Help reaching cluster, dropping steering column, tach wire.

Canada Nissan Automotive
1

So while i’m waiting for the guy who put a deposit on my 240 to put some
insurance on it, pay for it and come pick it up, i’ve been trying to fix the tach
problem with it.

Basically it’s an sohc cluster, and the engine swapped in is the ka24de.
The sohc tach reads a different signal then the dohc tach so the needle is just dead
at all times.

I found a tutorial on nico, but all the pictures have expired. According to it, you
can make the sohc cluster work perfectly.

The Tutorial.

So my main problem is:

I cant get to the wiring behind the tach. I pulled off the panel under the steering column and could see all the wires going up into the space behind the cluster, but couldnt find a way to remove the cluster.

The tutorial says you have to drop the steering column…I didn`t see any screws
or bolts after I removed the panel, other than a few that were holding some
wires in place. Any idea on how this is done?

Vehicle is a 1990 240sx se with as mentioned before a ka24de.

Pics help, but not necessary.

Thanks :wink:

2

  1. Right behind the steering wheel there is a plastic piece that covers your ignition and tilt(if you have) there should be IIRC 5 holes if you were looking up. So put your head on the carpet and look up like your looking at the roof. They are phillips. Remove that peice.

  2. You then move on to the bezel that surrounds the HUD, this requires unplugging every single switch by your steering wheel IE Hazards, Dim, Rear Defrost… etc.

  3. There should be some bolts on the lower portion of the bezel (I’m sure you have taken the lower portion of the plastic piece off below the steering wheel). And then there is 3 Phillips on the top of the same bezel piece on the facing up, like the steering column ones, on the top of the bezel.

  4. Here comes the hardest part, removing the fucking piece. Good luck have fun. It is an A Class bitch.

3

thanks man.
there’s actually no need to take the cluster or bezel out, I just need to drop
the column to get into the wiring.

According to the tutorial, all you need to do is take the tach wire, cut it, and wire it to the ignition coil.

so i’ll let you know if this works…it’s in the tech section of nico, so i assume it does.
and if not, the tach doesn’t work anyway, so no loss.

4

Ahh I wouldn’t go as far as to drop a steering column, whats the need. Once that HUD is out you can do any wiring you want!

5

so basically here’s how it went.
didn’t drop the column.
instead i found the tach wire and cut it, ran a wire outside the car to the
ignition coil.

and guess what?
nothing.

i checked the tutorial, and his ignition coil was different then mine, but I simply
could not get it working by running it on the positive wire.

so looks like the guy gets the car without a working tach. But with a stock KA, i doubt
he’ll need it.

6

The tach itself might be fubared, maybe you should consider replacing it?

7

the cars sold so i’m not gonna put any more money into it.
i thought if running a wire to the ignition coil might work, then i’d do it seeing
as how it’s just a wire.

but no point in spending more money on a car that isn’t yours anymore.
need that money for the 180 a friend of a friend is selling