• Welcome to this website/forum for people interested in the Morgan 38 Sailboat. Many of our members are 'owners' of Morgan 38s, but you don't need to be an owner to Register/Join.

perkins 4-108 tachometer is intermittently working

J

Jeffsail

New Member
Hello,
Has anyone had their tachometer stop working while motoring and then have it kick in 10 to 15 minutes later, off and on

Thanks for any info on troubleshooting, this is my first sailboat :)
 
Mine was doing that, also used to bounce around a lot. Now not working at all. I bought a new one, it's on the list to install. But I'm guessing it's not the tach but a corroded or loose connector, so will go through that in a day or so.
 
Do you have solar?
The tach is driven from the alternator, and if the battery voltage is a bit high (from being charged from another source) the alternator will intermittently shut off. Slightly lowering the solar charge voltage can help.
 
I'll admit, I really haven't delved into how the alternator outputs to drive the tach yet. Seems problematic that once your battery voltage reaches the regulator cut off point and stops charging, the tach also loses it's signal voltage.
I do have solar and the batteries are always fully charged, so I will run the batteries down a bit and see if it starts working again.
 
Good info! I don't have solar yet but it is good to know for when I do, the next time it happens I'll get the voltmeter out and see if the alternator is still putting out, and if it is, I'll assume I have a loose wire, thanks everyone!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top