Well... I've given up on finding an affordable gauge cluster with a tach here in the US. So I've gone out and bought a Sunpro Super Tach 2.
I'm sure it won't be too difficult to get it installed properly. Any suggestions about providing the power to the lights in it?
It says it wants a 12 volt feed for the lights, but I'd kinda like to give it a feed that goes through the dimmer switch so I can have it dim in conjunction with the other gauges in the car. Any suggestions for the wiring on the power would be great.
Also... if anyone happens to know of a really great spot to install it at, let me know that too. I haven't made any decisions at all about where I'll be mounting it yet. So... if you have a suggestion for anything regarding this install, please don't hesitate to shoot your ideas out.
I have my Autometer tach right at the base of my a-pillar, so it is really easy to remove if need be, it is only a glance away to see what RPM I'm at, and it in no way affects your view of the road. It truly is an awesome location. If you want to get an idea, I'll get you some pics.
There are four wires to hook up with a standard tach. Ground, 12 Volt, Signal, and Illumination. What I did was took one of those 4 pin computer peripheral splitters http://www.atxpowersupplies.com/images/ ... 50x350.jpg, cut the wires so that I have both a male and a female side. I attached one of the connectors to the wires on the tach, then I pulled the OEM cluster, and with a voltmeter checked the wires I needed. Illumination wires are readily avialable on the back of the cluster, and they already tie in with the dimmer switch. There are plenty of grounds and 12V sources, so you can choose from several. The signal wire connects to the ECU.
If my description is kinda cryptic, I'll get you some pics to see what I'm talkin' about.
Hmmm I've been considering the Pillar for my tach, but haven't come to a conclusion on it yet. I've gotta take it outside and sit in there for a while to try and get a feel for where I want to wire it. One really nice thing is that this tach came with a nice little splitter for the signal wire patch in. You put it around the original signal wire off the ECU and then insert the signal wire to the tach and close it... instant patch job.
Yeah... I could totally use some pics... Unfortunately, I don't think I have a volt meter around that works.
If you want to permanantly mount the tach there, drill a hole in the pillar plastic and hide the wire in there so it will have a much cleaner look.
Your tach is mounted almost where my Sirius satellite radio is mounted.
Right there, it is finger length reach to change stations without ever taking my hands off the steering wheel.
Yeah, thats exactly where I mounted my tach. But like Oz said, I drilled a hole through the A-pillar to give it a much cleaner look. The Autometer's gauge face looks almost exactly like our OEM gauges, so the tach has an OEM look.
Only one problem, isn't the Sunpro kinda small? I'd think it'd be hard to see the needle out of your periph'.
It might be. I've only driven with it once. Here's a little tip though. The green wire with the black stripe... Well I was thinking about it when I looked at it and thought, "I bet this goes into the right side of the cluster (since the cluster has the tach on the right). Sure enough, there was the tach lead going into the cluster. I hooked it up right behind the connector, leaving me enough room to re-connect it should I ever wish to.
- the hole in the pillar plastic trim is a must for cleaner look as the guys suggested, it will look very professional that way
- the tach is a bit small indeed but it looks very nice.
- you need to set the red zone to 6500RPM.
- nice catch concerning the green/white wire at the cluster... probably will add it to the how to article.
- i like your red needles... how did you do them? red marker trick or something else?
- the hole in the pillar plastic trim is a must for cleaner look as the guys suggested, it will look very professional that way
- the tach is a bit small indeed but it looks very nice.
- you need to set the red zone to 6500RPM.
- nice catch concerning the green/white wire at the cluster... probably will add it to the how to article.
- i like your red needles... how did you do them? red marker trick or something else?
MMamdouh
I would need to see a pic as an example to see what you guys are doing with them to insert them into the pillar. Yeah... it might be a little small, but I don't need it big. Mostly I intend on using the tach as "check to make sure" thing more then anything else. It'll be quite handy for knowing when the car is warmed up in the morning... and of course the occasional "how far can I push this" kind of thing. I didn't want to go too big, I just didn't want it to end up looking really HUGE in such a small car.
Our red-line is 6500? Wow... the highest I've taken my woo so far is about 5000 (that I know of).
Psssssst... it's a green wire with a black stripe!! Hhehe
And yep... Ye-Olde classic Red Sharpie Marker. Oh... and removal of the "green condoms" from the main lights in the cluster.
wait till you hit 5400 the E-Tech kicks in and BAM you shoot forward with a little boost (watch the rev limiter)
When you get used to it you will shift right before the rev limiter hits and man the Woo moves goto my members section and see the vid of my woo and you will see and here the E-Tech
johnny what they are talking about when they say drill a hole in your pillar= run the cable behind the pillar from the dash so there are no exposed wires running all over your car and just run the wires through the hole in the pillar to the tach for a very clean look on the tach install.
JohnnyC wrote:
Psssssst... it's a green wire with a black stripe!! Hhehe
OOPS... my bad
And yep... Ye-Olde classic Red Sharpie Marker. Oh... and removal of the "green condoms" from the main lights in the cluster.
thanks for the advice man... i already removed the the green condoms and even got some 5 watt bulbs rather than the weak OEM 3 watt bulbs... looks great now and will look better wit hthe red needles.
delphis wrote:johnny what they are talking about when they say drill a hole in your pillar= run the cable behind the pillar from the dash so there are no exposed wires running all over your car and just run the wires through the hole in the pillar to the tach for a very clean look on the tach install.
Ahh... gotcha... My wire isn't TOO bad at the moment. Only a little bit is visible. And the way I wired it... the wires come down the side by the edge of the dash and then enter into the dash where there is that thing you can take off (I cut a little hole in it)... I'll show pics of how the wire bundle goes later. Also... because of the way I wired it... not one wire passes further then the gas pedal (I put my ground wire on one of the bolts holding the gas pedal in place). The other three wires are hidden behind all the molding and such. The only exposed part has the black cover on the bundle (which I'm not sure if that is shrink wrap stuff or not).
I thought they were saying cut a gauge sized hole in the column and sink the whole gauge into the pillar. hehe
