct, but your redline will be way off since the gasser is designed to spin up almost twice as high as our diesels.

either way, I would just go with the diesel tach for simplicity and for ease of installation. not only that, but if you put in a gasser one and it doesnt work right, you will just have to put in a diesel tach anyway.

Go with the diesel one, you will save time and money I'm sure.

hope this answers your question.

 

drrandall12 I'm sure they will be the same. the parts between trucks and vans are usually the same since the engines are the same and it would be cheaper for production to just use the same parts. I may be wrong.

if they look the same and have the same rpms(diesel or gasser) then I;m sure it would be ok.

 

2New, my guess is that it won't work. My new 84 did not have a tach but my 86 did, so replaced the cluster and hard wired the the tach to the sending unit, works great. lol

 

I just checked under my hood and there is a plug where dave's sensor is. I wonder how many wires are involved.

to simplify my question: >> Can I go to a junkyard and pick up a gauge cluster that is the same year/diesel of mine and pick up the sensor and just wire them straight to each other? does my wiring harness already have these wires? Do I just install the sensor and reciever and just find the wires to connect the two?

thanks

jeremy

P.S. ZPI28, I am looking forward to your results.