Evinrude tachometer question

[chizzle1]

Hello, I am new to the board and had a question about installing a tach on my Invader.
It has a 85hp 1979 Evinrude outboard on it.
I was told by the person I bought the boat from that it requires a special type of tachometer sender. he said he could get me the 'sender' for about $100.
Can someone tell me where I can get a tach sender for my model / brand motor?
any help is appreciated.
thanks

 

[Dhadley]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

No sender required for a decent tach. You'll be miles ahead to get a genuine OMC or Bombardier tach. Simply set the switch (on the back) on 6 (yes, I know you have a V4), connect the wires and you're good to go.

 

[chizzle1]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

thanks.
I was just talking to a marine supply shop and they said that the tach gets its signal from the alternator.
The salesman on the phone said that because the tach picks up it's signal from the alternator that i have to get one made for a Evinrude motor.
He also mentioned something about only needing a gray wire and a ground to the tach.
then he quoted me $110 to order one.
Am I looking at paying $100+ for a tachometer?
Is that the going rate?
I am new to boating and have no idea when I am being fed a line or not.
thanks, and sorry for all the questions.

edit: could I not get an automotive tach and hook it to the coil?

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

All you need is the gray(Send) wire, a purple ignition wire(Hot Wire switched) and a ground to hook it up. Of course, there will be another terminal for the backlight, but that's no big deal. Any Tach. that can be set to 6 pulse on the back will work. Teleflex makes alot of them that will work. You can buy them here at iboats...Look up under the dash and see if you can find the gray wire.... You may also have a plug on your remote control for a wiring harness that will make it simple, too...Ebay is a good alternative.....

 

[chizzle1]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

thanks, i will pull look around the control panel & the dash.
If all else fails I'll pull the motor cover and find the pin out for the wiring.
so can I use an automotive tach or do I need a marine one?
I am assuming a '6 pulse' tach reads different than a '6 cyl' tach.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

marine your dealing with a 2 cycle motor not 4 cycle.

 

[chizzle1]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

oh yeah....
thanks, I gotta learn this stuff, it's completely different than working on vehicles.
For now I will do without a tach, it won't over-rev itself anyway as it's setup with a 15* (i think) prop on it...and I've had it wide open a couple times and no blown motor.

 

[rhuble64]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

hi guys/gals, i also have tach wiring question. 120 hp rude V4. where do i find the gray wire? i believe i have found the yellow wire. thanks for any help!

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Evinrude tachometer question

On the older control boxes the grey wire is inside or dangling from the control box. On newer boxes, there should be a harness with all three wires you need ending in a rubber plug at the control box, as rickdb1boat mentioned.