Fried Tach?

VUU · Post by **VUU** » Mon May 14, 2007 8:29 pm

I was tuning my motor today when the negative battery connector got knocked loose for a moment (obviously it wasn't tightened well enough). Immediately after that I noticed that the tach stopped working.

I have a 356 tach in my VW and now the needle is pegged out (@ max RPM) and stuck in that position whether the motor is on or off.

Any ideas - did I fry the tach somehow, or short something out?

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Tue May 15, 2007 8:01 am

Have you tapped on it.. at times they get stuck..

Tim

VUU · Post by **VUU** » Tue May 15, 2007 11:02 am

Yeah, I did tap it and I even disconnected it, but to no avail - that needle is stuck.

Silly mistake - I'd just removed and then re-installed the battery and I thought I tightened both connectors. I have an alternator rather than a generator on this particular motor, but apparently the voltage irregularity was still enough to damage the tach.

MNAirHead · Post by **MNAirHead** » Wed May 16, 2007 3:05 am

It does sound fried.

I'm shooting in the dark (hopefully someone will improve this reply with a follow up).

Do you own a VOM (Volt/Ohm Meter)?

With a brand, we can probably get you a quick test to see if your coil (inside the tach) is burned or not.

Please keep us informed.

VUU · Post by **VUU** » Wed May 16, 2007 10:56 am

Thanks for the help and concern, Tim.

I'm happy to report a happy ending to my story: I pulled into my garage last night and when I glanced over at the VW I noticed that the tach needle had returned to its proper position. I then started the car and the tach worked properly. Apparently the needle was simply stuck. I did tap on the gauge the night before, but to no avail. It seems the needle just needed to unstick itself. Thank the Lord for small miracles!