tachometer for diesel

[eoberg]

I have just gotten my 1.9 diesel up and running and now am looking to install a tach in place of the analog clock in the dash. Does anyone know ig the tach is unique to a diesel or 1.9 as opposed to a gas vanagon..
Can I buy a tach that came out of the same era gas van and install/ use it with out issue or must I find a tach that originally came from a factory diesel??
I'm not sure if there are any reasons that it wouldn't work, but can't hurt to find out.
Also, does anyone have a working tach they want to sell?
thanks.

[Rocky Mountain Westy]

Diesel tach are different than gas tachs, I am pretty sure. They get there signal from the Alternator. Try and find one from a early Quantum Turbo Diesel, They have a boost gauge intergrated into them too.
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Rocky Mountain Westy Inc.
www.rockymountainwesty.com
970-310-3441
[email protected]

The Splitzgauer build (when I have time to work on it and update the thread)

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=497133

[crazyvwvanman]

For best results you need a Vanagon gas tach cluster to start with and then swap the gas tach instrument piece for one from an 80s 4cyl VW diesel. Hard to find, not cheap. Be sure the diesel tach has the temp and fuel gauge cutouts in the lower section of the face.

AFAIK the diesel tach with boost gauge was from an Audi 5000 and does not fit in the Vanagon cluster. The Quantum diesel tach fits and has the right cutouts for fuel and temp gauge which you need to get from the gas tach setup.

Mark

[ALIKA T3]

Hello!!

there is no adaptable tachometer for vanagon diesel,they're particular to the model,and even in Europe pretty hard to find at a decent price.
they usually go for around 200€ which is a joke!

I would try to modify a gas one into a diesel one,some people have done it,I found the schematic

You may need to modify the alternator to add the W connection inside if it has not been done in factory.

If you have a 2WD,you need a 500 tachometer
If you have a Syncro,you need a 1000 tachometer

It's written on the bottom.

Here is the schematic

http://www.t3-infos.de/images/DZM-Schaltplan_Benziner.gif

If you translate that,you save 200€

[Witless Joe]

Or, if you don't speak German, then you could follow the English instructions for converting a Vanagon gas tach posted up here: http://www.vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php?topic=6477

As crazyvwvanman suggests, the easiest option is to buy both a new Vanagon gasoline cluster with tachometer (just for its blue foil traces to the 14 pin connector), and a turbodiesel Jetta tach from the late 80s (it says "2,22" on the face). That's pretty much plug & play.

But you could get away with hacking up your existing clock cluster a bit, and wiring a diesel tach directly into that. The VW VDO tach only uses three wires: 12v+, ground, and a W signal from the alternator. If you provide the tach directly with all three of them, then there's no need to go through the blue plastic foil of a tach-specific instrument cluster. The link to the thread above gives the positions for running these three wires directly into the four open pins at the back of the tach, if you want to try hacking your clock cluster to accept a tach.

If you have the stock alternator from the 1.9 TD engine, it will probably already have a W terminal on it. The W wire runs immediately beside the exciter wire (D+) into a double plug.

[Tristar Eric]

The 85 and older tachs work with the ALH that I have... Somehow the the 85 tach's work with a weak signal, not sure why.

[crazyvwvanman]

True for Vanagon gas tachs 84/85 only if the diesel engine is a model controlled by an ECU, like TDI engines are from VW. On these the ECU has a tach output that can drive the older gas tachs. Most 1.6 diesel vans upgraded to 1.9 are done with 1.9 engines that don't have an ECU. The original post did not specify.

Mark

[wildenbeast]

All the info you need is in this thread;
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?3670024#post48663305
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- Bill, '93 Eurovan Syncro Weekender (2.5 manual ACU)

[Orbitald]

[dokarex]

Check out ebay.de
I got very very lucky, after a year of trying to find an aftermarket or 80's VW tach I won a whole diesel cluster with tach on Ebay.de for $120CDN shipped
yes they are usually expensive but I got really lucky the hardest part was finding a seller in Germany that would ship out of country seems like most of them won't???
Best of all it was plug and play and swaping took about 15 minutes.
no I don't speak Germany but was able to use google translator.
Good luck
_________________
1987 Doka 1.9TD from Germany gasser DU tranny, fuel turned up, 1.6 LDA pin, boost at 15 psi,egt and boost gauges,stock diesel tach,air filter behind passenger tail light, IC to come
2006 Jetta Wagen 1.9TDI
B6200 Kubota Diesel
16ft Freestyle catamaran
16 ft Sunray 85 Horse (sunk)

[Mikeyb]

OOOOOOOORRRRRRR,

You can find a VDO Diesel Tach and mount it in some convenient location, thereby leaving your cluster original and unmolested, as seen below.

Mine is a VDO 6000rpm tach, part #333 054. I picked it up on eBay for a whopping $20.00 or so. Someone was selling it in an estate sale. Although it appeared used, it came in the original box with everything needed, including the instructions.

It needs a signal from the "W" terminal on the alternator. The "W" terminal is usually unused, and is not grouped with the rest of the terminals, although it is on the back of the alternator.

Once you hook that up, the tach also needs, 12V + & -, and you can also supply the same to it's light if you want it illuminated when the headlights are on.

Mine needed to be calibrated, so I bought a small, hand held RPM counter from Harbor Freight (another $25.00 or so) and made comparisons at different RPM's. For example, when the tach said it was spinning at 1800 RPM, the hand-held tach (which I place on the center of the crank) said it was turning at 900 RPM. I made about 10 different RPM comparisons and had a speedo shop make the adjustments to the tach. (Another $55.00).

The mounting cup is VDO's part # 240 101. The tach fits right in.

Total all in cost was about $120.00, including the tach, mounting cup, calibration, and hand-held tach from HF.

Good luck.

Mike
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'82 1.9 TD Westy (Tortuga Veloce)
2014 Honda Pilot
2021 VW Atlas

[crazyvwvanman]

All of the "W"lead tachs need calibration adjustment if moved to an engine with a different pully ratio for the alternator since the tach is reading the alternator rpm. The VW tachs have a calibration hole in the back case where a tiny screwdriver can adjust the readings for a particular RPM. The VW tachs also have a pulley ratio number on the face to tell which setup it was originally adjusted for.

Mark

[Mikeyb]

[quote]The VW tachs have a calibration hole in the back case where a tiny screwdriver can adjust the readings for a particular RPM. The VW tachs also have a pulley ratio number on the face to tell which setup it was originally adjusted for.

Mark

[Mikeyb]

Not really sure what I did to screw up that last post, but I was trying to quote Mark and respond. Instead, I responded with Mark's quote and quoted myself! Jeeeesh! Some people!
_________________
'82 1.9 TD Westy (Tortuga Veloce)
2014 Honda Pilot
2021 VW Atlas

[?Waldo?]

[?Waldo?]

I have not yet gotten to hooking it all up (and it's low on the list of priorities right now), but I am going to use a hall-effect sender and two magnets on the crank pulley and then wire directly to the stock gas tach.

[DAIZEE]

I have a VDO tach that was set by a person whilst I held the spd at a stated constant. I find it is pretty accurate as it hits 3000 (flicks around a lot) I can tell by the engine sound and feel its that time (to shift). I have a dead analogue clock that bugs me but I'll probably just cover it.

[BlackDogVan]

I have a gasser tach out of a 1986 van that works with a Dakota digital w terminal tach driver. Some tach's accept the signal, some don't. My 91 tach wouldn't so I transplanted the 86 & presto. I'm blessed tho because I found a quantum diesel tach too.
_________________
Gone but not forgotten - 1991 Carat - AAZ transmogriffied to mTDi.
Still addicted, looking for Doka...

[Orbitald]

[DrTwee]

OK here’s the situation. I’ve got an ’82 Westy diesel with a 1.9 NA. I purchased an instrument cluster out of an ’85 gasser—primarily for the tach. I plan to use the Dakota Digital unit to convert the signal from the “W” terminal on my alternator to a signal the gas tach can read. Now for the tricky part. I would like to take the speedo from my ’82 and put it in the instrument cluster from the ’85 so I can (hopefully) use the digital clock in the ’85 cluster. I assume I will be using the blue foil from the ’85 (it’s in GREAT shape), but will have to modify the connector pins so that everything works. I will also need to replace the idiot light module so I have the light for the glow plugs. (If any of the foregoing assumptions are incorrect, please let me know). So, if everything up to this point is OK, how will I need to modify the connector pins so that everything works (tach, digital clock, glow plug light, etc.) with the feed from my ’82 diesel?
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1982 Vanagon Westy 1.9 Diesel NA (Mello Yellow)