i need help!! my tach is crazy

[motoman399]

so my tachometer is going nuts. i took it all apart and couldnt find anything wrong with it. no burnt anything inside of it. does anyone know how to fix this.

i start my car and usually the tach will max out even if the car is at a perfect idle. sometimes if i hit the dash it will go back to normal. this is really pissing me off. here is a pic and i can get a video if someone wants. THANKS

[motoman399]

oh and this is a 98 s14 thanks

[motoman399]

nobody has any idea what this could be? come on its bugging the sh*t out of me

[Razi]

Maybe you should take off your gauge cluster and see if the wiring is screwed up.

[motoman399]

i took the entire thing apart. cant find any wiring messed up or any burnt diods or anything out of the ordinary

[fun240]

Whys your CEL on?

Have you checked it?

[AZ89two4Tsx]

Woah, you really shouldn't rev your engine that high, can't be good at all.

Have you checked the harness and connections?

[xX RB Xx]

it looks like someone is hitting vtec

[hotcakes0007]

Its going to be the wire under ur transmission its the rpm wire i dont have a pic but m car was doing the same thing and i fixed it.

[ThuG LyFe]

i think your problem is you have a F20C under the hood and you don't know about it.

jk of course...good luck with the problem though, maybe just buy a new cluster or borrow one from someone to see if it works.

[Philipio]

jk of course...good luck with the problem though, maybe just buy a new cluster or borrow one from someone to see if it works.

I bought a new cluster and it only made things even more confusing. My original tach was doing the exact same thing as the original poster's. The new tach I got is extremely sluggish and only seems to rev to around 3k RPM max (the tach, not the engine). I haven't had a working tach in SO long.

Elaborate on the "RPM wire under the transmission?" I thought there was just a speed sensor.

[motoman399]

Whys your CEL on?

Have you checked it?

my cel is on cause it used to be an automatic and is now a 5 speed and i dont have transmission sensors hooked up.

Woah, you really shouldn't rev your engine that high, can't be good at all.

Have you checked the harness and connections?

yes everything appears to be perfect

Its going to be the wire under ur transmission its the rpm wire i dont have a pic but m car was doing the same thing and i fixed it.

i dont think there is an rpm wire on the transmission. there is a speed wire but rpm goes through the cam and crank sensors if im not mistaken

i think your problem is you have a F20C under the hood and you don't know about it.

jk of course...good luck with the problem though, maybe just buy a new cluster or borrow one from someone to see if it works.

i live in a small town... i have the only 97-98 240 for at least 300 miles lol

I bought a new cluster and it only made things even more confusing. My original tach was doing the exact same thing as the original poster's. The new tach I got is extremely sluggish and only seems to rev to around 3k RPM max (the tach, not the engine). I haven't had a working tach in SO long.

Elaborate on the "RPM wire under the transmission?" I thought there was just a speed sensor.

so your new tach was it stock? i hope that my computer isnt screwed

[motoman399]

oh and this problem just happened randomly. i didnt do anything new to the car. so i know i didnt do it myself...... at least i dont think

[Philipio]

so your new tach was it stock? i hope that my computer isnt screwed

It was a cluster that came right out of another '96, they said they could guarantee it was working properly when I bought it.

[Kouki_Projekt]

anyone know what the problem was? cause unfortunately my rpm tach is doin the same thing out of random... -_-

[motoman399]

it turned out to be the motor in my tach. i used one from a maxima around the same year and soldered it in there. it worked for a little while but i didnt get the needle in there right and it was really slow moving. just buy a new cluster and save hours of headaches

[Philipio]

just buy a new cluster and save hours of headaches

Yes, this is exactly what I said, haha.

If you're having tach problems: GET A NEW TACH. Problem solved. Tachs go out all the time.

Ironically, my 107k mile original tach died and the 197k mile tach I got to replace it works great.

[chaosli]

i killed my tach doing light and now i need a new one simple right

[Cerevo]

Man, this sucks. Mine is doing the exact same thing. Sometimes I can hit the dash or turn the car off while rolling then "bump" start it and its fine (weird I know) but lately it just wants to read abut 3000 rpms too high.

[motoman399]

just get a new cluster. it will fix the problem. you can solder in a new tach motor, but the whole needle deal is weird. it has to be in a certain position for it to function properly. just get a new cluster and it will fix your problem.

[Cerevo]

Uhgg, how big of a deal is it to take the cluster out?

[motoman399]

on s14 its easy.

1) take off top of steering column cover [4 screws]
2) lower column all the way
3) take out cluster bezel [2 screws and unplug dimmer switch and cruise control if you have it]
4) take out cluster [3 screws (on zenki its 4 plugs and on kouki its 3 plugs on the back)]

super easy. all Phillips screws

[Cerevo]

Oh awesome, thank you!

[PyR0NiAk]

S13 is the same..

[motoman399]

almost, you have to drop the steering column, and there is more switches that need to be unplugged that are a tad harder to do. but more or less the same. yep.

[zenkistic]

motoman, do you have any of that slots that the bulbs go in for the cluster? the brown ones for CEL/oil etc?

[motoman399]

are you asking if i have spare bulb's and sockets? i do have spares. send me a pm with pics of what you need and ill hook you up cheap.

[wingFeather]

just get a new cluster. it will fix the problem. you can solder in a new tach motor, but the whole needle deal is weird. it has to be in a certain position for it to function properly. just get a new cluster and it will fix your problem.

I had good luck taking the entire tach assembly (minus the face) out of a Sentra & putting it into my S14. No need to solder.

[motoman399]

what year sentra did you use? all the ones i looked at had the wrong bolt pattern and the tach motor was different too. mine was a kouki cluster by the way. what was yours?

[Cerevo]

interested as well, mine is a 97 with black gauges