Tachometers I think we should contact Year One about the problem. If they see we are not happy about something they are selling they may look into resolving the problem. AL.
I agree with what you are saying, but unless there is a big movement of people complaining about the hood tach and are willing to write some sort of a formal complaint then it would almost be impossible.
Tachometers I will talk to someone at Year One today, I need to check on some parts I ordered last month :af: , AL.
I also have a repop tach that works fine. I agree with AL about the lighting, but other than that it works fine. I checked it for accuracy with my tune up meter and they match exactly. I got mine from OPG, but from what I understand they all come the same guy.
So I have never bought anything from OPG, what does OPG stand for and do you have a link to their website?
Andrew, I have an aftermarket VDO tach, had the same problem, called their tech assistance and they said I needed a diode, available at Radio Shack, installed it and have not had a problem since, if you install in backwards, tach doesn't work at all, so just try it. Hope that this helps, really cheap to try and takes a minute to splice into tach lead brown wire. Kevin
Original Parts Group www.opgi.com I've heard their service can be a bit more tricky than YO but they are cheaper on a good many things
Thanks Al, too bad the body man got overspray on it, so it no longer looks like that, and the paint burned off at the manifolds, imagine that! I tried to get him to do the body work with the engine out, but he insisted that he needed it running in order to get it done, so he could move it in and out of the barn. Oh well, some day I will pull it and re-paint. Kevin
Tachometers Kevin, I went threw the same thing with my body shop :rant: and had a real mess to clean up! Oh, I have not got a response from Year One on the Tachometer (I have not talked to the right person yet) AL.
we outta have a place where we can list bad products and where you got them from and why. that way there is a heads up and maybe if there are enough complaints they will fix the problems. o No: ________ VAPIR ONE REVIEW
Before looking at these replys I ordered one for my hood tach from Postons. According to their online catalog it's the closest to the original including the lighting and all. Cost was $235 I think. I am also going to send the original to a place in California called the speedometer shop. speedometer shop They believe they can fix it for around $125-$150 Plan to put the repro in the GSX for now. If/when I decide to sell the car I will put the original back in.
Kevin, that does makes sence espically if you have the orginal style altenator and voltage regulator. the altenator suplies an AC signal (hence named altenator), then goes to the voltage regulator to be converted to DC. Ever hear the whine from your stereo when you rev the engine that's the AC buzz from the altenator. a diode could verywell be the only thing necessay. Filters one of these should also work and it would prolly be in your best intrest to put your MSD box on one of these.
Nate There is no ac current exiting the alternator. The ac is run thru a rectifier (to convert it to dc) before it leaves the alt. The voltage regulator does exactly what it sez, it regulates the dc output voltage. :bglasses:
Diode a no go I tried the diode. It seems to have helped a little, but the tach just can't handle fast revs. I am now trying a resister in line ALSO. With a 22 Ohm, it's the same, now I will try ~ 63 ohm. Then ~ 85 and go from there. It really is acting like it's either 1) getting too strong a signal. or 2) The needle can't keep up when the revs climb very quickly as they do in my car, when it's floored in 1st or 2nd. I fear that the real problem is #2 (and that's a bunch of..... #2)
I didn't "think" of it, but I DID it! :bglasses: Inspired by the appearance of Larry's setup, I went one step further and "touched up" the Autometer marks and letters, and then removed the Needle, and used the Original Needle from the Original Tach! Unless you look Close, no one will ever know the difference! NEW Tach, OLD (Factory) Appearance!:TU: It's easy to do, just takes a little patience to get the needle back on! :Smarty: I'll try to get a picture, it's in my buddy's '71 Cutlass (would work in the Skylark, too)! :bglasses:
can you put a counterweight on the opposite side of the needle? or is it just too much mass to move already. you'd want the needle to balance in any direction. it may help. -nate
Nate.... No you cannot do that. In fact you do NOT even lubricate the needle, this is because there is NO friction there. The needle is moved by a coil from a magnetic field, and does NOT pivot on a fixed axis. I inadvertently got some spray lub on mine, and it nearly quit until I cleaned it all out. I'll try to get together with my buddy next door, and see what he thinks. I had my hood tach up to 6,300 rpm on the dyno, and it was accurate to within 300 rpm. :shock: The needle was very steady. :Smarty: From what I recall, the tach actually counts number of times the wire goes to ground (meaning a cylinder fired). With MSD (multiple spark discharge) unit, the spark plug will fire several times on the same compression or power stroke. So MSD units have a special connection for tachs, which must only allow one spike to ground per power stroke. I guess what I'm trying to say, maybe the TACH is working properly, and the problem in internal in your MSD unit. :Smarty: Try the tach on another car. If the car has points, the tach wire connects to the NEGATIVE side of the coil. If MSD, connect to the tach space on the MSD unit. If HEI, I'm not sure I'd try that without a bit more research because I have not done it. I expect it will connect like points, but you probably need some buffer resistors and/or diodes. o No:
