Swapping Idiot Lights For Tach

[Wolverine]

I basically found a purple(but otherwise like new) instrument panel with tach and center guages for my 73 mustang.

Has anyone ever swapped out the idiot light panel for the tach?

Any tips/tricks to offer?

Anyone want to trade a camera purple finish instrument panel face for a nice camera black one? I promise it will really brighten up that interior.

 

[mikepasquale1]

Yupp just did. Its a tach made to replace the idiot.lights but will also allow them to be functional. Its a 3 wire hookup amd a direct bolt in and works great.

http://www.rccinnovations.com/index.php?show=menu-tach-all

Its part number MV1235 and only 175 bucks if you send him the idiot lights as a core. I love this tach.

You cant directly intergrate a factory tach without making changes to the underdash harness. The underdash harness and the headlight harness are different from those that came with idiot lights vs. Cars that came with a tachand center gauges. This tach bypasses all of those issues. its a simple swap. A monkey can hook it up. It pkwer, ground and signal wire. And it looks factory.

Here is a video of mine working. Notice the idiot lights as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2LDkCWBU80&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Also, since you already have a tach, if you send it to him he can convert it to 3 wire

But if you want to keep the idiot lights intact and working, this is the route to go.

 

[Wolverine]

Yupp just did. Its a tach made to replace the idiot.lights but will also allow them to be functional. Its a 3 wire hookup amd a direct bolt in and works great.

http://www.rccinnovations.com/index.php?show=menu-tach-all

As a human interface engineer, I always wondered WHY OH WHY did they not keep the idiot lights with the gage? The light wakes up the idiot, the gage gives the idiot something to look at and ponder.

As an electrical engineer, I always wondered, what was ford thinking when they put the tachometer in series with the ignition system, so if the tac failed, or was unplugged, the car would not run?

Thanks for the tip. I can keep my original tach for posterity, and have this very nice and functional tach for practical use, and not worry that my 40 year old tach is going to die on me.

 

[mikepasquale1]

Yupp i hear ya. Not a problem

 

[midlife]

Yupp just did. Its a tach made to replace the idiot.lights but will also allow them to be functional. Its a 3 wire hookup amd a direct bolt in and works great.

http://www.rccinnovations.com/index.php?show=menu-tach-all

As a human interface engineer, I always wondered WHY OH WHY did they not keep the idiot lights with the gage? The light wakes up the idiot, the gage gives the idiot something to look at and ponder.

As an electrical engineer, I always wondered, what was ford thinking when they put the tachometer in series with the ignition system, so if the tac failed, or was unplugged, the car would not run?

Thanks for the tip. I can keep my original tach for posterity, and have this very nice and functional tach for practical use, and not worry that my 40 year old tach is going to die on me.

It's only one failure mode of the tach that can cause the car to die: the input transformer. If the gauge mechanism breaks on the secondary side of the transformer, current still can flow through the primary side.

As for idiot lights, when the light comes on, it means it is too late to do anything except change the engine. A true driver always reads gauges.

 

[sm3570]

In my case, the TEMP light is always on!

 

[whitesoc]

I did the swap about two years ago its pretty straightforward once you get going. Feel free to ask any questions you might have about it.

 

[mikepasquale1]

I dont know why but that tach upgrade is probably my favorite part of my car lol

 

[Wolverine]

I did the swap about two years ago its pretty straightforward once you get going. Feel free to ask any questions you might have about it.

Did you swap an original light cluster with original tach cluster?

 

[Flatback72.]

As a human interface engineer, I always wondered WHY OH WHY did they not keep the idiot lights with the gage? The light wakes up the idiot, the gage gives the idiot something to look at and ponder.

I agree that idiot lights should be installed in cars alongside gauges as it's impractical to keep an eye on a gauge 100% of the time.

A case in point was my first car - a '74 Celica in which I had installed an aftermarket oil gauge. It used to use a fair bit of oil and I was fairly vigilant about keeping it topped up but every now and again I'd forget. One day while I was driving my oil light caught my attention because it started flickering on and off; I pulled over straight away and stopped the car and sure enough there was no oil on the dipstick and it had got to the stage where the oil pump was sucking air intermittently. I topped the oil up and drove the car for years after that with no apparent damage to the motor. If I had of only relied on the oil gauge I probably would have driven the car dry before I noticed something was awry. Maybe I'm a bloke who doesn't look at his gauges as much as I should, but I reckon that makes me about the same as 80% of the driving population.

 

[whitesoc]

I did the swap about two years ago its pretty straightforward once you get going. Feel free to ask any questions you might have about it.

Did you swap an original light cluster with original tach cluster?

Yes I did....I took out the orignal headlight/engine harness and the underdash to convert to tach and gauges