service tachometer

[roadhog2002]

Look i can never seem to either find or search correctly to find my problem so any help would be just great! I need to diagnose a lean fuel issue alone and would just like to connect a old style service tachometer under the hood (just like we used to do in the good old days).
Can anyone out there in ranger land please tell me where to connect it, I think my old one is a Craftsman?
Thank you in advance!!!!

 

[19Walt93]

Negative side of the coil should do it.

 

[RonD]

There isn't a connection on a distributorless engine you can use with an older service Tachometer

On a V6 you could try using a sewing needle to pierce one of the coil packs 3 Ground wires, the RED wire is 12volt, so any of the other 3 is fine to use
On Fords waste spark system, each coil in the pack sparks 1 time per RPM
On older service Tach it would expect 3 sparks per RPM on a V6
So 300RPM on tach would be 900RPM on engine

OR.....................

If you have $15-$25 and a Smartphone, you can buy a Bluetooth OBD2 reader, like an ELM327
These connect to the OBD2 port in the cab of ANY VEHICLE sold since 1995, its the law, so not a Ford thing
And you can use a free APP on your phone to connect wirelessly to the reader, which will have RPM and a whole lot more info, LIVE, that you can watch from engine bay or............where ever around the vehicle

This is WAY WAY BETTER than just the tach signal for diagnosis

If you decide to get this also get an extension cable with/for it, I find that some vehicles have OBD2 ports that are off center from their holes so the Bluetooth units can't slide in without removing a panel, the $4-$6 extension cable allows better plug and play on those vehicles



And just a heads up
Lean code does not mean engine is running Lean
It means the computer calculations of correct Air/fuel Mix was Lean and computer had to correct it, so computer is giving the driver a heads up to check the system

If your engine is Pinging/Knocking that can mean Lean running but there would be NO code, because computer wouldn't know it was running Lean, or it would have corrected it

 

[cbxer55]

Yeah. I had the lean codes in my Lightning once, my fault. I had put breathers on the valve covers. OOPS! Had the P0171/174. But at night, with someone behind me, black smoke galore! Must've freaked anyone behind me out! Maybe they thought is was a diesel. LOL! I figured out what I had done and fixed it, just restored all the PCV hoses back to factory. No more smoke.

 

[Bronco648]

The OP could also use a Scan Gauge. It plugs into the OBDII port and displays a lot of information that the dash doesn't. I have a SG1 in my '04 Ranger. It sits in the console under the dash. It isn't positioned to be monitored while driving but more for reference. The SG2 is much smaller and can be positioned to be in the line-of-sight.