Author Topic: diesel tach (Read 4826 times)

dokarex · « **on:** February 27, 2009, 05:25:28 pm »

What Vw tachs can I install into my Vanagon dash cluster?
Does it have to be a vanagon tach or will one work from other VW's(jetta Rabbit etc).
Also the engine is a 94 1.9td,the van is a german 87 and the alt is from the original 1.6 NA (87)

witoke · « **Reply #1 on:** February 27, 2009, 08:08:46 pm »

AFAIK you need to use a diesel tach from one of the cars. David Marshall in Canada, (used to run www.fastforward.ca) did the conversions using Jetta or Passat diesel tachs. You might try tracking him down if you can't find any other info.

RabbitJockey · « **Reply #2 on:** March 02, 2009, 11:42:04 am »

from what i've seen the clusters in the vans remind me alot of the ones found in cabriolets and mk1 jettas, so if you get a tach from one of these cars you could possibly convert it and fit it in, or if theres any gasser tach avaible for a van at all you could figure out how to convert that.

dokarex · « **Reply #3 on:** March 02, 2009, 12:54:11 pm »

would a tach from a 93 passat be workable?

kaneb · « **Reply #4 on:** March 02, 2009, 12:59:26 pm »

Would be swapping just the tach out of the passat or the whole cluster?

dokarex · « **Reply #5 on:** March 03, 2009, 06:39:33 pm »

Just the tach into the vanagons cluster

dokarex · « **Reply #6 on:** March 05, 2009, 03:05:39 pm »

anyone?

the caveman · « **Reply #7 on:** March 05, 2009, 03:46:09 pm »

Go on the Samba. There is often Vanagon diesel tachs and clusters for sale. But before you do that make sure you have an alternator with the "W" terminal which is where your tach signal will come from.

Otis2 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 05, 2009, 09:44:44 pm »

Quote from: "dokarex"

would a tach from a 93 passat be workable?

Tachs from Mark II diesel Jettas work really easily. That gives you a range of cars to scavange from 1985 to 1992, I think.

I have a tach from a 1985 Jetta in my AAZ Vanagon. Almost perfectly fits the Vanagon bezel (nothing some black electrician's tape didn't fix.)

The vanagon instrument cluster has a rectangular 4-pin connector for its tachometer. I'm assuming you have a Vanagon gasser instrument cluster. Only 3 pins of this 4-pin connector are live - ground, 12v+, and coil signal.

The Mk. II Jetta diesel tach has the same 4-pin connector as the Vanagon gasser tach, with the same arrangement of only 3 live pins - ground, 12v+ and W signal from the alternator. So it's idiot proof. Swap the coil signal wire with the W signal, and it works.

It's also possible to wire the 12v+, the ground, and the W signal, direct to the three pins of the Jetta tach, bypassing the Vanagon instrument cluster foil entirely. I ended up doing this, because my Vanagon foil was in such bad condition, with many burned traces.

dokarex · « **Reply #9 on:** March 06, 2009, 03:30:49 pm »

no the van was originally a diesel so no gasser cluster all diesel