Installing a tacho in a VP that doesnt have one

[JacobD_10]

Hey.. i was wondering if any one could help me out.. i have a vp executive series II manual and it doesnt have a tacho..
I have read thru other threads for installing tacho's and most people said you can use the brown signal wire found attached to a loom in the front engine bay on the passenger side running past the strut... but for sum reason it didnt work.. i was then led to believe there is another wire possible brown/red which i havent tested yet as it is harder to look for and possibly harder to access...
So then i thought perhaps i could get a new cluster with a tacho.. BUT does anyone know if a newer say VS VR or calais VP cluster with tacho will plug straight in??? Should i get a new cluster or can sumone help me out with my wire problem... keep in mind i want to INSTALL a tacho not just test my engine!!
any help at all would be much apreciated... sorry about the long intro but i thought id get it all out there...

[Vt-Brrrlina]

the vn vp level 2 cluster will be a straight swap thats the normal cluster with the tacho.

the level 3 with lcd displays wont work

the vr /vs clusters wont work - different pinouts on the back

[STEALTHY™]

He's asking about hooking up a monster tacho, not factory ones!

[Vt-Brrrlina]

So then i thought perhaps i could get a new cluster with a tacho.. BUT does anyone know if a newer say VS VR or calais VP cluster with tacho will plug straight in??? Should i get a new cluster or can sumone help me out with my wire problem... keep in mind i want to INSTALL a tacho not just test my engine!!
any help at all would be much apreciated... sorry about the long intro but i thought id get it all out there...

and the bit at the end regarding clusters

[STEALTHY™]

oh my bad, didn't read that far haha

[VrWagz1]

Yeah L2 cluster with the 1/4 circle looking tacho on the left and the fuel and temps above each other on the right for a VN/P will fit straight in and work. The L3 with the Lcd's at the bottom will not work, you need wiring mods for that.

[STEALTHY™]

Yeah L2 cluster with the 1/4 circle looking tacho on the left and the fuel and temps above each other on the right for a VN/P will fit straight in and work. The L3 with the Lcd's at the bottom will not work, you need wiring mods for that.

All the gauges themselves will work, only the trips wont without the wiring mods!

[delcowizzid]

when i put the vn level 2 dash in my vp i had to swap the plastic circuit board off the back and the engine light strips with the symbols on as the wrong lights lit up for things but its easy to swap over need to make a few holes for the guage wires but easy enough.

[Pete_perth]

Hey JacobD_10,
I have done what you are asking about a year ago. I have a 91 VP executive. I used to have a dash without the tacho. The trick is to make sure you are getting a VP dash with a tacho. A lot of people don't know how to tell the difference and either advertise them as VN-VS compatible, but they are not.

However, after some attempts I finally figured out the easiest way to tell. I have attached a pic for you, I couldn't find a pic of the VP dash, but have explained it in the pic. If you get a VP dash with tacho, it will slide straight into your car and work without changing any wiring, that's what happened with mine.

Cheers
Pete

[JacobD_10]

wow thanks heaps for all your help..
but before i go and find a vp l2 cluster, do any of you guys know how to hook up my standalone tacho (as i already have one) ,
i was toying with using a pin and poking it through the wires coming out of my elctronic fuel module to test them (The tacho signal wire is what im looking for.(brown/red i think)) ...

ohh and btw are there any clusters that will work that may also have oil pressure
^^ yes i know i am asking too much and i asume not.. im good with electronics so as long as i dont have to rewire ribbon cable it'll be sweet..
thnx again

[Vt-Brrrlina]

oil pressure id imagine would be a mechanical guage not a electronic one - none of the standard clusters come with that -- if that wire for ya tacho doesnt work maybe look behind ur cluster for the tacho pin that goes in the back of the cluster that would be where id look next

[JacobD_10]

haha yer thats exaclty what i did and there is two pins for it..
one labeld 'tacho ign' and the other 'tacho sig' neither of them work so i presume its the way the tacho that i have, that works incorreclty for a commodore...
because wen i tap the tacho ign terminal to the tacho's signal wire it moves?? and the quicker i brush them together the faster it reads the rpm..??
any other thoughts..

my mate said perhaps just connect it to one coil out of the 6 in the pak in the engine bay.. but surely theres a wire sumwhere??

[VrWagz1]

oil pressure id imagine would be a mechanical guage not a electronic one - none of the standard clusters come with that -- if that wire for ya tacho doesnt work maybe look behind ur cluster for the tacho pin that goes in the back of the cluster that would be where id look next

oil pressure actually most pressure gauges can be electric or mechanical both are common. Just a matter of plugging in a pressure sensor unit into the pressure source and running signal wires to the gauge as opposed to running a pressure line from the source to the gauge.

[JacobD_10]

Still does anyone know where this tacho signal is or is it my actual tacho that is stuffed or icompatible?
Its an 'Autogauge' 52mm tachometer?!

[JacobD_10]

thought id end this thread lol... long time ago i know...
the signal from a coil pack is not the same as from a dizzy ... thats why it didnt work ...
i built a digital tacho which worked fine for a long time and the found a v6 L2 dash with tacho and it works a treat .. i rather the analogue and its made for the car too

[SirBedevere]

Sorry to reopen this thread. Does anyone know if the VP level 2 cluster also works in an auto car? Just got given a VP pov pack and find it friggin' weird not having a tacho to at least know what the engine is trying to do.

[88GreenVN]

Sorry to reopen this thread. Does anyone know if the VP level 2 cluster also works in an auto car? Just got given a VP pov pack and find it friggin' weird not having a tacho to at least know what the engine is trying to do.

I sell VP L2 gauge sets for $20 + postage

PM me if your interested

[The Dark One]

do you still have a kit that will make a tacho work?

[Ranuip]

I put a tach in my vp exec not long ago. I used the brown w/red trace from the wiring loom on the drivers side under the dash. Easy as if you take the covers off under the dash, works fine.