My Tach Install
12-10-2006
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My Tach Install
I know it's been discussed before but I thought I'd share my version of a tach install on an '04 Civic VP.
If anyone has questions on "how to" I'd be glad to answer them.
BTW, the right side will probably get an oil pressure gauge eventually.
If anyone has questions on "how to" I'd be glad to answer them.
BTW, the right side will probably get an oil pressure gauge eventually.
12-10-2006
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Rep Power: 0 I notched the dash bezel and ran the wires behind. I also removed the rear nut and stand from the tach itself. The tach is held in place with 3M double-sided foam tape. I know that sounds ghetto but the tape is completely hidden and it holds it in place securely. I did this install nearly two years ago and it's worked perfectly.
12-10-2006
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Feel safe at night, sleep with a paramedic.
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There are a few on here, but they're not great. If you can't find them, or need more help, let me know, and I'll take some pics and write one up for you.
12-10-2006
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Jam out with your clam out.
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Rep Power: 487 wow, thats retarded. im gonna laugh when you get in an accident from either looking down there at your tach or from your hands slipping off the wheel because of all the damn shine you put on there
12-10-2006
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I need a drop
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Rep Power: 232 the tach looks good there, if nothing has happened to you so far, with the tach in that position, then more power to you.
12-10-2006
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Rep Power: 222 axeman, looks nice. i didn't know some models came w/o tach. something new
for me haha.
ambulancemonkee, what do you use on your dash? looks mad clean.
for me haha.
ambulancemonkee, what do you use on your dash? looks mad clean.
12-10-2006
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Rep Power: 0 ive been armor alling my steering wheel for the past 4 years, its not slippery at all
12-10-2006
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Rep Power: 0 OK, here's the DIY. This tach can be installed in a VP/DX Civic for less than $70 and about an hour's labor.
First, here is the tach itself...
Http://sunpro.com/product_detail.php?pid=16330
Or
Http://sunpro.com/product_detail.php?pid=16328
It's your choice whether you want a black or chrome face. I purchased my tach at Advance Auto (PartsAmerica).
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Tach
Wire butt splices and tap splices
Some additional 18 or 20 gage wire
Wire ties
Electrical tape
3M double-sided foam tape
Fuse tap (optional)
Wire coat hanger (for snaking wires)
Hand tools
Drill (optional)
INSTALLATION:
1. Remove the thumb nut and bracket from the tach. It won't be used in this installation.
2. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. NOTE: Make SURE you have the radio code before you do this or else you'll have no tunes. Also remove the panel under the dash covering the fuse box.
3. You will need to notch the black dash bezel behind where the tach will be installed. This will allow you to snake the wires between the bezel and the instrument panel. There are two ways to do this. First method: Remove the bezel and notch it with a pair of diagonal cutters. Or method two which I used but you MUST be careful. Leave the bezel in place. Take a drill with a ¼ bit. VERY carefully drill down at a slight angle but take care not to go too deep or hit the instrument panel. This method worked and saves pulling the bezel.
4. Bend the wire coat hanger straight. Tape all the wires from the tach to it. Carefully push down thru the notch. You will need to work slowly and move the rod slightly to the side. Eventually the rod will push down under the dash and you'll be able to snake the wires down to around the fuse box.
5. Pull the wires on the tach until it sits in place on the dash. Position it level and check the zero adjust. If it is off adjust the zero screw on the back. Once adjusted properly cut some pieces of double-sided tape and place it on the back of the tach. Then push the tach against the instrument panel. If you have enough tape the tach should sit properly and securely in place.
6. Now you are ready to wire it up. The tach has 4 wires. Red wire is +12 volts with key on, black wire is ground, blue or white wire is dash lights, and green wire is tach signal from ECU. There are several options for wiring it up. Here is how I did it but I'll give some alternatives. First, to save time I tied the red wire and blue or white wire together. This will cause the light in the tach to be on at all times. But it's no big deal because you can't see it in daylight. If you prefer not to do this you'll have to wire the blue or white wire into the dash lights. Anyway, to get a source of +12 volts with key on I tapped the red wire into Fuse 18 (15 Amp) which is the Accessory Power Socket circuit. The black wire from the tach is ground. I found in the upper left under the dash a threaded hole. I used a screw of the correct thread pitch and a spade lug to connect the black wire to ground. If you prefer to butt splice the red and black wires into the accessory power circuit then you can pry the dash panel around the power socket off and butt splice directly in. The red wire would butt splice to the yellow/green wire and the black wire to the black wire.
7. The final step is the green wire to tach signal from the ECU. The BEST and EASIEST way to tap into the ECU signal line is the blue tachometer test wire coming out of the wiring harness just to the left of the battery. Unfortunately this involves snaking the green wire thru the firewall but it isn't difficult. Just above the gas pedal there is a blue tube going thru the firewall. I believe this is a vacuum line for the HVAC system. Anyway, it's an excellent place to get the green wire thru the firewall. Around that blue tube is a rubber grommet. Very CAREFULLY pry the grommet away from the blue tube and slowly and carefully push the coat hanger with the green wire attached thru the firewall. Make SURE you do NOT damage the grommet. Make sure the green wire is against the blue hose. If you aren't careful the green wire may chafe against the body and cause a short. And this may damage the ECU. So make sure the wire is completely surrounded by the grommet and doesn't contact the metal body.
8. The green wire is not long enough to reach the blue wire by the battery. So you'll need to splice in additional wire. Wire tie this wire assembly away from the engine. Once you reach the blue wire tap splice into it.
9. You're done! Reconnect the negative terminal and test out your new tach!
First, here is the tach itself...
Http://sunpro.com/product_detail.php?pid=16330
Or
Http://sunpro.com/product_detail.php?pid=16328
It's your choice whether you want a black or chrome face. I purchased my tach at Advance Auto (PartsAmerica).
MATERIALS NEEDED:
Tach
Wire butt splices and tap splices
Some additional 18 or 20 gage wire
Wire ties
Electrical tape
3M double-sided foam tape
Fuse tap (optional)
Wire coat hanger (for snaking wires)
Hand tools
Drill (optional)
INSTALLATION:
1. Remove the thumb nut and bracket from the tach. It won't be used in this installation.
2. Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. NOTE: Make SURE you have the radio code before you do this or else you'll have no tunes. Also remove the panel under the dash covering the fuse box.
3. You will need to notch the black dash bezel behind where the tach will be installed. This will allow you to snake the wires between the bezel and the instrument panel. There are two ways to do this. First method: Remove the bezel and notch it with a pair of diagonal cutters. Or method two which I used but you MUST be careful. Leave the bezel in place. Take a drill with a ¼ bit. VERY carefully drill down at a slight angle but take care not to go too deep or hit the instrument panel. This method worked and saves pulling the bezel.
4. Bend the wire coat hanger straight. Tape all the wires from the tach to it. Carefully push down thru the notch. You will need to work slowly and move the rod slightly to the side. Eventually the rod will push down under the dash and you'll be able to snake the wires down to around the fuse box.
5. Pull the wires on the tach until it sits in place on the dash. Position it level and check the zero adjust. If it is off adjust the zero screw on the back. Once adjusted properly cut some pieces of double-sided tape and place it on the back of the tach. Then push the tach against the instrument panel. If you have enough tape the tach should sit properly and securely in place.
6. Now you are ready to wire it up. The tach has 4 wires. Red wire is +12 volts with key on, black wire is ground, blue or white wire is dash lights, and green wire is tach signal from ECU. There are several options for wiring it up. Here is how I did it but I'll give some alternatives. First, to save time I tied the red wire and blue or white wire together. This will cause the light in the tach to be on at all times. But it's no big deal because you can't see it in daylight. If you prefer not to do this you'll have to wire the blue or white wire into the dash lights. Anyway, to get a source of +12 volts with key on I tapped the red wire into Fuse 18 (15 Amp) which is the Accessory Power Socket circuit. The black wire from the tach is ground. I found in the upper left under the dash a threaded hole. I used a screw of the correct thread pitch and a spade lug to connect the black wire to ground. If you prefer to butt splice the red and black wires into the accessory power circuit then you can pry the dash panel around the power socket off and butt splice directly in. The red wire would butt splice to the yellow/green wire and the black wire to the black wire.
7. The final step is the green wire to tach signal from the ECU. The BEST and EASIEST way to tap into the ECU signal line is the blue tachometer test wire coming out of the wiring harness just to the left of the battery. Unfortunately this involves snaking the green wire thru the firewall but it isn't difficult. Just above the gas pedal there is a blue tube going thru the firewall. I believe this is a vacuum line for the HVAC system. Anyway, it's an excellent place to get the green wire thru the firewall. Around that blue tube is a rubber grommet. Very CAREFULLY pry the grommet away from the blue tube and slowly and carefully push the coat hanger with the green wire attached thru the firewall. Make SURE you do NOT damage the grommet. Make sure the green wire is against the blue hose. If you aren't careful the green wire may chafe against the body and cause a short. And this may damage the ECU. So make sure the wire is completely surrounded by the grommet and doesn't contact the metal body.
8. The green wire is not long enough to reach the blue wire by the battery. So you'll need to splice in additional wire. Wire tie this wire assembly away from the engine. Once you reach the blue wire tap splice into it.
9. You're done! Reconnect the negative terminal and test out your new tach!
Last edited by Axe Man; 12-10-2006 at 07:09 PM.
12-10-2006
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Rep Power: 0 +1.....even with mine being an automatic - bugs the **** out of me that theres no tach 
and before i get **** for it, YES i can drive a stick. My parents just happened to buy the one silver civic on the lot, that wasnt stick.
and before i get **** for it, YES i can drive a stick. My parents just happened to buy the one silver civic on the lot, that wasnt stick.
12-10-2006
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12-10-2006
#23
I like my commute
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maybe we can get a gb for this tach??? oh and I got you back too
I'm gonna add this tach to the list of things that need to get done this spring
12-10-2006
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Rep Power: 236 lol everyones so nice to each other. i just love it! hahah
anyways, nice tach, at first i thought someone made a single pod cluster bezel, but it still looks clean.
haha ambulance, sorry to mash, but ur shifter looked like a ***** at first
anyways, nice tach, at first i thought someone made a single pod cluster bezel, but it still looks clean.
haha ambulance, sorry to mash, but ur shifter looked like a ***** at first
12-11-2006
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Feel safe at night, sleep with a paramedic.
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Rep Power: 265 It's out of the way, and I couldn't think of a better place to put it. It's not like I stare at I while I'm driving. I drove the car for like 6 months without a tach, so I can do just fine without ever looking at the tach. I just feel the powerband (what little power there is), and listen to the engine. The tach is there so I glance at it once in a while, and see if I'm anywhere near red lining the car. Maybe I should get an 8" tach, that goes up to 10K RPM, with a 4000 candlepower 4" shift light, and mount it prominently in the center of the dash?? Mine is small, and out of the way.
12-11-2006
#29
Feel safe at night, sleep with a paramedic.
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Rep Power: 265 Gee thanks. You're a tool. There is nothing on the part of the steering wheel that i touch, only in the center. As for where the tach is, I spend 48 hours a week driving a 6 ton, $90000 vehicle. I manage to use the radio, lights, and siren, and still have time to check 3 mirrors, including checking to make sure some crackhead isn't kicking the **** outta my partner in the back, all while driving, so I'm pretty sure I'm not going to kill myself by glancing down at my tach for 1/2 a second. Thanks for your input, tho. Why don't you post up some pics of your car, so we can all tell you what we think is retarded and unsafe about it, then let you know that we'll laugh when you kill yourself with it. BTW, I'll take this **** from you if you can honestly tell me you've never dialed on a cell phone while driving, because if you have, I guarantee you it took a lot longer than it takes me to look down at my tach.
