Stewart Warner tach trouble

[Ralph]

Hi guys! Yeah, its been a while since I've been here. Over the winter I built some inner fenders for the front of my 40 Plymouth coupe, and raised the seats up a bit. Not much else got done. Fired her up this spring, and the tach has a mind of its own. It wandered around near the actual RPM's for a bit, then went to 8000 rpm's and stays there whether the ignition is off or on. Connections at the tach seem fine. Any guesses at what's going on here? SW's site was no help, so I thought maybe you guys would have some ideas I could try. (Yes, I already tried whacking it    - no change.)
Thanks,
Ralph

[mrloboy]

Maybe it is time to change the "anti-freeze" in the tach drive!   Rick

[trackster]

I have a SW Wings electric tach that did the same thing and talked to a SW rep at the Nats about it.  He said to take the 4-6-8 cylinder switch and move it from the current position to the other positions several times, then return to original position and it should fix it.   Seems strange to me.  I have to remove the dash to get to it and just put up with it for the rest of the season and now my truck is down for repairs of other things so I don't know if this actually works.  Good luck.

[Ralph]

take the 4-6-8 cylinder switch and move it from the current position to the other positions several times, then return to original position and it should fix it.

So, if it won't flush, jiggle the handle!!  Thanks! I'll give that a try and report back.

Hey Rick - gonna be at Rodarama at the end of April?

Ralph

[Ralph]

Well, the "jiggle the handle" bit didn't work. *! It sounded so promising, too. Ran the switch around the dial a bunch of times. I was sure I'd come up from under the dash to find it fixed. Thanks for the attempt, Trackster! Anybody else got something to try?
Ralph

[Canuck]

Did you try talking to the guys at NAPA?  They are a local distributor.  Might be able to point you in the right direction.  If not maybe Bob Chu---, he is/was with NAPA for quite some time.  Went through this quite a few years ago with a SW 9970 tach and took it to one of the parts houses back in the day of "Fort Street" and they shipped it somewhere and had it repaired, cheaper than a new one.  Today maybe cheaper to replace unless it is a collectable.

Might also try Brian B, if anyone knows of someone that could repair one it would be him.

Tried contacting SW regarding the above 970 tack a couple of years ago in a attempt to get a replacement sender that would work with a electronic ignition, same results as you had, NO REPLY/NO SUPPORT.

I think the coupe is going to get something other than SW unless I score some more vintage units.

Jim C

[DRD57]

Well, the "jiggle the handle" bit didn't work. *! It sounded so promising, too. Ran the switch around the dial a bunch of times. I was sure I'd come up from under the dash to find it fixed. Thanks for the attempt, Trackster! Anybody else got something to try?
Ralph

I've had problems with the SW wings tachs too. I talked to the SW guy in the booth at the Louisville Nats a few years back and he admitted that the tachs were poor quality. Just replace it. I'm on the 3rd one in my coupe.

The first one did what your's is doing. I think I killed the 2nd one by mig welding on the car with the tach connected. The third one is still working.

[mrloboy]

Hey Rick - gonna be at Rodarama at the end of April?

Ralph[/quote]

Not sure yet. I am swamped at the shop right now with another 5 chassis jobs waiting to get in the door. It's been 6-7 days a week to try and catch up. I would love to sneak away to the city for a day or so to catch up with all my urban buddies! We are also busy planning for a commercial display at the Super Run. Sounds like Brandon will be "the place to be" on the August long weekend! Rick

[Ralph]

Thanks guys
Guess I'll ask around and find out how much a new one is. Rick - I'll see you in Brandon for sure.  
Jim - where's the progress report on your Model A??
Ralph