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Greetings
I have a 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer GL 1.3L Automatic.
Unfortunately it does not come with a tachometer, as I have no interest in heavy mods, I purchased a small tachometer that looks like this :
It also comes with this diagram:
I would like to install it but sadly I am afraid I don’t have the skills to do so, therefore I’d like to ask for your guidance, fill me with details I have to be wary of and what are the general steps of fitting a tachometer in a vehicle.
Thank you all for your time.
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For fitment looks like flush or bracket mount.
The other issue is #1-#7 you need to know what
type of ignition system you have and select the
number of cylinders.According to the car specs it seems to be a 4 cylinder model.
How can I find out what type of ignition system I have? What does it look like?[quote=”Spikey” post=85318]According to the car specs it seems to be a 4 cylinder model.
How can I find out what type of ignition system I have? What does it look like?[/quote]can you post a picture of the engine and components?
[quote=”Spikey” post=85342]Very well, i ll take some photos first thing in the morning and post them here.[/quote]
Great.sounds like a plan.
I am pretty positive you are going to need one of these
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/MSD-Distributorless-tachometer-driver/_/N-268l?itemIdentifier=438279_0_0_The tach you have is designed for a very old style ignition system using a single coil and distributor. To use analog tachs with coil pack systems you need a driver.
Ever wonder how you can install an aftermarket tachometer on a vehicle with no distributor and multiple coil packs? MSD has the answer with the distributorless tach driver! The compact tach driver measures only 1.5 In. x 3.5 In. x 2 In. and is potted with a polyurethane compound for vibration and water protection so it can easily be mounted under the hood. It wires inline on the coils’ 12 Volt supply wire where it senses the current going through this wire and converts this information into a 12 Volt output signal that most aftermarket tachometers use as a trigger signal. It can be used on 4, 6 or 8-cylinder engines.
From Autometer
We are getting more and more requests for tach signal wires and connection points on all kinds of new vehicles, and virtually every new vehicle has at least a DIS (distributorless ignition systems, or coil pack as it is more commonly referred to). The days of the “old distributor and coil” are gone, friends. This is a whole new ball of wax. The automotive industry appears to be shifting toward an even newer ignition system – C.O.P. This stands for coil on plug ignition system, which consists of attaching a coil atop each cylinder’s spark plug, eliminating any coil pack, distributor, or plug wires. The computer for the vehicle controls the targeting for firing the plug when needed, supplies the voltage to the coil to discharge, and has a “monitor” to ensure that the coil did fire and at the appropriate time.
Ok, now you’re asking your self, “What does this mean to me?” The answer: if you have a late model vehicle (most ’99 and newer models) with C.O.P. ignition, it has everything to do with you.
We have had much success installing tachometers on c.o.p. ignition systems on late model vehicles where no available tachometer output is available. There are still some vehicles out there that have a useable tachometer signal, but for those that do not, all is not lost. We offer a tachometer adapter, model # 9117 which is universal to allow most vehicles without a tachometer signal to have a tachometer installed. For the installation of the tachometer adapter, it will require locating the power supply to the ignition coils and cutting the power supply prior to the power splitting between all of the coils. The tachometer adapter will have an in (red) and an out (red/green) wire. Wire the adapter between the two cut halves of the power supply. Ground the black wire and the last wire (gray) is your new tachometer output.
This is relatively easy on most vehicles, but depending on how the system is wired, you may be able to isolate the power to only half the coils. Chrysler V-6 and V-8 engines with individual coil on plug ignitions can be much more difficult, and you should contact our tech support department before installation on one of these vehicles.
This leads us to the next point and question, “Why can’t I just splice into the wire(s) that goes to the tach in the cluster?” This sounds like a viable option, but the signal to the cluster tach is not the same signal as what our tach needs to see (12v square wave). This is commonly referred to as Multiplexing, which is the process of communicating several messages over the same signal path or wiring. In most cases, the wire that has the tach signal also has the signal for any of the following:
Tachometer
LOW FUEL level indicator
Speedometer
The standard gauges; oil, water, fuel level and volts
Odometer
Brake warning light
Seat belt
And so on…
As you can see, for this example ’99 Mustang there is a lot more than just the tach’s engine RPM signal going up to the cluster and our tach cannot derive the signal needed to operate, nor is it the correct signal. We have also found that the rate of refresh is very low, so it does not give as accurate readings as our tach needs to see.
Thank you for the useful post Raistian77, I have searched and found the tachometer driver but unfortunately its currently out of my budget (still a college student).
So it seems I ll live without one for a while but I at least learned a lot from this.@college man unfortunately my phone camera somehow decided to not store the photos I take, also… all the pictures I had taken by the camera and those that were in the phone memory have completely vanished and whenever I try to take a new picture, it does not store it at all. sigh…. mobiles are unreliable these days, I wonder when humans can create something stable once and for all.
Well I guess that sums it all up, life keeps pushing me to the edge, it’s just a matter of time before I start pushing back.
Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it! 😆
[quote=”Spikey” post=85410]Thank you for the useful post Raistian77, I have searched and found the tachometer driver but unfortunately its currently out of my budget (still a college student).
So it seems I ll live without one for a while but I at least learned a lot from this.@college man unfortunately my phone camera somehow decided to not store the photos I take, also… all the pictures I had taken by the camera and those that were in the phone memory have completely vanished and whenever I try to take a new picture, it does not store it at all. sigh…. mobiles are unreliable these days, I wonder when humans can create something stable once and for all.
Well I guess that sums it all up, life keeps pushing me to the edge, it’s just a matter of time before I start pushing back.
Thank you all for your help. I really appreciate it! :lol:[/quote]
No problem. Have run into that problem installing tachs for customers.
What gets me is this, most currently driven cars are late models that need the drivers, not sure why they dont build the circuitry right into the tachs.
You can get into deep water pretty quick with installing aftermarket accessories. Believe me, I know. That said, if it’s beyond your budget at the moment, perhaps sell what you have on ebay or something to recoup your losses and after you graduate and get a job, get a new car that already has a tach.
Good luck and keep us posted.
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