Tachometer has stopped working

pbolden

Hello Everyone,

Tachometer has stopped working on my SD217.  Is there an in-line fuse somewhere that I should check?

Thanks,
Paul Bolden

nquirk

@pbolden.  I don't know your specific tachometer but you could have a couple of issues that you can isolate to determine the 'health' of your tach and these generic troubleshooting tips may help.

First, check the ground.  9 times out of 10 a bad ground gets in the way of things working on 12V systems.  Have you changed anything?   Even something as simple as corrosion on a battery post or putting the battery in for the spring and not tightening the connections is enough.

If you're not 100%, run another separate ground direct from the tach to the negative post on the battery (even a temporary one across the floor for troubleshooting to be sure)

If you're confident the ground is ok, next would be checking the power source.  There should be a ignition power that is connected to the tach.  First test would be cycling the ignition off/on.  Does the tach jump/move at all?  If so, you have ignition power.  If it doesn't, do the same process but this time use a volt meter to see if you get a reading when power cycling the ignition.

Next, check the tach signal.  If the tach isn't getting a signal from the engine it will not operate.  With the engine running, again use a voltmeter a measure the signal between the ground and signal terminals on the tach.  You should see something in the range of approx. 2V.

If these are both present (ignition and signal), you have a bum tach.

Let us know how this works out.

pbolden

Thanks nquirk.  I will try these steps this weekend and report back Tuesday.

Thanks again.

Paul Bolden

pbolden

UPDATE: Battery number two did have some corrosion on the neg. post and jumper cable. After cleaning and reconnecting it the fuel gauge is now working properly.  You were right about the effects of even a little corrosion unfortunately it did not correct the issue with the tachometer which is still not working.

This coming weekend I'll try your second set of recommendations.

Thanks,
Paul Bolden

nquirk

@pbolden, I'm glad you're making progress.  Keep us posted and hopefully you're successful isolating this tach issue.

anchor1

It appears that the tach on my2002 201 gs fundeck has gone bad. Anyone know a replacement gage that will fit the dash?

nquirk

@anchor1.

You have a few options. 

First is contact your local Hurricane dealer and get a replacement.

Second is purchase a Faria brand replacement (that's the manufacturer of your existing tach and should connect up the exact same)  Here are some examples

http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Parts-Accessories/dm/cart_id.406299549--keywords.tachometer%20faria--session_id.101354109

Third, is measure the size in diameter of your tach and replace it with a generic tachometer available from most marina or marine supply shops.

 

pbolden

UPDATE 2:  Looks like the tach is bad.  I used my voltmeter over the weekend and got 12v off the ignition terminal and 6v off the signal terminal.

 I forget to test the ground by running a cable directly from the tach to the battery but does it matter since I wouldn't have been able to get a voltmeter reading without connecting to the tach's ground terminal?

Thanks,
Paul Bolden

pbolden

UPDATE 3:  Installed new tach which seems to be working fine.  Still having problem with fuel gauge.  Please see new post with same title.

Thanks All,

Paul Bolden

nquirk

@pbolden.  Glad you got the tach sorted out.