Rev Counter - Connectors lost in Space

[Peter Mueller]

Hello everyone

Before I get the riot police down here let me assure you that I did search for this subject and also looked at all the threads under recent postings. They left me none the wiser. Don't bother telling me that I am stupid, either. I know, I have got it in writing

After much work, which included taking the engine out etc.,there was the typical left-over. Only this time it wasn't a collection of grommets, screws, and various unidentified objects (given my mood swings they are sometimes truly flying). No, it was a pair of connectors at the end of a couple of wires attached to the off-side inner wing, ending close to the coil. We hadn't a clue what they were for and therefore left them dangling according to the motto 'Never mind, just see what doesn't work'.

I now think I know what it is - the Rev Counter. When I recommissioned the car recently, that was the only thing that didn't function, after having been pretty much the only consistently working bit on my car over the years. You can imagine how much I am emotionally attached to it as a consequence and want it to get back to its usual self.

Just one question. I was told that one connector goes to the coil and the other one to earth. One connector is a smallish little thing, whereas the other one is a good 1/2 inch by 3/4 inch. Is that enough info to tell me which goes where?

[Phil Nottingham]

Does not ring any bells with me - have you picked up the pictures that were posted

[Peter Mueller]

Yes, I did look at the posts and read them several times. Can't make heads nor tails of it. The image in one post seems to show the back of the rev counter but I am looking at two seemingly redundant wires in the engine bay. Unfortunately, the photographs on Image Cave were no longer accessible.

Any idea what else the wiries could be for/come from? As I said in my initial post, they end near the coil on the driver's side.

[Phil Nottingham]

Possible some PO bodge - what year is? Has it got the thief proof coil? Whose pictures are not available? Mine should be.

I think you must trace these back to their source - are they live/ignition or earth? If early model ballast shunt which may or may not be needed depending on coli set up now. They will not be for rev counter if a standard Rover set-up

[johnwp5bcoupe]

The Tacho is in series with the coil feed with or without the ballast

[Peter Mueller]

OK, so this looks as if my blasted heap of scrap metal has developed the next problem after having just solved one. What joy. Does anyone want it before I set fire to it?

To answer the questions:

• Yes, it had the strange thief proof coil but we have replaced it. Perhaps the two wires are a left-over from that?!
  
• The only photo I could find was the one I mentioned. I think it was from AllanNZ. Sorry Phil, I never saw your photos (or links to them). Where are they?
  

Peter

[johnwp5bcoupe]

Jul 23, 2008 17:20:53 GMT Peter Mueller said:

OK, so this looks as if my blasted heap of scrap metal has developed the next problem after having just solved one. What joy. Does anyone want it before I set fire to it?

To answer the questions:

• Yes, it had the strange thief proof coil but we have replaced it. Perhaps the two wires are a left-over from that?!
  
• The only photo I could find was the one I mentioned. I think it was from AllanNZ. Sorry Phil, I never saw your photos (or links to them). Where are they?
  

Peter

Right Peter I will try to help you have the feed from the switch that goes to the +ve on the coil (this was in the armoured cable) you will have two wires left a Black and White and a White and ? one of these goes to the distributor and the other goes to the -ve on the coil! the diagram is different I have as it shows the tacho in the +ve feed so I assume the armoured version is different? you could put the switch feed to the B/W and the W/? to the coil +ve, then the -ve would go to distributor it makes no difference as the tacho is basically a loop looking for a pulse

[Phil Nottingham]

roverp5.proboards31.com/index.cgi?board=Rover33&action=display&thread=2288

The above is the link I was thinking of and I posted some similar ones so i suppose you have the same.

Armoured cable set up was in essence just an amoured feed from the ignition switch - the revcounter + was connected to the brown/purple bullets under the dash which feed all the ignition controlled accessories. Another ignition cable was just looped through the induction pickup on the rev counter but this is not electically connected to the rev counter. The rev counter must be earthed as well throught is clamping screws to the black cables of the instrumnent panel.

How has the thief poof set up been bypassed on yours? As to the cables you have left over is one ignition fed? - do they look like an add on? What are their colours. Also waht connections do you have actually on the rev counter and have you tested these for current?

[johnwp5bcoupe]

I had the same problem Phil with helping replace a thiefproof coil there was the main feed the distributor wire and 2 others which were the rev counter these I stuck in series with the CB feed and all works fine, they could go in the +ve feed just the same.

[Peter Mueller]

Gentlemen, gentlemen,

Now we are getting somewhere. It still sounds mostly like Chinese to me but I am beginning to get a glimpse of meaning. I am really sorry that I am such a technical no-hoper. However, with what you both have given me I am sure I can at least make a start. I did not fabricate the new ignition wire - in essence just a new wire, that's it - and will have to ask the kind soul who did it for me exactly how it was done. That should get me a step further. Maybe the two lonely wire ends in the engine bay belong to the rev counter after all.

One last question, could I damage the rev counter if I connected the two wires wrongly?

Peter

[Phil Nottingham]

I doubt it but it depends where they have been connected!

[johnwp5bcoupe]

Think of the two wires as one piece of wire one end goes to the distributor and the other to the -ve on the coil the feed from the switch going to the +ve on the coil OR one end goes to the feed from the ignition switch and the other goes to the +ve on the coil dont forget to take the distributor to the coil -ve.