Diesel tachometer

General information about the first-generation Nissan Maxima in the US. What was the Datsun 810 became the luxury leader Maxima in the US in 1981.

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ecomike
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Location: Houston Tx

#31

Post by ecomike »

I just ordered a diesel Tiny Tach today for $65.00 online. I called and got an update and the old style is out of stock, while the new style is on back order. The new style eliminated the battery and the new style has a BACKLIGHT now! The new style will be $95.00 shortly, once they are back in stock, but right now you can still order the new style one for $65.00.
Regards,

Mike

1985 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer, 2WD, retrofitted with SD-22 & 5 spd manual trans, a 4X4 Gas Wagoneer ltd. (XJ) Jeep, 4.0 L w/ AW4 auto, and now 2 spare 2wd Jeeps, 87 & 89.
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dieseldorf
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Location: Oracle, AZ

Diesel Tach for under $35.00

#32

Post by dieseldorf »

I have successfully connected a regular engine-speed tach to the EGR-controller (diesel). A small circuit is needed to do that.
More info in this post


Image
Astro Van with LD28 propulsion
'84 Mercedes 190D 2.2L 5-Speed Manual purchased 06/12 SOLD 06/13
'86 Ford Escort Wagon Diesel MT Sold 07-17-08
theminotaur
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Questions on Diesel Tachometer options-Claification

#33

Post by theminotaur »

Questions on Diesel Tachometer options-Claification

Hi Al and NissanDiesel Members

You seam like the guy who is best for answering my question. Unfortunetly I can't seam to find a seach box on the forum for specific tach Q and A.

Regarding the Tiny Tach, which one should I purchase for my 1983 Diesel Maxiam:

DTL-6 Tach meter for Diesel engines with 6mm size transducer

DTL-1/4 Tach meter for Diesel engines with 1/4" size transducer

Where do I install the transducer?

I also read that you can modify the EGR control unit so that a circuit w/wire to connect to a Tachometer. Unforntently I only have the one on my car, can I purchase one pre-made and send my orginal one back to you? I am unsure if the car will run without the EGR control unit missing.

When I have the modified EGR control unit, what sort of Tach do I connect it to?
How much is the modified EGR control unit?

Finally the alternator method seams a bit to complicated for me.

By the way which of these three methods is the best?

>->>I just read about the door locks not opening, and read the solution. This forum is the best. If there anything I can do such as being a moderator or promoting the forum just let me know. This forum is life saver, and will recommend it to anyone who owns a Nissan Diesel vehicle!!

Thanks,
Paul

P.S. I posting this message to the forum for other members who might wish to read it or make a comment.
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asavage
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Re: Questions on Diesel Tachometer options-Claification

#34

Post by asavage »

theminotaur wrote:Questions on Diesel Tachometer options-Claification

Regarding the Tiny Tach, which one should I purchase for my 1983 Diesel Maxiam:

DTL-6 Tach meter for Diesel engines with 6mm size transducer
I believe that 6mm is the correct size for the LD28. Someone pop in and correct me if I'm wrong. I no longer have one handy to measure.
Where do I install the transducer?
Clamp it around any injector line, any place.
I also read that you can modify the EGR control unit so that a circuit w/wire to connect to a Tachometer. Unforntently I only have the one on my car, can I purchase one pre-made and send my orginal one back to you? I am unsure if the car will run without the EGR control unit missing.
The car will run fine with the EGR control unit unplugged, and no damage will occur.
When I have the modified EGR control unit, what sort of Tach do I connect it to?
Any gasser tach that will accomodate a six-cylinder engine. eGauges.com or Summit or Jegs are decent online sources for gauges.
How much is the modified EGR control unit?
In this post I mentioned the price I charge to do the mod. Others might do it cheaper.

Note two things: the EGR Rev Sensor (see this post must be in working condition for the EGR controller to be able to furnish your tach a signal, and they do go bad. Use an ohmmeter on the two leads to that sensor and test to make sure you have around 1310 ohms before you go further, because if you don't, you're wasting your money using the EGR controller method to drive your tach.

Also, I can no longer test the tach function after modification, as I don't own a Maxima anymore and my friend who does lives a very long way away these days, so bear that in mind. I used to modify them and test them before shipping, but I can't do that anymore.

Email me if you want me to proceed.
Finally the alternator method seams a bit to complicated for me.

By the way which of these three methods is the best?

>->>I just read about the door locks not opening, and read the solution. This forum is the best. If there anything I can do such as being a moderator or promoting the forum just let me know. This forum is life saver, and will recommend it to anyone who owns a Nissan Diesel vehicle!!

Thanks,
Paul

P.S. I posting this message to the forum for other members who might wish to read it or make a comment.
Last edited by asavage 10 years ago, edited 2 times in total.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
waynosworld
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#35

Post by waynosworld »

I have had 2 tiny tachs, one of them was great, the other is just about worthless, and when I contacted the factory about it, they sent another piece(the part that connects to the injector line), and it changed nothing, I sent another message to them, but have not heard back from them since(3 years ago?).
It will only show the RPMs under acceleration, the moment I let off the pedal it goes to total hours and stays there till I hit the pedal again, sometimes it don't work at all till it warms up.
Am I missing something?
I sanded the shit out of all 4 injection lines and tried it on all 4, it made no difference, as I said, the first one worked great, oh and I have now used it on two types of injection pumps also, inline and VE.

Any help will be appreciated. Image

Well I just read this thread, I guess it is a bit dated, oh well. Image
I know the voices are not real,
but they have some really good ideas.
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asavage
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#36

Post by asavage »

That's a pretty weird symptom (only displays upon acceleration). Offhand, I'd be looking at making sure that pickup-to-gauge wire is not shorting to the firewall, and replace the pickup (but you've already replaced the pickup).

There's always the alternator mod for your SD/720. You might be able to use a late gasser cluster ('83-86) and the factory optional tachometer that way.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
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ecomike
Posts: 242
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Location: Houston Tx

Re: Diesel tachometer

#37

Post by ecomike »

I finally completed the custom wiring on my franken-jeep Cherokee that including the wiring through the firewall for this really cool tiny tach!!!! I love it. Works great. Bought it about 9 years ago and halfway installed it then, and took 9 years to finish it LOL. Cleaned up some of the mess of obsolete wiring at the same time. Now I need to wire it to a dash power switch so it turns off.
asavage wrote:Most of the instrument cluster is different, between the gasser and diesel versions. One glaring lack is the tachometer -- diesels didn't get one.

One solution (that I have not tried) is a TinyTach.
Image

Diesel Tiny-Tach™
  • Engine RPM to 19,990.
  • Correct reading regardless of the number of cylinders.
  • Displays RPM when engine is running.
  • Automatically displays run-time hours when engine is shut off (and power is still on).
  • A low cost method of keeping track of engine performance.
  • Standard wire length is 8 feet.
  • Accurate means of setting exact engine RPM for proper operation of diesel engines.
  • Requires vehicle power or external 9 volt transistor battery. (Replace 9 volt battery only once per year.)
  • Has job timer and 2 service timers.
They're $65 (in 2005; $95 in 2013), and use a clamp-on piezoelectric pickup on an injector line.

Image

Apparently, it updates the display every .5 second, and the piezo pickup lead is a coax cable, so you'll not want to cut it unless you're good with soldering up coax.

Looks like a nice unit to me.
Regards,

Mike

1985 Jeep Cherokee Pioneer, 2WD, retrofitted with SD-22 & 5 spd manual trans, a 4X4 Gas Wagoneer ltd. (XJ) Jeep, 4.0 L w/ AW4 auto, and now 2 spare 2wd Jeeps, 87 & 89.
Nissan_Ranger
Posts: 270
Joined: 17 years ago
Location: Canada

Re: Diesel tachometer

#38

Post by Nissan_Ranger »

Could you hook it up to the alternator side idiot light circuit?

N_R
The old 'six gun' was as popular as the cell phone in its time and just as annoying when it went off in the Theater.
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