JohnD Posted June 29, 2021 Posted June 29, 2021 (edited) While I wait for the preparation of engine parts for assembly, my thoughts turn to the Transit, which could do with a rev counter. It's a basic model, no rev counter on the dash, but Mk6s did have them. Transit message boards talk of getting a Mondeo dash and using that to get a tachometer. But I'd rather just stick a dial in a nacelle on top of the dash, and use that. My Haynes WSM shows a feed (?) for the tacho into the dash, but I suspect that is just to power it. The whole dash has a connection to the Engine Management Unit, which is where I suppose the signal comes from. If that signal is digital, I haven't a hope of a separate rev counter. Anyone know how a Transit tacho works, on diesel? John Edited June 29, 2021 by JohnD
Nick Jones Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 Probably need the dash/instrument cluster from one of the higher spec models. Beware that some manufacturers like to put the immobiliser/security modules in the cluster so it may not be plug and play. The basic tach signal from older, “clockwork” diesels used to come from the alternator but more likely tied up with the engine management here. I thought transit driving was just “rev to governor, grab next gear, repeat…..”
JohnD Posted June 30, 2021 Author Posted June 30, 2021 Apologies, Craig! Newbie error! It's a Mk6 Transit, 2002 model, 125 T350, LWB (Rear wheel drive). Can I say TRansit? The TR after the TR8? Nick, How very dare you! I'm a racing driver! How will I know when to change gear unless I have a tachometer? My Haynes has it's own version of the wiring diagrams, that don't show anything about the EMU, in text or diagram. save "To EMU". Most of the copies the "original Ford wiring diagrams" available online offer FREE introductory offers which I view with deep suspicion, but there are websites that offer PDFs of the original Ford books, such as "eManualOnline". They ask for a reasonable fee for their product, which is more reassuring. But has anyone experience of these? John
GT6MK3 Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 If it's 2002 your right on the cusp of having an OBD port that you can utilise to run a rev counter/info display. I'd go back to the forums and check if anyone's tried successfully. C.
JohnD Posted June 30, 2021 Author Posted June 30, 2021 I did look, Craig, and they all talk about using Mondeo dashes, with lots of problems and few solutions! Seems that they are more available than Transit ones, maybe not many Transits had the tachos? Run a tacho from an OBD?!? Never heard of that dodge! How is that done,please? John
Nick Jones Posted June 30, 2021 Posted June 30, 2021 10 hours ago, JohnD said: Nick, How very dare you! I'm a racing driver! How will I know when to change gear unless I have a tachometer? That's what the rev limiter (governor) is for surely..... for when you are too busy to look at the tacho (also shift light). I also like a tacho, but there are limits on how far I'll go to get one......
mpbarrett Posted July 1, 2021 Posted July 1, 2021 Bluetooth OBD adapter, old Android phone and OBD data app and then you you could then display RPM and then monitor and worry about lots of other stuff. mike
JohnD Posted July 1, 2021 Author Posted July 1, 2021 Mike, You speak with digital tongue, Wise One. That's all Greek to me, as we said before! JOhn 1
JohnD Posted February 13, 2022 Author Posted February 13, 2022 Been pursuing this again, and I hope I'm finally giving up on it! The alternator doesn't have the necessary W terminal, and although there are videos about adding one to your alt, the procedure for getting the part off the Transit so that you can access it under its back cover involves jacking and supporting the van so that the alt can be taken out downwards! Too much trouble, and the van is heavy. I jacked up the back to get the wheels off, and my axle stands sank into the tarmac! Don't fancy being under it if that happens again! And there is a company in the US that markets a tachometer that works with a blackbox and sensor that you strap (literally - it comes with a long Jubillee hoseclip!) to the alternator to provide a diesel with a tachometer. But the kit costs more than £250, and that's too much, just for a bit of bling! On to more worthwhile projects. Thanks for the ideas above! John
mpbarrett Posted February 14, 2022 Posted February 14, 2022 does it have a toothed timing wheel anywhere, I know its not needed for ignition but I guess the fuel ECU must need to know the engine speed, rotary position? If so maybe you could pick the signal off the sensor, or add a new sensor, and feed it into a rev counter. Might need to recalibrate the Rev counter... mike
JohnD Posted February 14, 2022 Author Posted February 14, 2022 There are many tachos that do that, mostly running off the flywheel teeth. I fear that I was looking for a simple solution, analogous to adding one to a spark ignition car, and as cheaply! Drilling and tapping the bell housing for a sensor, dismantling the van to get at the alt as above, etc. just aren't worth the candle! Thanks! John
Hamish Posted February 14, 2022 Posted February 14, 2022 as you know i have NO technical knowledge or understanding but eBay provides diesel rev counters that appear to work off the O2 sensor ???? don't even know if this is possible but........................ https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224436973195?_trkparms=ispr%3D1&hash=item34417c6e8b:g:XwIAAOSwmGtgg3oQ&amdata=enc%3AAQAGAAACoPYe5NmHp%2B2JMhMi7yxGiTJkPrKr5t53CooMSQt2orsSvtkx670Z0mbyfWqmxLFLYUiIgpIc%2FL41cBi8WSwKQ3jsUg%2BjL7eT%2B9H6hXBY4rogN0LkGAggPypR2fVdIPxelVIczrBwtt5yzjNhsoXu5tp3WpAw7gQwhIu8H4eTdFjQ%2FX%2FCppwxS9ZDdW0JRs3KDLBpeCYxfp5RWRXSskJjM%2FAKzlHZ1RD%2Ff4JFb9U153ujQ1bzpWUt1KV6SAmbcrVni7XlNryovWsiaQWAcM8IRe6k5jIEh30cSRmLabAr7m8YbC9pC1btKQHq%2FNvdH9GxHFYpDfk%2BvtResi%2BLL2YYEttoc%2FmTpTh1fULKtEdOzgN%2F07SLnrRZWAKy9h6AKGjzWU1G505UzGHuPsKmnQjw%2F4t3Uka8KY1%2B2G%2ByJrpdrslIE43KkVAb8ePoyZMGmndGx45yM3jlj2QdU%2FBcdbFzl%2BStearmKkmLU5VAmOYW3Wq1lAVEsF%2Bz5RN5VhorasvK1KsmVt2SCyPGUEX1HJFXjBn2g5ZfwGODnYkXL5ctDHLlC4PFupp2jURzxj6ofHbMaD8v7HpntR7jjv7wV%2Fm1vQFUWcZilaABtVIGZqfw9qJ%2B2zR7VjUSel3KK7y4qF3ac4CDAEYAE0KPdGh37cegH8L6JEC%2B1lPcew6KTxgcT40Le4CYr4Az0z1%2Fl30YQdAUy0mhYaZ6oDlXd3Fhs0lsTwBaBlBiRxV%2BKnAgRc%2BbwwEmSPiDpQbLzFbDooNZ%2FtmNj0lr9fXo0Jl1sfPYBvys9hiPIcRYXES7g4SC5xKyzdLexG2%2FMxpKkQr7gRtgj1Zqx9xq%2F1D4rI%2BkII3JPKRUcRVyik3xM%2FuBULx%2Bd5Q7rrcSdYzt9F8h6SyD5CoFOFogYg%3D%3D|clp%3A2334524|tkp%3ABFBMlruN_t5f
mpbarrett Posted February 14, 2022 Posted February 14, 2022 thats interesting I wonder if there is a pulsation in the O2 signal that is related directly to engine speed. Seems possible but I would have thought the response time of the sensor would be too low? Tempted to put a scope on my O2 sensor in the Herald... But for £22 worth a try! Mike
JohnD Posted February 14, 2022 Author Posted February 14, 2022 Gosh, more ideas to tempt me! But it's a diesel, Hamish. Do diesels have an O2 sensor? In searching for a suitable gauge, I've found some that said on the headline "for diesel" but in the specs, said "Not for diesel"! JOhn
Nick Jones Posted February 14, 2022 Posted February 14, 2022 1 hour ago, JohnD said: Do diesels have an O2 sensor? More recent ones do….. though their role is somewhat different compared to on a petrol engine. Whether yours qualifies, I don’t know. I’ve forgotten how old it is? I’ve read that O2 sensors can read individual firing pulses, but their supporting electronics not so much, possibly intentionally. I seriously doubt you can get a tacho signal from your O2 wiring. Far more like to just put your check engine light on! It has a governor anyway, and if anything like the Transits I’ve come into contact with , it sounds like a lot of old iron being shaken vigorously in a metal dustbin whatever the revs….
JohnD Posted February 14, 2022 Author Posted February 14, 2022 (edited) Goes though! Well enough to tug the trailer with plenty to spare. It's 2002 van. Edited February 14, 2022 by JohnD
JohnD Posted February 24, 2022 Author Posted February 24, 2022 Having abandoned bling for the barge, I thought to do some basic servicing. Air, fuel and oil filters. This is the air filter. Soaked in water, blown through as it must have been near impervious to air flow! Bits of paper all down the intake duct! Unless the water came in through the air intake, I can't think where it came from. John
Nick Jones Posted February 24, 2022 Posted February 24, 2022 Looks like you’ve had a lucky escape and narrowly avoided a hydraulic lock. Where does the intake take the air from? Some of the biggish vans seem to draw air from pretty low down - as can often be seen when watching Rufford Ford videos. Sprinters seem especially vulnerable. They do stop with a jerk when they get a cylinder full!
JohnD Posted February 25, 2022 Author Posted February 25, 2022 I've been through no other Fords, that's for sure! I just hope the paper bits have burnt up in the engine. Otherwise the cat might be a bit blocked. The intake is next to the radiator, rather like a Vitesse! But it faces a blank panel, so that direct ingestion of rain, or water kicked up by the vehicle in front seems unlikely. Ford do know their business! There is a drain for the upper edge of the bonnet that is conducted downwards by a plastic channel right past the filter housing. It's not blocked, but I'll bind the joint with some duct tape. And inspect the filter after next trip. Before I changed the fuel filter, I read that Transits are notorious for not starting after such service, unless you have the right Ford Special Tool, a bulb driven hand pump to prime the filter. But after first starting and stopping, as you might expect when the injectors suddenly deliver bubbles, it started and ran like a good-un. Next is an oil and filter change. The manual speaks of a lift, ramps or axle stands, but the ground clearance is such that it's like a hangar under there! A hanger you must lie down in, but much more room than any Triumph! (I've never had an Atlas!) I have a file from the DPO of all it's previous MoTs! Repeated failures for minor things like "Sidelight not working". I fixed the indicator dashboard light, so I'm going to go right round and check all the others before it goes there. Pleasingly, no major failures, despite its age. Touch wood. John
Nick Jones Posted February 25, 2022 Posted February 25, 2022 3 minutes ago, JohnD said: Before I changed the fuel filter, I read that Transits are notorious for not starting after such service, unless you have the right Ford Special Tool, a bulb driven hand pump to prime the filter. But after first starting and stopping, as you might expect when the injectors suddenly deliver bubbles, it started and ran like a good-un. You definitely got lucky there. There is camper-converted Transit in our yard at work belonging to a colleague. He ran it out of fuel, got it going again with much difficulty, did about 100 miles, then parked it for several months. It’s lost its prime and will not go, even with a squeezy bulb and several batteries. He’s rather hoping I’ll buy it I think, but SM’s initial enthusiasm took a big hit when she saw the size of it (huge outside, somehow not so big inside) and mine is tempered by the strong possibility that the HP pump is shagged. They are big money…..
JohnD Posted February 25, 2022 Author Posted February 25, 2022 (edited) I can understand the awe that a LWB, HiTop Transit can get, parked in your drive. They are BIG! Even in your drive, or mine, they loom over the scenery like small mountains. But I love the driving height, seeing over hedges, the respect (fear/panic) that they can produce in the drivers of lesser vehicles and in the camaraderie that you get from HGV charioteers. I belong to their club, even if only a country member. It deserves my care to keep it fit. Edited February 25, 2022 by JohnD
Nick Jones Posted February 25, 2022 Posted February 25, 2022 Yep. It’s a high top. Not sure if long or only medium. Actually very tidy and solid under the grime and mildew But do I want to drive around in a big white box…. and then sleep in it, when I could be driving around in a Triumph (even a convertible Triumph) and sleeping in a bed….
JohnD Posted February 25, 2022 Author Posted February 25, 2022 And that air intake is just next to the front headlight, so the water would need to be a good four feet high to get into the engine!
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