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09-14-2010, 03:54 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Tucson,
AZ
Cobra Make, Engine: CCX-3-3624, 351w, 5-speed
Posts: 344
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Not Ranked
Smiths Tachometer
Need help troubleshooting a problem....been trying to get my car tuned up and running right, over the weekend changed out plugs, cap, rotor, and coil. Now....the tachometer is dead! Any ideas would be appreciated.
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"Freedom is only an illusion when the government has all the guns."
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09-14-2010, 06:41 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Tucson,
AZ
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 5,391
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Did it stop after installing the new parts or has been broken all along?
Poor ground is a always a potential problem, especially with glass cars.
Larry
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Alba gu brąth
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09-14-2010, 06:46 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Tucson,
AZ
Cobra Make, Engine: CCX-3-3624, 351w, 5-speed
Posts: 344
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LMH
Did it stop after installing the new parts or has been broken all along?
Poor ground is a always a potential problem, especially with glass cars.
Larry
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Worked fine before I swapped the parts out, now it is just dead. Smiths gauge, from what I can tell looking under the dash it has a black/red wire on the top and a black/red wire on the bottom of the back of the tach. Even tried putting the old parts back in and no change, it is just dead....
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"Freedom is only an illusion when the government has all the guns."
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09-14-2010, 07:04 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Charlottesville,
va
Cobra Make, Engine: Coombe, Shelby Block 496
Posts: 1,187
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Hi
I hope it is less than a year old so you can send it back under warranty, it will be toast!
There may have been a voltage spike that got to something inside.
Cost to repair will all most be as much to replace. I have had 3 Smiths go bad for me also. You may be able to find some one that has electronic board repair experience to troubleshoot it. I have 2 apart that my mate is going to look at for me but it has been a while and last time we spoke he could not find where he placed the board.
Any how good luck.
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09-14-2010, 11:25 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Tucson,
AZ
Cobra Make, Engine:
Posts: 5,391
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I'm not a Smiths expert but it doesn't sound like enough wires. There isn't any under the dash that maybe didn't get connected is there?
Larry
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Alba gu brąth
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09-15-2010, 12:51 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: May 2001
Location: California,
Ca
Cobra Make, Engine: NAF 289 Slabside Early Comp Car with 289 Webers and all the goodies. Cancelling the efforts of several Priuses
Posts: 6,592
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Rick
As you slide down the Banister of Life, may the splinters never be pointing the wrong way 
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09-15-2010, 01:40 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Tucson,
AZ
Cobra Make, Engine: CCX-3-3624, 351w, 5-speed
Posts: 344
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As far as I know the tach. is 20 years old...same as the car, so no warranty likely. I will have to pull it to see if it is good or not, but that will have to wait till I get the car running again....think my timing chain is shot....car died today and had to shift all of the wires on the distributor two positions just to get plug #1 lined up with the rotor and that barely got it running good enough to get it into the yard. Oh the joy!!!!! Thanks as always, Mark
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"Freedom is only an illusion when the government has all the guns."
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09-15-2010, 07:58 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Carlsbad,
Ca
Cobra Make, Engine: SPF 2932 with 438 Lykins Motorsports engine. Previous owner of FFR 5452.
Posts: 2,616
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How's your battery?
Do all your other gauges, fans, turn signals work with the engine off?
My tach died when the battery started to crap out.
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Jim
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09-15-2010, 08:31 AM
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Senior Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: VALLEY FORGE,
PA
Cobra Make, Engine: SUPERFORMANCE w DOUG MEYER ENGINE
Posts: 1,958
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Maybe the pin in the distributor sheared???
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09-15-2010, 08:43 AM
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Senior Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sacramento,
CA
Cobra Make, Engine: Superformance 460 SVO
Posts: 305
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x2 on the dist gear, as for the tach, check to make sure you didn't disconnect something by the coil or distributor
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09-15-2010, 12:08 PM
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Club Cobra Member
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Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Southern,
NJ
Cobra Make, Engine: CSX4300, C5AE-H, Toploader
Posts: 695
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Not Ranked
Did you happen to install an MSD box? If so you would need to switch one of the wires coming out of the tach if you did not previously have an MSD box. Nisonger can help either way. |
09-15-2010, 12:15 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Des Moines,
IA
Cobra Make, Engine: Sold my beloved Shelby CSX 4068, Gessford 427 Ford
Posts: 756
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Need a replacement Smiths tach?
If you need a new Smiths tach, give Fran Kress a call. He has a NOS unit that is the same vintage as the tach you have now. The newer ones will require re-wiring.
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CSX4068, '69 Bronco, '70 BOSS 302, '87 Mustang GT, '08 Roush Trak Pak
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09-29-2010, 03:58 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Tucson,
AZ
Cobra Make, Engine: CCX-3-3624, 351w, 5-speed
Posts: 344
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Not Ranked
I would like to test the tach before I send it off for repair/replacement to verify if the problem is the tach or wiring on the car. On the back of the unit there is a cluster of three spade connectors, +VE, -VE, and Trigger, there is also a 4th spade connector attached to the housing itself, another ground??? If I rig it up in the engine bay to test it how should I do it? The power + and - seem pretty straight forward, but where should I get the signal from? It is a stock ford pointless ignition system. Do I get signal directly off of the coil (if so, which side) or out of the ignition box? Thanks!
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"Freedom is only an illusion when the government has all the guns."
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09-30-2010, 02:26 PM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Alexander,
AR
Cobra Make, Engine: B&B 427 Stroked Windsor TKO 600 w/3.50 posi 9"
Posts: 789
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Not Ranked
In "most" cases the signal comes from the neg side of the coil. (going to the ford ign box) The positive side of the coil should go to the switched ign.
Hope this helps.
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04-02-2012, 10:02 AM
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CC Member
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Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Stafford,
VA
Cobra Make, Engine: LA Cobra / B&B 427 SO
Posts: 54
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Not Ranked
I picked up a circuit tester that also checks RPM for $35 at Autozone. Good place to start before you jump to buying a new one. I needed to verify the signal coming into the tach was correct. Mine is but the tach is jumping all over the place. Next you need to make sure you've got a good ground. If you do and the feed from the coil/MSD box are good - you probably need a new tach.
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