Tach Removal on 73 Mach 1 (Midlife Help)

[Mark73mach1]

I want to remove my factory tach and send in it for restoration. My question is can I still start the car with it removed? I understand the ignition power goes through it.

I have a 95% complete 69 wiring harness (w/o tach) that I would like to donate to Midlife for all his help on the website sites.

Midlife (sorry I don't know your name) I just bought a 1968 Mercury Park Lane convertible complete. Can you do your magic on the original wiring? If not, any suggestions who might be able to help?

Thanks Mark

 

[midlife]

Just jumper the connector that goes from the main harness into the tach and the engine will run just fine.

Yup, I can work on the Merc. I would love the 69 harness as a core! That year is my most popular and I'm chronically short of cores.

Randy aka Midlife

 

[Mark73mach1]

Thanks Randy. I will ship the 69 wires off to you next week.

I am not electrically minded. Could you breakdown exactly what to use and how to jump the tach connector. My wiring harness connector has male and female ends. By your reply I would think to take a wire and connect the female and male together? If you could show a pic of how to do it that would be great. What size wire?

I just don't want to burn up my wiring harness.

Thanks Mark

Just jumper the connector that goes from the main harness into the tach and the engine will run just fine.

Yup, I can work on the Merc. I would love the 69 harness as a core! That year is my most popular and I'm chronically short of cores.

Randy aka Midlife

 

[midlife]

I'd find some wires that have about the same gauge (thickness---about 16 gauge) as what's going to the two pin plug. Your local car parts store will have male and female blue crimp bullet connectors. Simply put a male on one end of a loop of wire and a female on the other, plug it into the two prong plug and voila! You're done.

 

[Totalled]

Go to the parts store and buy a two prong trailer plug.

Splice wires together.

Plug into tach harness.

Profit?

 

[Mark73mach1]

Thanks guys. If I understand Randy correctly, I would take a 16 gauge wire and connect one end with a male bullet connector and the other end of the wire with a female bullet connector.

Then take the male end of the bullet wire connector and connect it to the female end on the wiring harness plug. Take the female bullet wire connector and connect to the male end of the wiring harness plug.

So in theory I just make a wire loop from the wiring harness male end to the female end

I'm just a little paranoid when it comes to wiring.

Thanks Mark

 

[midlife]

That's it, Mark. Totalled's solution works as well, but finding two pin trailer connectors is harder than the crimp-on bullet connectors at most car part stores.

 

[Mark73mach1]

Thank you both again for the peace of mind

Mark

 

[Mark73mach1]

Well I took the speedo/tach instrumental bezel out today. I had to back the car outside in order to work on it. I made the wire loop that Midlife said. I attached it to the tach harness plug and turned the key on. The engine fired right up and sounded smooth as ever.

Thanks so much to Midlife for the information.

Mark

 

[midlife]

You're more than welcome. Always nice to see or hear cars that run after my advice! *G*