[Samppa]

Hello again...

Has anybody installed tachometer to '95 or equivalent Softail? (The
wiring harness changed '96, so supposedly equivalent means '95
and older Softails.) Electronics aren't my strongest side, so could
somebody help me a little... The installation instruction sheet for the
tach show that one wire should be attached to coil (ok), one wire to
"accessories" (?) wire on the wiring harness and one wire to ground.
So, where can i find the accessories wire and what colour is it in '95
Softail wiring harness? The ground is supposedly the black wire from
the + terminal of the battery to frame under the seat.

Also, if somebody has the SE tach installation instruction sheet as a
pdf file or in another file format, i'd be very thankful if you could mail
the file to me. (My tach is aftermarket unit and the instruction sheet
isn't Harley specific.)

I have the service manual but the wiring diagram for '95 is too messy
for my limited knowledge of motorcycle electronics.

BR,
Samppa
--
FXSTS '95 -Under Construction
FXSTB '00 -Gone
FXD '99 -Gone
XLH '96 -Gone...

 

[95 FXST]

Accessories is probably one of the hot wires between the tanks. Does it just need a hot wire? The negative battery is a "-" not a "+" as you stated. That's going to be important later.

Why do you want a tach anyway? That's about as useful as a fuel gauge.

 

[Samppa]

Tach

>Accessories is probably one of the hot wires between the tanks. Does it just need a hot wire?

I think it needs just a hot wire. Yesterday i read the service manual again and got thinking that maybe i could use the red wire on the ignition switch? It seems to me that since the red wire is in the ignition circuit, it has to be "hot" and so it just might be the one i'm looking for....

>The negative battery is a "-" not a "+" as you stated. That's going to be important later.

Thanks, my mistake. Actually i think i'll ground the tach to the frame (to same bolt that's used as a ground by original wiring harness).

>Why do you want a tach anyway? That's about as useful as a fuel gauge.

Got one mini gauge cheaply. The gauge is under 2" wide, so i think i can hide it between tanks if i saw a hole to dash panel... So tach doesn't spoil my view if i don't want to look at it.

 

[sask-man]

Sounds like you have this mostly under control.

Coil wire is easy...the Ground is always black and (-) so make sure this has a good clean ground to that frame and not stuck on some bolt covered in paint. The accessory wire could link to say the horn, the lights, etc and those too are easy to trace as there aren't many wires.

Tachs are really more cosmetic than functional in most bikes as your not really going to be paying attention to them anyway, except out of curioustity and boredom on a long trip to see what your cruising at. Most people shift when they feel the bike at the right "place"...good luck!

CHEERS
FXST99