Notices
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

tach.question

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Aug 29, 2009 | 12:58 PM
  #1  
douglpr42's Avatar
douglpr42
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 514
Likes: 81
From: coe hill on.can.
tach.question

my truck is a 1984 f150 300 six . my question is i have a instrument panel out of a 1984 f150 that had a 351w motor in with a tach. will it work in my 84 6cy that did not have a tach? would i have to change any thing or would it have any wiring allready there that it needs ? would it register right? thanks i need any help i can get.
 
Reply
Old Aug 29, 2009 | 01:26 PM
  #2  
Diesel_Brad's Avatar
Diesel_Brad
Fleet Owner
15 Year Member
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 21,437
Likes: 76
From: Gilbert, PA
It will plug in and work fine
 
Reply
Old Aug 29, 2009 | 02:10 PM
  #3  
douglpr42's Avatar
douglpr42
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 514
Likes: 81
From: coe hill on.can.
tach.question

thanks i was hoping it would .will try it if we ever get any dry days up here.
 
Reply
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 01:58 AM
  #4  
muscletruck7379's Avatar
muscletruck7379
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,703
Likes: 4
From: Harrisburg, NE
Club FTE Silver Member

i dont see how it would read right, when i went from a 6 to an 8 in my capri I had to turn a little screw over to"8", and its been so long since i have had the cluster out of my bronco that i really don't remember. could you let us know if it reads right or not?
 
Reply
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 08:34 AM
  #5  
Diesel_Brad's Avatar
Diesel_Brad
Fleet Owner
15 Year Member
Photogenic
Liked
Loved
Joined: May 2009
Posts: 21,437
Likes: 76
From: Gilbert, PA
It will read right. the only difference is between a 80 tach and a 81-86 tach. And there is no adjustments. It rears off the coil wire so it can tell how often if fires. There is no adjustments on any aftermarket tach i have ever owned either.
 
Reply
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 12:30 PM
  #6  
JimsRebel's Avatar
JimsRebel
Cargo Master
15 Year Member
Photogenic
Photoriffic
Community Builder
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 2,573
Likes: 207
From: Washington
Tach Info

Here is a photo of the back side the tach. 81-86 F150






B = 12 volt power for tach
G = tach ground
C= is the connection to the NEG side of the coil
8= this will need to be grounded IF you have a V8 or it will read wrong

The grounding for connection "8" (lower left in photo) is done on the engine side of the wiring harness, which is why the instrument clusters will swap between a V8 and a inline 6.

Below in a photo of a engine wiring harnes for a 4.9 without the ground wire.




Notice there are 2 wires on the truck side of the "TACH" plug and only 1 on the engine side of the plug. That is how you can tell this is a harness for a 6 cyl engine. A V8 engine harness would have 2 wires on each side of the plug, the second wire would be the ground for the "8" connection on the tach.



Below is a photo of the harness in the truck, the tach plug is the one in the center with the single green wire on the engine side.




have fun.... Jim
 
Reply
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 01:07 PM
  #7  
81-F-150-Explorer's Avatar
81-F-150-Explorer
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 8,786
Likes: 28
From: Northern California
Just to clarify, the tach itself is the same, 1980-1986, and so are the gauges, and speedometer head.

It's the printed circut on the back of the cluster thats different between 1980 and 1981 through 1986.

1980 Cluster Printed circuts are marked begining with E0TF, color coded Green.
1981-1986 Cluster Printed circuts are marked begining with E1TF, color coded Red.
 
Reply
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 01:13 PM
  #8  
81-F-150-Explorer's Avatar
81-F-150-Explorer
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 8,786
Likes: 28
From: Northern California
Originally Posted by douglpr42
my truck is a 1984 f150 300 six . my question is i have a instrument panel out of a 1984 f150 that had a 351w motor in with a tach. will it work in my 84 6cy that did not have a tach? would i have to change any thing or would it have any wiring allready there that it needs ? would it register right? thanks i need any help i can get.
It depends. The 1984 F-150 with the 300-6 will have to have the AMMETER and OIL pressure gauge option. If it does it's already wired for a tach and you just plug and play and it will work.

If it's got IDIOT LAMPS, you will have to swap the entire underdash harness and the altenator harness to make it work. This is because the ammeter circuts are wired drasticly different to idiot lamps. Not too hard to switch out, just time consuming, if you have the harness out of the other 1984 to work with.
 
Reply
FTE Stories

Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts

story-0

Top 10 Fords at 2026 Carlisle Ford Nationals

 Joe Kucinski
story-1

3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership

 Brett Foote
story-2

10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches

 Pouria Savadkouei
story-3

Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained

 Brett Foote
story-4

10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love

 Joe Kucinski
story-5

10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)

 Michael S. Palmer
story-6

Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath

 Verdad Gallardo
story-7

Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer

 Joe Kucinski
story-8

2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)

 Brett Foote
story-9

Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies

 Joe Kucinski
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 03:54 PM
  #9  
douglpr42's Avatar
douglpr42
Thread Starter
|
More Turbo
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Community Favorite
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 514
Likes: 81
From: coe hill on.can.
thanks for all the info . as i said earlier waiting for dry days as no garage .both panels have full gauges no idiot lights . so it sounds like it should be ok. thanks again p.r douglas both from 84 f150s
 

Last edited by douglpr42; Aug 30, 2009 at 03:57 PM. Reason: left out info
Reply
Old Aug 30, 2009 | 08:10 PM
  #10  
muscletruck7379's Avatar
muscletruck7379
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 2,703
Likes: 4
From: Harrisburg, NE
Club FTE Silver Member

[QUOTE=JimsRebel;7883436]

B = 12 volt power for tach
G = tach ground
C= is the connection to the NEG side of the coil
8= this will need to be grounded IF you have a V8 or it will read wrong

The grounding for connection "8" (lower left in photo) is done on the engine side of the wiring harness, which is why the instrument clusters will swap between a V8 and a inline 6.

[QUOTE]

this answers what i was wondering, cause like i said, on my 84 capri the front of the tach there is a little hole, to which inside is a little switch you turn with a standard screwdriver to either 4,6,or 8. but this makes sense since pickups didn't come with 4 bangers.

and on every aftermaket tach i have seen there has been a switch to go from 4,6,or 8 as well as a way to zero the tach.
 
Reply
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
weswes01
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
51
Jan 8, 2017 06:07 PM
1984_6.9
Pre-Power Stroke Diesel (7.3L IDI & 6.9L)
9
Jul 31, 2016 03:51 PM
rowdyredneck
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
4
Aug 3, 2013 10:45 AM
Kenneykole
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
13
May 7, 2012 04:37 AM
hugger94
Pre-Power Stroke Diesel (7.3L IDI & 6.9L)
4
Nov 29, 2008 08:03 PM




All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:25 AM.

story-0
Top 10 Fords at 2026 Carlisle Ford Nationals

Slideshow: Top 10 Fords at 2026 Ford Nationals

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-09 11:10:08


VIEW MORE
story-1
3 Best / 3 Worst Parts of Modern Ford Ownership

Based on years of owning multiple modern Ford products.

By Brett Foote | 2026-06-09 10:53:36


VIEW MORE
story-2
10 Amazing Upgrades That Solve Common Ford Truck Owner Headaches

SPONSORED: From muddy boots to rain-soaked cargo, these upgrades address some of the most common frustrations Ford truck owners face every day.

By Pouria Savadkouei | 2026-06-08 18:50:34


VIEW MORE
story-3
Every 2026 Ford Engine Explained

Here's everything you need to know about every Ford engine available for the 2026 model year.

By Brett Foote | 2026-06-05 12:58:01


VIEW MORE
story-4
10 Ugly Ford Trucks That We Still Kinda Love

Slideshow: 10 ugly Ford trucks that we still kinda love.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-06-03 09:51:16


VIEW MORE
story-5
10 Things Every Truck Owner NEEDS (2026 Edition)

Slideshow: the best gifts for dads & grads

By Michael S. Palmer | 2026-06-03 15:43:58


VIEW MORE
story-6
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic 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.

By Verdad Gallardo | 2026-06-03 11:38:36


VIEW MORE
story-7
Top 10 Most Expensive Ford Trucks Ever Sold on Bring a Trailer

Slideshow: 10 most expensive Ford trucks ever sold on Bring a Trailer.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-27 16:24:34


VIEW MORE
story-8
2027 Ford Super Duty Buyer's Guide (Every Model, Engine, & Package)

Here's everything that has changed for the latest model year.

By Brett Foote | 2026-05-27 16:17:28


VIEW MORE
story-9
Top 10 Ford Truck Tragedies

Slideshow: Top 10 Ford truck tragedies.

By Joe Kucinski | 2026-05-18 19:34:33


VIEW MORE