Tappin the tach-gctid343122

[cwiert]

Comments from another thread reminded me of an issue I was having with my tach in the summer. It would work for a while but it would often show a rpm that was higher than what it really was. For example, it would give a reading of 3000 rpm when I was going slow, but if I tapped the tach a few times it would drop down to 1800 or 2000 (a reading that I believed to be accurate). I usually have to do this a few times over the course of a cruise. I've taken the tach out and cleaned the connections on the back (both the wire and tach connections). But that didn't fix the problem. Any other ideas? Is the tach serviceable, or should I just be looking into getting a (well, two) new tachs?

[captharv]

They have a common problem. The inside of the plastic case has a foil or wire to connect to the circuit board. The wire or foil is copper and the screw is brass. The moisture in the air causes a corrosion between the connections, particularly the ground.

Remove the slide on plug. Looses the nut at the rear of the case about a turn. Tighten it. DO NOT use gorilla grip here. The case is plastic and you can strip the screw threads. Just snug it. The problem goes away for a while. I have to do this every 2 years.

My last boat had t-flex gauges. In the 15 years I had it, never had a problem with the gauges or senders.

Faria: just because you have been making that way for many years, does not necessarily mean its good.....

[capt._ron]

If you do replace them consider Aetna digital tachs. I had them on our 3270 & they were great, very accurate & no problem viewing in bright sunlight.

[Guest]

Faria used to offer a lifetime guarantee on instruments. I'm not aware of a change. I'd call them and ask - I suspect you'll get replacements.

[Guest]

Great post, mine does this all the time!

Thanks for the possible fix too captharv.

I have found that when my cell phone or other like gadget is near the tach it can be worse. I'm not sure if this is actually happening, but it is a sensitive gauge that could be susceptible to interference....maybe?

[Guest]

US Marine owns a patent on this "feature." Never seen a Bayliner that doesn't do it.

[Nick1952]

There is a small selector on the back of my tach where you select for a 4, 6 or 8 cylinder engine. It looks like a small screw and it is adjusted by pushing in gently and turning with a fine flat screwdriver. When my tach started acting up, I moved the selector switch back and forth a few times and it settled back down to accurate readings.

[SuperiorDiver]

I had a similar issue with the tachs on a Chris Craft. There was corosion inside, and the coil ground relied on a press-fit bracket. I soldered a very small wire from the ground to the base of the needle carrier, and it solved the problem. Not sure if it is applicable to yours, but I suggest checking the internal ground circuit if the tach is easy to disassemble.

[Guest]

I have the same problem on my 3055. I'll be trying out the trouble shooting advice on here.

This post brings up a thought is their US Marine digital replacments gauges that fit the 3055?

Would be an interesting "completed project". If anyone has a link to the digital replacement gauges I might try them out.

I also have one battery gauge (port) that doesn't work at all. I'll be pulling it out and will test it with a battery and then trace it back if it works.

Thanks,

Steve

[itsabowtime2]

SwampNut wrote:
US Marine owns a patent on this "feature." Never seen a Bayliner that doesn't do it.

I think we all paid extra for this feature.

[Guest]

I too thought that was normal operation TAP TAP TAP TAP

[cwiert]

AN update on this. I removed the tachs yesterday and called Faria today. They told me to do exactly what Nick 1952 said to do. See below...

captharv wrote:
They have a common problem. The inside of the plastic case has a foil or wire to connect to the circuit board. The wire or foil is copper and the screw is brass. The moisture in the air causes a corrosion between the connections, particularly the ground.

Remove the slide on plug. Looses the nut at the rear of the case about a turn. Tighten it. DO NOT use gorilla grip here. The case is plastic and you can strip the screw threads. Just snug it. The problem goes away for a while. I have to do this every 2 years.

My last boat had t-flex gauges. In the 15 years I had it, never had a problem with the gauges or senders.

Do you actually take the blue case off? It seems pretty sealed in there. I don't think I can get the case off without breaking something.

whiskywizard wrote:
Faria used to offer a lifetime guarantee on instruments. I'm not aware of a change. I'd call them and ask - I suspect you'll get replacements.

They have a "limited lifetime warranty." What that means is it's a full warranty for 36 months after the boat is sold. After that, they will repair the gauge for you for $40 plus shipping. Not bad. But that's their deal.

Nick1952 wrote:
There is a small selector on the back of my tach where you select for a 4, 6 or 8 cylinder engine. It looks like a small screw and it is adjusted by pushing in gently and turning with a fine flat screwdriver. When my tach started acting up, I moved the selector switch back and forth a few times and it settled back down to accurate readings.

Yup, that's exactly what the guy at Faria told me to do. He said a lot of times this will fix the problem for a while, but eventually you'll need to get it fixed.

[captharv]

You do not open the case. Read my instruction again. It says to loosen/tighten the nut at the case rear. As in OUTSIDE case rear.

[cwiert]

captharv wrote:
You do not open the case. Read my instruction again. It says to loosen/tighten the nut at the case rear. As in OUTSIDE case rear.

Ok. But I was confused because there is actually 4 nuts. I guess I can loosen and tighten them all, if that's what you mean.

Attached files http://baylinerownersclub.org/media/...tach.jpg[/img]

[Guest]

I had the exact same problem on my 1990 tach's. I sent them to Faria and got new replacements. $40 each.

http://www.faria-instruments.com/site_manuals/IS0090_Faria_Marine_warranty.pdf