I couldnt figure out what the deal is with my tach/odometer going off the wall, so my mechanic swapped the cluster out (temporarily) with another one from a 3rd gen and it worked fine. Obviously none of the wiring is faulty, so what could it be?
If anyone knows (or knows someone who knows) anything at all about this problem please post or pm me some details/ ideas. THANKS

 

Did you get one from a automatic or vice versa?

 

My tach used to jump around. I would be driving and it would just jump to about 8 k and move around. Not sure if this is your problem but It ended up being bad solder joints on the tach for me. I just resoldered them and it works fine now. I have a pdf file on how to fix it step by step with pictures. If you want it just pm me.

 

the cluster that was swapped in temporarily was also from a manual FD. I believe the same year too glassman

 

im not sure what the question is. are you asking how to fix this problem? (the answer should be quite obvious, you need a new gauge cluster or to fix your current one)

 

right. i would like to know how to fix the current tach, rather than buy one off of someone.

 

if you have to ask, i dont think you have what it gots... hell i dont think it is even fixable unless you can easily see some cold solder joints which have broken off. Actually, it isnt impossible, i have done it before

in anycase, the easiest way to fix it is to just find a used tach on the used parts forum.

BTW: i was just wondering what kind of info you wanted from this forum. i mean we would have no idea what could possible be wrong with your specific tach. there are so many small wires and connections that it could really be 1 out of a million of possible things wrong! if it was something a bit more simple like turbo or engine problems, we might beable to suggest things to check but in the end all we can actually tell you to do which would really fix your problem 100% would be to get a rebuild or a new engine/turbo. in anycase, because a new tach does not cost about 3000 dollars, this would really be the easiest and fastest fix for you!

 

When anything electronic starts to intermittantly crap out on you, and you're willing to spend the time fixing it, the general shotgun approach solution is to take everything apart and resolder everything on the board. That goes especially for anything in a vibration intense environment... ie. cars, pro-audio (musician stuff).

You don't necessarily have to desolder & resolder everything. Just heat each joint up with the iron, maybe add a little solder if the joint dries up. An electronics tech will tell you that's half-assed, but we're talking a difference of 1hr vs. 10hrs on some jobs. Then again, if you're not careful you can do more damage than good.

Hmm... it'd be neat to make a wall clock out of a dead tach. It can go right next to the rotor-clock.

 

Really, it shouldn't be that big of a deal to re-solder a tach. Any FC guy can fix broken solder joints with their eyes closed, myself included . Should be a pretty simple fix.

If you're not comfortable with soldering, PM Icemark. He repairs electronics and does excellent work.

Dale

 

Yep, if you ever owned an FC it's a required skill! Wiper switch, dummy lights, etc...