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Tach. Stopped Working, Help.

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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 01:07 PM
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Default Tach. Stopped Working, Help.

I just noticed that my tach. isn't working on my 76. When I turn the key off it moves to about 600 RPM and stays there. When the key is on or it is running it drops to zero and stays there. I believe the red wire plugged into the distibutor is the tach wire and that seems to be fine, in that the wire and plug are tight. Any ideas as to what is going on and how to fix it? How big a job is it to repair?
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 05:43 PM
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I am also having Tach problems as it is.....the 2 most common problem is the tach filter(which connects to your distributor),or your printed circuit behind your tach needle.

I have just purchased a tach filter and am waiting for it to come in and try it out.

I will post my results when done
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 05:53 PM
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Seems alot of us are having problems with electronic tachs. There should be a group purchase started....
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 12:31 PM
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Most likely you circuit board behind the tach. Plan on about 4-6 hours to dismantle/reassemble the dash, including fixing the tach.
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 08:04 PM
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Yeah, tachos are a problem. I've got a 79 and mine used to work on and off until recently when it went right up past the rev limit and stayed there - it moves about 1/8" when I turn the ignition on and off.
Don't want to hijack your thread but if anyone has any ideas about the problem I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks.
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 09:54 AM
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Hijack all you want, I am looking for any suggestions and how to's. Trouble shooting electrical problems is not one of my strengths.
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by 76greenlar
I just noticed that my tach. isn't working on my 76. When I turn the key off it moves to about 600 RPM and stays there. When the key is on or it is running it drops to zero and stays there. I believe the red wire plugged into the distibutor is the tach wire and that seems to be fine, in that the wire and plug are tight. Any ideas as to what is going on and how to fix it? How big a job is it to repair?
I should know this - but isn't the red wire the power ... tach is ? brown ?

Anyway, the coil cover on the HEI distributor has labels molded in the plastic.

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Old Sep 1, 2005 | 09:03 AM
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Originally Posted by 76greenlar
Hijack all you want, I am looking for any suggestions and how to's. Trouble shooting electrical problems is not one of my strengths.
If you pull the tach cable out of the distributer, what shape is the little gear in? (filter?) mine's stripped which means it doesn't spin. I can spin mine by hand and it seems to be fine though. (73)
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Old Sep 1, 2005 | 01:37 PM
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1bumprfan, correct me if I'm wrong but your 73 and earlier has mechanical Tach, 75 and up has electronic.
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Old Sep 1, 2005 | 01:45 PM
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Originally Posted by Maymyvetteliveforevr
75 and up has electronic.
Yep, 75 was the first year for electronic. There are alot of threads on the tach boards and filters. Try a few specific searches on these topics and you'll find a bunch of info.
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Old Sep 1, 2005 | 04:18 PM
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Sounds very similar to the circumstances that I had. My tach would float around 600, but wouldn't go to zero at KO.

The circuit board is more often than not the culprit, although there are cheaper things to check first. You can bypass the filter and see if it makes a difference -- should be a go/no-go test. No change, it's probably the board.

I assume you've checked fuses and that apart from no tach, everything appears to work as normal.

Yes, brown is the tach signal wire.

I bought a replacement board, and I still had to go over every single solder joint before it worked -- while it was broke different, the new board didn't work when I got it. I purchased from Eckler's, but it was a Corvette America box.

Anytime you have to get at the tach, it always seems like a major PITA to disassemble enough to get at it, as I always had to take it out to get at the board.

Brian.
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Old Sep 2, 2005 | 03:59 PM
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Originally Posted by C3nMe
Sounds very similar to the circumstances that I had. My tach would float around 600, but wouldn't go to zero at KO.

The circuit board is more often than not the culprit, although there are cheaper things to check first. You can bypass the filter and see if it makes a difference -- should be a go/no-go test. No change, it's probably the board.
yes; very good advice !

I bought a replacement board, and I still had to go over every single solder joint before it worked -- while it was broke different, the new board didn't work when I got it. I purchased from Eckler's, but it was a Corvette America box.

Anytime you have to get at the tach, it always seems like a major PITA to disassemble enough to get at it, as I always had to take it out to get at the board.

Brian.
the C.A. boards are "Wilcox" boards I believe. Not well regarded

the Gardner boards are top notch, well made, and are "pre-calibrated".
contact John Gardner via email:
jtandjudyg@aol.com

I convert 1968-1974 mechanical tachs to electronic use. I can also repair your 1975- 1977 electronic tach if needed; performing a full calibration (as the calibration from tach-to-tach varies a bit).

contact me via email if interested:

tim-yvonne@juno.com
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Old Sep 2, 2005 | 05:52 PM
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I had a similar problem except that sometimes the needle would jump around and sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't do anything. I just bought a new plug for the distributer, soldered it up, and now it works good as new. just a thought.
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Old Sep 2, 2005 | 08:50 PM
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New tach board cleared up the problem. Installed without any additional work. From Doc Rebuild.

There was a slip enclosed with the board that said if you could not get the tach working, you could send the tach and the board to this person, and for a small amount of money, he would guarantee a working tach. Mine worked out of the box.
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Old Sep 23, 2005 | 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by glen242
New tach board cleared up the problem. Installed without any additional work. From Doc Rebuild.
I believe Doc Rebuild sells the "Gardner' board.
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