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Can a factory tach cause a fire? ('93 Dakota) #2731558
01/09/20 08:08 PM
01/09/20 08:08 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,808
Between Houston & Galveston TX
SattyNoCar Offline OP
Smarter than no class Flappergass by a mile
SattyNoCar  Offline OP
Smarter than no class Flappergass by a mile

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,808
Between Houston & Galveston TX

May sound silly, but being serious here.

The tach has never been right in my '93 Dakota. It usually read low with the occasional 1K jump.

A few weeks ago, it flat lined. Dropped to zero, no twitch, no bounce, nothing. Thought nothing about it.

Yesterday, it suddenly bounced a few times and pegged at the highest reading, staying there whether the truck was running or not.

Immediately after it happened, I smelled a sort of waxy smell, almost like something electrical over heated. Today, even though the needle never moved, the smell was stronger.

I won't be able to look at it until this weekend. In the meantime I've removed anything important I had in the truck, and made sure my insurance is up to date......... wink

Is there a fix for these tachs? Or, is there a way to bypass it? shruggy

Thanks. beer


John

The dream is dead, long live the dream.......😥
Re: Can a factory tach cause a fire? ('93 Dakota) [Re: SattyNoCar] #2731569
01/09/20 08:40 PM
01/09/20 08:40 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,265
Omaha Ne
T
TJP Offline
I Live Here
TJP  Offline
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,265
Omaha Ne
Anything electrical can cause a fire under the right circumstances. The waxy smell you describe makes me think a capacitor or something similar is getting hot and melting down. Step 1. disconnect all leads to the tach. and see if the smell goes away. twocents beer

Re: Can a factory tach cause a fire? ('93 Dakota) [Re: TJP] #2731617
01/09/20 11:13 PM
01/09/20 11:13 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,808
Between Houston & Galveston TX
SattyNoCar Offline OP
Smarter than no class Flappergass by a mile
SattyNoCar  Offline OP
Smarter than no class Flappergass by a mile

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,808
Between Houston & Galveston TX

I'm tired, so maybe I could've worded it better. Yes, any electrical can cause a fire, I was thinking in terms of it being such a low draw.

Are there any known fixes out there for the factory tach? Are replacement modules available? shruggy


John

The dream is dead, long live the dream.......😥
Re: Can a factory tach cause a fire? ('93 Dakota) [Re: SattyNoCar] #2731687
01/10/20 11:02 AM
01/10/20 11:02 AM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,137
East Aurora (Buffalo) NY
RoadRunner Offline
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Posts: 5,137
East Aurora (Buffalo) NY
Originally Posted by Satilite73

May sound silly, but being serious here.

The tach has never been right in my '93 Dakota. It usually read low with the occasional 1K jump.

A few weeks ago, it flat lined. Dropped to zero, no twitch, no bounce, nothing. Thought nothing about it.

Yesterday, it suddenly bounced a few times and pegged at the highest reading, staying there whether the truck was running or not.

Immediately after it happened, I smelled a sort of waxy smell, almost like something electrical over heated. Today, even though the needle never moved, the smell was stronger.

I won't be able to look at it until this weekend. In the meantime I've removed anything important I had in the truck, and made sure my insurance is up to date......... wink

Is there a fix for these tachs? Or, is there a way to bypass it? shruggy

Thanks. beer



Im not sure if the 93s are built similar tot he 97s, but on my 97 I had similar issues with gauges when it was getting up in age. Turns out that there is a connector that is snapped into the dash frame that receives a matching connector of the back of the gauge cluster. As the cluster is pushed into place the two connectors are supposed to join and make contact. After years if vibration the dash section seemed to have dropped out of the frame some. I ended up having to make two small plastic shims out of an old credit card to raise the connector up enough to make good contact again.


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Re: Can a factory tach cause a fire? ('93 Dakota) [Re: RoadRunner] #2732003
01/10/20 10:55 PM
01/10/20 10:55 PM
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,808
Between Houston & Galveston TX
SattyNoCar Offline OP
Smarter than no class Flappergass by a mile
SattyNoCar  Offline OP
Smarter than no class Flappergass by a mile

Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 16,808
Between Houston & Galveston TX

Coulda sworn there was another reply...... work shruggy

Anyways.......

Weather permitting, I'm going to look at it this weekend. This morning the smell was so strong I had to roll a window down, honestly surprised I didn't see smoke. But, on my way home, it suddenly flat lined again, and no more smell.

confused

Thanks for the replies.


John

The dream is dead, long live the dream.......😥
Re: Can a factory tach cause a fire? ('93 Dakota) [Re: SattyNoCar] #2732022
01/11/20 12:15 AM
01/11/20 12:15 AM
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 954
garnett kansas
rhad Offline
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rhad  Offline
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Posts: 954
garnett kansas
i made a reply,must be against the rules?,PM if you desire


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