Hey everyone I just recently put in a performance world distributor (run ready)and I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how to get my rpm gauge working again as there was only one wire comming out of the old stock distributor going to the ignition coil witch to my knowledge was the one powering the rpm gauge. Any help would be greatly appreciated thanks.
Or if any of you have a good distributor to recommend and ignition system to keep my stock rpm gauge still working. Thanks
Here’s a link to the distributor I put in if that’s any help
If you type “Rocketman” in the search bar at the upper right corner of the page, you will get a lot of threads on this topic. I have the same issue as you. I have browsed several articles and what I concluded was that there isn’t a fool proof way to do it without some extra MSD parts or sending your Tach to Rocketman who converts the Tach to 3 wires. As I said, I browsed threads so there may be a solution in there somewhere but it goes down a rabbit hole quick.
Looks like you bought a Chinese made distributor. Likely it has a Pertronix imitating device that makes it incompatible with the stock current type tachometer. Bob can modify your tach to work with this type distributor but the quality is so low that the likelihood of it lasting much more than for a drive around the block is pretty low.
Before you rip your dash apart to send Rocketman your tach, how are you powering the distributor? Did you use a relay as they warn must be used? You can power the coil itself through the original (+) lead, and with the 12V relay powering the distributor module, your tach should function as normal.
That wire is not a signal line to your tachometer. The tach is an in-line, current-sensing device that is between the ignition switch and the + side of the coil. That line provides power to the coil and thus the points. If you have an aftermarket ignition system, you’ll need an adapter so that the tach reads the proper signal.
Each manufacturer has its own adapter…some may not provide them. You need to contact whoever makes your distributor/ignition system and ask about handling the factory Ford tach.
The tach should function normally if you power the coil with the original coil (+) lead. The power for the coil flows through the tachometer, and it senses the current pulses as the coil charges and discharges. The only wire that should be on the coil (+) terminal is that factory wire, which is a Red w/Green stripe wire in the engine harness.
