AutoMeter Street Tach install/wiring questions

[Al K]

OK;before you bash me for not searching the forum,I did!!! Still couldn't find an answer,so here goes with the dumb question of the day(so far...):

I've got an AutoMeter Street tach that I plan to install on the steering column(like,maybe today?) and it's got four(4) wires coming out. Black,green,red,and white. I'm pretty sure the green one goes to coil "+",and the white is for lights,black is ground,but...where's the connection for the red wire? Or am I all @#$%ed up here? I await the smart-*** responses from Mar,detmatt and scotts74birds-or anyone else. Please,I need a good laugh!

If I'm correct(as far as the wires and their intent),where would be the best place to connect for the lights and the ground wire? Would the dash,or the firewall be better for a ground wire? Should I hard-wire the light wire into a wire going to my other gauges? I obviously don't want to fry ****,so I'm seeking the advice of the experts-and those who have tread this path before. Like my Dad would say: "Watch others make mistakes,and don't emulate them". Guess I still got some learnin' to do...

As always;thanks for any help,folks!

 

[Evil Mopars]

Here ya go,
http://www.ehow.com/how_5877262_wire-autometer-tach.html

 

[beezee]

Black to ground, ( dash frame),red 12 volt keyed power connect in fuse box (radio),white for light from instrument light fuse in fuse box and green to coil neg" - ",unless you have MSD

 

[Al K]

Thanks for the info and the correction on the green wire location. That would not have been good...

 

[HitIt]

You might want to wire the white light wire to your dash knob rather than the fuse box. Then the tach will dim and brighten with the other gauges when you adjust the brightness with the dash knob.

 

[74sundance]

I'm not sure what car your looking to do this to but the mentioned method won't work
if you have an Orange or Chrome Box ignition system on your vehicle, rather than connecting the Green signal wire of your tachometer to the negative side of your ignition coil,you need to splice into the Gray wire running between the Ignition Box and the Distributor.It's the only way to get a proper engine RPM signal.

 

[Al K]

My bad;this is with the original single point distributor,stock coil and ignition. The good Pertronix stuff will wait for the 440 build...

 

[Al K]

A little update...

Found a bracket that I thought might work,and it did,with a little creativity. Got a couple of 1/4-20 studs,a threaded sleeve and some shiny chrome nuts and figured it out. What I wanted was a slight angle to the mount,rather than parallel with the column. The bracket,when it went around the column,overlapped in such a way as to angle the tach. Using the nuts to spread it clamped it to the column. Not fancy,but functional. Still need to deal with hooking up the wires(tomorrow) and then fire her up and see how it functions.

Polish Cavemen Rule!!!

 

[Al K]

Anudda update...

Got the power wire hooked up,started the car and Voila!;it works,and quite well, I might add. The needle sweeps nice and smooth;no "bounce". Still gotta figure out the best location for the "light" wire-need to pull the plug from the switch and go from there.

Again,thanks to you cats once again for your help! =Al

 

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

sorry i missed this post. if your other gauges are lit up with your light switch, splice into that. I like the dimmer to work my tach as well.
Also consider putting the tach up on the dash. its a 60's thing you know.
plus your ripping up your steering column with that hose clamp. you should have taken a piece of thick shrink wrap and put it under the tach mount .lookin good Al.

 

[Al K]

SSR;no hose clamp(typical style) used here. The clamp I used was some kind of circular bracket that wrapped around the column without damaging it. It got blasted and painted-I wanted to use red to match the column,but I was out,so a can of chrome worked out well. I also was careful wrapping it around the column(started at the bottom near the dash) and just spread it apart enough to get it up to the wheel. There was an attempt to place a piece of hose around it,but that took up too much space to get the bracket around the column. Mounting it on the dash did come to mind;I want to replace the current dash pad,so drilling/cutting into it(the current one) wasn't an issue.