Fail Tachometer

[hgravelpha@aol.com]

My tach failed last week. It will only rev up to 2000 rpm. I took it apart and JB Weld the studs but to no avail. I placed the red/black to +, black to ground, and black yellow to 1 (as listed on the tach casing). I did not see any unsoldered wiring inside the tach. The tach now will not do anything - not even reving up to 2000 RPM. Is there another ground, fuse, anything else I need to check. Any info will be helpful.

[Guest ratchethack]

What bike, what year, and what mfgr. tach -- Veglia Borletti or ITI?

[hgravelpha@aol.com]

It is a 2001 v11 sport with the Veglia (white face) tach.

[dlaing]

It is a 2001 v11 sport with the Veglia (white face) tach.

The most obvious thing to check is whether or not your headlight works or not.

If it does not, you probably have relay troubles.

If the headlight works, than the Tach SHOULD be getting power, but you might check at the tach.

A temporary ground may help troubleshoot.

I am not sure how to troubleshoot the signal wire from the ECU.

I think there is a one way sealed connector for the signal wire, under the gas tank that might need the connection checked.

See Carl's diagram

http://www.thisoldtractor.com/guzzi007/sch...9_V11_sport.gif

EDIT Doh! after seeing Gary's post below, I went back and and actually read the first post, and it is pretty reasonable to assume the ECU is getting power and ground, so disregard my post above. Thanks Gary, that is good to know about the springs!

[Guest Gary Cheek]

The helical spring/conductor on the meter movement is likely broken. There are two helical springs on the indicator needle. One of them will break and can give the same symptoms you have.

[Guest ratchethack]

My tach failed last week. It will only rev up to 2000 rpm. I took it apart and JB Weld the studs but to no avail. I placed the red/black to +, black to ground, and black yellow to 1 (as listed on the tach casing). I did not see any unsoldered wiring inside the tach. The tach now will not do anything - not even reving up to 2000 RPM. Is there another ground, fuse, anything else I need to check. Any info will be helpful.

My sympathies, my friend. I've been down a hard road in this territory myself.

 

If you've found Carl Allison's posts on ensuring ground path through the notorious loosening studs, I reckon you might've found one o' y'er best critical analyses and remedy procedures. NOTE: Please forgive if this is understood, but by y'er post I have to wonder -- JB Weld is an electrical insulator! It may NOT be expected to complete the ground path through the instrument case by providing a more secure mechanical purchase of the studs to the case!

 

One of the foremost repair authorities on Veglia Borletti instruments is paspeedo.com. You might give Helmut a call there at 650-323-0243 and get his latest input. Last I'd spoken with them, they'd told me that they would no longer be servicing the Veglia tach for Guzzi's anymore based on their experience with my tach. But that was a few years ago, and who knows? I will say this: They are relatively slow and expensive, but damn well worth the cost and the wait! They stand by their work 100%. Not only did they ship me a NEW replacement VDO tach to test my signal quality and to use while I was without my Veglia, but they actually shipped me a NEW Veglia tach when mine could not be fixed (after 3 attempts ) at no extra charge! The Veglia they shipped me has been faultless -- er, as faultless as the "vague-liar" gets, that is. . . .

 

Among the bits o' wisdom I picked up on my excursion into the strange and obscure world of Veglia Borletti during "the ordeal" was that there are a few things to watch out for: Ground path, per Carl's write-up, and breakage of the spring that Gary referred to. If these items and the usual electrical continuity items are covered, the units seem to be fairly reliable -- if they make it past the "infant mortality" stage, that is. . . .

 

I decided that if my new one ever let go, the best likely route would be to find a used replacement from a reputable source.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Gary Cheek]

BTW , If you find the broken spring and do the most careful of repairs, the tach will "work" . It will also be off a bit. You can recalibrate for a critical speed, say red line or yellow line but there will laways be a tracking error (the instrument will be off calibration) at other speeds. If you just want to see the needle move you are in biz-niss. If you want accuracy, ya need a new or different one.

 

 

BTW While you are in there, paint the very pale pink needle flat black!

[hgravelpha@aol.com]

Thanks guys for the info. I will check it this weekend. If not, I will hunt for a used white face Veglia Tach.