ricepatrol

YESSSSS you don't know how good that makes me feel!!! haha. Where is this chip, and what does it look like? For now this is the solution until i can build up enough cash to get another. Right now I have $0. Any insight into this chip would MAKE MY DAY. yesssss I have waited months for this freakin tach only to be let down, but it sounds like I may be able to make it work... so a little more insight please? Thanks guys

Ps. how much are you sellin it for? just for shiits and giggles, like I said earlier I am poor!

92hatchLX

the "chip" is more like a harness with a whole bunch of wires in the back of it that plugs into the gauge cluster. Take apart your dash and take out the gauge cluster, you can't miss it.

ricepatrol

I looked at the 4 banger cluster today, on the back, there was a big chip, maybe 2in by 2in, with a small square piece of black foam in the middle, with a ford sticker on it with the model number. It looked like it was held on by one torx screw at the top. Is this the chip you were talking about? Just swap it with the one currently in my cluster now?
Now a question I should have asked long ago. Here is the description of what happens with my tach. At rest it's in the normal spot, at zero. When I turn the key, not even start it yet, it moves to about 4 1/2k I think. Then when I start it it moves to around 5k. When I shut it off it shoots past zero and bounces to zero a few times till it stop at zero. (got it? haha) Before I go through swapping out my cluster, could this simply be a loose ground wire for the tach, or a short in the tach wiring somewhere? Or does this sound like a broken tach period? I should have asked this question first but it just struck me today that it could have been wiring. I GREATLY appreciate the help i'm getting from you guys...

silver91gt

I dont know what is happening with your tach,

but the chip is the one you found, it is held in by a clip that you have to pull the side open then it slides out.

since you have the cluster out already, take the tach out and see if there is anything broken, or a short in the chip.

other than that I dont know.

what year is it again?
the pre 86 cars had a switch on the back of the tach. to switch between 4, 6, and 8 cylinder.


when you rev it do the rpm's go up normal? well, from 5k up?

ricepatrol

I have the 4 banger cluster out now, not my v8 (still in) I'll check tomorrow (technically today) to see whether it is accurate past 4 1/2 or whatever. I'm about 85 percent sure that was one of the first things I thought of, tested it, and found it to not be accurate anytime. I'll check anyway. Mine is a 1987, I think the notch I got the new cluster from was an 89, either way, definately not a body style back (86). Thanks

ricepatrol

Now that I went out and tested it, it very well seems that past about 4300 rpms it is accurate. Does that signal a fried tach? I did see it work briefly one time when I first got it, it worked until like 2k rpms then just shot up to it's normal 4300rpm spot.

silver91gt

make sure the plug on the distributor is clean, the tach signal wire is tan/brown on my 91.

ricepatrol

well I swapped the chip out and it still reads double! It's better than nothing like before, but I thought it was supposed to work fine. Ideas why? On a side note, does anyone have pictures, of which wire near the ignition is the tach? I can't find a tan/brown (brown/tan whichever it was) wire. Also where does it ground at? Thanks. How much did you say that cluster was for sale again?

silver91gt

$20 plus shipping.