engine and drivetrain Rpms At 5500 At 65Mph?

[FunkyLaneO]

Exactly what Toby said, it is pretty easy to hook up a tach under the hood with alligator clips to test it before you tear apart your console only to find out that the tach itself isn't the problem.

 

There is a power, ground, and signal, they are clearly marked on the back of the tach. The signal wire goes to the negative post on the coil, the power can be obtained from the positive post on the coil and the ground can be from just about anywhere. fire it up and see what it does, if it behaves the same as the one installed in your car then you need to start looking at your ignition components.

[dlhoovler]

An aside--glad you got the issue narrowed down--but the "third gear" comment reminded me of a story my dad told about our '02. Back when it was new, he tossed the keys to a friend to try it out. A couple of miles after they merged onto a highway, my dad leaned over and said, "You know, this has a fourth gear." Of course, the friend had been blasting down the highway in third.

 

It's informative to those of us who think of the '02 as buzzy in comparison to modern cars that, when they were new, these little Bimmers were actually more refined than most other small cars--to the point that third gear at highway speeds seemed almost comfortable! The prevalence of 3-speed manuals at the time probably also contributed to the confusion, though. By the way, that friend went on to own at least two 2002s, including a tii.

 

More relevant to the thread, I'd think that the tuner box would have shown incorrect RPM if the problem were in fact in the ignition, right?

 

-Dave

Edited May 1, 2014 by dlhoovler

[2902TBeeDee]

Has no one offered the idea of using a timing light??? Ive used it on my small block chevy, point the gun at the crank pulley,  tells you ur rpms....have a friend look at tach....hold at different speeds, make sure ur tach is working correctly.

 

 

http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.com/Inductive-Timing-Light-P11652.aspx?gclid=CKCd2IGji74CFU5lfgodfVIA9w

[pkchopp]

Dear 2902TBeeDee, We hooked up the 2002 diagnostic tool that you see every time you go to this home page. It has a built in tack! If there were a problem in the wiring it would have also read incorrectly. The tack runs off a hot wire from the points. Every 4 times the points open and close is 1 revolution of the crank. so on

[jimk]

Every 4 times the points open and close is 1 revolution of the crank. so on

Err, 2 times?

[McKinney]

I'd like to drive or at least ride in another 02 with a somewhat stock motor to see how it performs at highway speeds just as a comparison. We know the tach is reading wrong but I'd like something else to compare it too.

[TobyB]

 

Every 4 times the points open and close is 1 revolution of the crank

What, Jim, you DON'T have a v8???  I thought all of us did by now...

 

t

[FunkyLaneO]

Dear 2902TBeeDee, We hooked up the 2002 diagnostic tool that you see every time you go to this home page. It has a built in tack! If there were a problem in the wiring it would have also read incorrectly. The tack runs off a hot wire from the points. Every 4 times the points open and close is 1 revolution of the crank. so on

 

Actually the diagnostic tool is a sophisticated digital device, the old analog Tach could behave very differently.

[PaulTWinterton]

Having SO much fun with my diagnostic tool.

Flip switch to ignition, hit start button and car is up and running. No key required.

Check dwell.

Check alternator output.

Check tach accuracy.

Use with timing light to set "the bouncing ball".

Turn off ignition switch and the engine stops.

Job done.