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VDO RPM COUNTER


Michele

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Finally got my VDO rev counter.

It came with all the little bits and nuts,just misses the cable which-AFAIK-is needed to run to the W socket on the alternator...is that a common cable or something special?

Other than that,I thought it was a bit more plug & play thing,but judging by the instructions sheet

it needs an accurate setting.

Did anyone set his own counter and what did you use?

I see stroboscopic guns (?) and engine testers in my Hella catalogue,

but I'm not sure if they're the right tools neither I have the slightest clue of the price of these things...

Going to an electrician would lighten the fun (other than my wallet)...

What did you do?

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Used an optical tacho when I did mine..

most of the fiddling was the dip switches on the back of the Tacho(the truck one not the optical one) ....Oh and the fact that my alternator had no W terminal so had to make/wire my own... :rolleyes:

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Michelle, I shall be keeping an eye on this thread as I wish to do the same. I found this a while ago which explains a little regards installation http://www.reedx.net/landrover/mods/revcounter/

Keep us up to date of how it goes.

Just a little off thread - did you specifically get a Tacho that was for an Alternator or are they all the same?

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Used an optical tacho when I did mine..

most of the fiddling was the dip switches on the back of the Tacho(the truck one not the optical one) ....Oh and the fact that my alternator had no W terminal so had to make/wire my own... :rolleyes:

you may be able to use a cycle computer;

some quick math. top gear, 4:1, 120 cadence implies they will work up to at least 480 rpm. you can et difference tyre diameter but without doing more math my feelin is they will max out a 2 digits too soon for your purpose. ( ad divid by 2 or 4 circuit will help!)

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IIRC when I fitted my rev counter, I adjusted the slides 1 & 3 up with 2 down, to give approx 4000rpm max & 800rpm at idle :D

Ditto - my second guess on the DIP switch combination gave me an 800 rpm idle - close enough for me. Easy to re-site the other dials to get the tacho next to the speedo.

Neil

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Michelle, I shall be keeping an eye on this thread as I wish to do the same. I found this (...)

Just a little off thread - did you specifically get a Tacho that was for an Alternator or are they all the same?

Thanks for the link.

To answer your Q I think they're all the same (as others already said),

but slightly different-at the same time- in max RPM range,one up to 6K rpm,

mine to 7K.

As max RPM are 4K I suppose the closer range the better (5K ideal for a Defender?)

I got mine from Germany (Ex-Tech),it's very common fit so I will not bother

and try not to be paranoid as usual

:rolleyes:

Thanks the rest of the gang for the hints.

I wonder what if I set the 3 little switches as you did and go with it?

:D

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I wonder what if I set the 3 little switches as you did and go with it?

that's almost how I set mine up, just connect the rev counter but don't fit it in the dash pod, run the engine at idle and move the slides until your happy it's reading correctly, a few throttle blips to max revs to check the reading, if all's OK, switch off, and fit the gauge in it's final location, job done :D

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i used any old wire to go from the back to the W connector.

then adjusted the toggle switches so it read the afore mentioned 800rpm at idle and left it at that.

the veh then got nicked the next day so i cant comment on longterm use. (got a nice td5 onthe insurance though)

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Once the dip switches are set to the right range, the fine adjustment is usually done by a small screw on the body of the gauge.

I used an optical tacho to set mine because I had access to one. I was able to verify the settings at different rpms to ensure it was spot on.

If you don't have access to an optical tacho, you could set it up using a timing light on a petrol engine vehicle. Mark you tdi's front pulley with a white blob of paint. Then just connect a timing light to a pertol engine car that has a tacho fitted, raise the rpm on that to say 1000rpm, and aim the timing light at your tdi's front pulley. Raise the tdi's rpm until the white dot appears stationary, then you'll know the engine is also doing 1000rpm. Then just set the tacho adjustment accordingly. Easy really. ;)

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  • 2 months later...

[years later]

:rolleyes:

Finally the job is done!

My settings for the dip switches (after having checked the throttle "play" under the bonnet) are the following:

1 up

2 down

3 up

as Ralph and Neil had suggested.

Running the cable from and to the W terminal was easy enough,I made it along the EGR and winch cables and right into a bulkhead grommet.

The only trouble at the mo is that I swapped the water temp with the RPM gauge,and slotted it place of the clock.

Now everything works but the water and fuel gauge lights!!!

DOH!

Any hint before I pull the dash out again?

P.S.

THANKS to the idiot who decided to put such short cables behind the gauges,no way to work comfortably without the risk to rip everything off with a sneeze...

:angry:

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