tachometer dead

[Redi85CJ7]

1985 CJ7 straight 6

My tachometer died suddenly.
I had to charge the battery and while charging the CD changer kept cycling so I removed the fuse at the positive terminal of the battery. When I reinserted the fuse I heard a click but have no idea if it is related to the tach problem.

Once the battery was charged I started the Jeep and the Tach is dead.

Seems like it might be a fuse but where?

Any ideas and all suggestions appreciated.

 

[PhattyX]

I'm surprised no one has chimed in on this, yet. So, I'll give you what limited knowledge I have.

First of all, are we talking about a factory tach (which is rare) or an aftermarket one? If I'm not mistaken, they work differently.

Check at night to see if the light in the tach works, too. If it does not, look for a grounding issue. Did you smell rubber burning at all? It stinks and lingers, so you'd know it.

As for fuses or links, just turn the key on and use a test light down through the fuses for light on both tabs. This is a quick way to tell if it's a fuse without a manual telling you which fuse it is.

If it's an aftermarket tach, there's only 4 wires. Trace the green one to make sure it's still connected out to the engine bay. Trace the Red one to see if there's an inline fuse (looks like a tootsie roll) that may have popped.

If the pop was heard inside, it does sound like a fuse.

Finally, are you having any trouble with the ignition switch itself? If the switch is still reading "start" instead of "on", it will disable power to all sorts of accessories (including turn signals on CJ's). I had to wiggle my key a little to get the stuff to "come back".

Umm... that's what I've got from my two tach issues. Hope something helps,

-X

 

[Redi85CJ7]

Thank you for the response.

I don't know if it's a factory or aftermarket tach.
I did not smell rubber burning.
When looking at the fuse box there's no indication of a tach only fuse.
Speedometer lights come on, clock works, volt meter works.
Checking the tach light is a good idea, so I'll do that. and check all the fuses too.
I had a lot of difficulty tracing wires but your suggestions encourage me.
No problem with the ignition switch.

Thanks again for the suggestions.