Pegged tach question

[sidechoke67]

OK, for those of you with crystal balls....

My tachometer was a little flakey for all last season...sometimes working, sometimes not (getting no rpm reading at all when it didn't work). On my last trip of the year, and through winterization it was just pegged at 7K while the boat was running. I decided to leave it - finished winterizing my boat and put it away.

Now, my wife is asking me what I want for Christmas. If the tach is shot, I would like to ask her to get me a new one for Christmas. However, I can't really do any testing until the Spring at this point. Money is tight for me these days...I don't want to get other stuff for Christmas, and then confirm that I also need a new tach in the Spring. On the other hand, I don't want us to spend the money on a new tach if I've actually got some other problem.

So...time for the crystal ball...anyone care to offer any guesses on the likelihood that my problem is the tach itself? Anything I can do to test/diagnose without running the boat? My boat is currently winterized in my garage. I looked at the connections behind the tach, and they all look clean and tight.

The motor is a Volvo 3.0L Penta, tach is a Faria, boat is a 2001 Glastron 175.

Thanks for any thoughts/advice!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Pegged tach question

The easiest and most inexpensive thing to do is check connections at the tach and at the engine. The back of the tach has four connections: 1) the internal light which should be lit only when the key is on or the NAV lights are on. 2) Ground. This wire should be daisy chained to the ground wires on the other gauges. 3) +12 volts. This wire also is daisy chained to the +12 volt connection on the other gauges and should be active only when the key is on. 4) Send (S) terminal is the signal from the engine. Since the tach was acting up (on and off) it points to a loose connection. Loose connections can cause the terminals to touch other terminals. The send terminal touching the +12 volt terminal would likely peg the tach. Folks are way to hasty to replace gauges when they are rarely the issue.

 

[Knightgang]

Re: Pegged tach question

I agree with ST. When I first got my boat, the tach would peg everytime I used it, Then one day, it stopped pegging and worked just fine. I think that was after I replaced the ignition switch... So, I must have hit something under the dash and knocked loose a shorting ground, to bumped a terminal connection back to the right place...

Either way, I bet you issue is somehting simple and does not warrant a new tach...

 

[sidechoke67]

Re: Pegged tach question

Thanks guys! I will check all my connections...

any idea where, on my engine, I would look for the start of the send signal?

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Pegged tach question

Look at the color of the wire on the "S" (send) terminal on the tach. It will likely be the same color at the engine (on the coil).

 

[stylesabu]

Re: Pegged tach question

yea I would check the wiring. last 2 boats I worked on looked to have been wired by amateurs, wires twisted together, no solder and bare. scotch locks the connect 2 wires together, scotch locks should never be exposed to water or the elements. Mine was going same thing, i tried 2 different tach off ebay, same thing happened with both. looked a little deeper into problem found it to be wiring, 2 wires touching.fixed it and tach works fine, and so did other one.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Pegged tach question

If it turns out to be your tach, Faria has one of the best customer service departments going! I believe that they will fix (or replace) out-of-warranty gauges for less than the cost of a new one....

If you decide to contact Faria, here are the direct lines to their people:

My name is Jason Blackburn and I am Vice President of Sales and Marketing at the Thomas G. Faria Corporation. Please allow me to confirm that Faria is not closing rather reducing production during the economic downturn. I am a boater myself and understand the often urgent nature of replacing or obtaining technical service on instruments. I have personally serviced and supported the US Marine (all brands) account since 1993 and stand ready to answer any and all calls and other correspondence regarding Faria instruments. That noted, if you need to contact Faria or have any questions whatsoever, please do not hesitate to contact us at any of the phone numbers below:

Jason Blackburn
VP of Sales and Marketing
ph. 860-848-9271 x1212
cell. 860-912-4039
fax. 860-848-2704
email. jasonb@faria-instruments.com

Jessica Goins
Marine Sales Manager
ph. 860-848-9271 x1217
cell. 401-486-2983
email. jessicab@faria-instruments.com

John G. Alexopoulos
Marine Sales Representative (including US Marine, BBG, et al)
ph. 860-848-9271 x1301
cell. 860-608-3257
email. johna@faria-instruments.com

Ted Genard
Customer Service Manager
ph. 800-473-2742
tedg@faria-instruments.com

All the best and Happy Boating!

My very best regards - Jason