Tach and dwell meter

[Jeremy1986]

i bought a matco Tach and dwell meter this weekend that is for a 4,6,8, and two stroke. it came with the spark plug wire, red and black test leads, and battery tester. how do i hook up this tach to a 1956 johnson cd-13 or any old outboard to test them and set there rpms. thanks jeremy

 

[Chris1956]

Re: Tach and dwell meter

That meter is made for a motor with a distributor, points and a single coil. If you have individual coils, it will not work.

 

[Jeremy1986]

Re: Tach and dwell meter

what kind of dwell meter do i need to use check individual coils to check rpms on a boat motor

 

[F_R]

Re: Tach and dwell meter

what kind of dwell meter do i need to use check individual coils to check rpms on a boat motor

I hope your meter came with hookup instructions. The tachometer function probably will work on your motor, ASSUMING it has an inductive pickup. But we are guessing because we don't have the instructions. The dwell part is useless with a magneto ignition. It is for older cars and inboards with points & condenser/coil/distributor ignition. That all went out the window with today's electronic ignition systems.

 

[F_R]

Re: Tach and dwell meter

I hope your meter came with hookup instructions. The tachometer function probably will work on your motor, ASSUMING it has an inductive pickup. But we are guessing because we don't have the instructions. The dwell part is useless with a magneto ignition. It is for older cars and inboards with points & condenser/coil/distributor ignition. That all went out the window with today's electronic ignition systems.

Clarification to my previous reply: To check RPM (tachometer) on your motor you need a tach with an inductive pickup. An inductive pickup senses the magnetic field around a spark plug wire that occurs each time a spark happens, then counts the pulses.