1991 Civic Tachometer Problem

[Rmccaughern]

This problem has been on and off and will sometimes fix itself, but it
has yet to do so:

Last night when driving home my tachometer stopped working. Here are
the symptoms:
1. At low rpms (such as idle) the tach is dead, it rests on the peg.
2. When climbing to higher rpms the tach will try and catchup with
where it "should" be, and in fact goes beyond the rpm that it should.

So far i am leaning towards a faulty ignitor. Does this sound correct?
I doubt that the entire unit has gone bad as it has relatively low
milage (93k). Lets hear your input!

Sidenote: I have verified that the gauge cluster is properly connected
and grounded!

Thanks in advance...

 

[jim beam]

This problem has been on and off and will sometimes fix itself, but it
has yet to do so:

Last night when driving home my tachometer stopped working. Here are
the symptoms:
1. At low rpms (such as idle) the tach is dead, it rests on the peg.
2. When climbing to higher rpms the tach will try and catchup with
where it "should" be, and in fact goes beyond the rpm that it should.

So far i am leaning towards a faulty ignitor. Does this sound correct?
I doubt that the entire unit has gone bad as it has relatively low
milage (93k). Lets hear your input!

Sidenote: I have verified that the gauge cluster is properly connected
and grounded!

Thanks in advance...

before you worry about the igniter, take out the cluster and remake the
connections. my high mileage crx had this problem. a thump on the dash
would fix it, but the problem went away completely when i stripped and
reassembled. it's 4 screws for the cover and 4 for the cluster. maybe
20 minutes max.

 

[Rmccaughern]

can you please elaborate about "remaking the connections". I took the
cover off last night and unplugged and replugged the two large clips
and with no avail. I guess today i will fully remove the cluster and
try to install again. Any other suggestions?

i like your sn btw...

 

[jim beam]

can you please elaborate about "remaking the connections". I took the
cover off last night and unplugged and replugged the two large clips
and with no avail. I guess today i will fully remove the cluster and
try to install again. Any other suggestions?

does thumping the dash bring it back to life? if so, it's a loose
connection and you need to hunt that down. if you've already done the
plug thing, try again after full removal - just be sure it's all clean
in there. the next thing to try is checking the wiring loom earth for
the cluster - there's a tab screwed to the frame under the steering wheel.

if all that doesn't do it, then yes, check into the igniter unit.
apparently, fluctuating rpm is a symptom as reported by others. i've
had a couple of igniters fail, but neither gave those symptoms, so i'm
not promising anything...

 

[N.E.Ohio Bob]

Dead tach= ignitor. Fluctuating tach= replace tach. Per my Honda tech.
bob

 

[Tegger]

Dead tach= ignitor. Fluctuating tach= replace tach. Per my Honda
tech.
bob

Before you do that though...

Nobody suggested to the OP to check the blue wire coming out of the
distributor. This can crack internally, resulting in intermittent loss of
contact, and a fluctuating tach needle.