Instrument Cluster With Desirable Tachometer Disassembled Inside (Important News!)

[mohavewolfpup]

Pardon the long thread title!

I won a prized diesel instrument cluster everyone wants for the 6.9 off ebay earlier this month (late birthday present if you will). Now, in a strange fashion, it's time for a birthday present for everyone to enjoy with the info I found pertaining to it, (Hope this isn't out there already!) so pull up your chair and enjoy...

Love to dismantle stuff, so that is why this is apart. Want to paint all the gauge needles up and have it looking nice since these clusters are not the easiest to remove due to the speedometer cable (Try removing one, then one out of a PT Cruiser and tell me which is easier! done both here)

Here's the cluster after I received it:

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Marked on the top of it (by the person who removed it) it says 1986 F350 on it

It's made up of 6 gauges, the face plate with all the information printed on it (diesel fuel only, etc) a enclosure to house all the gauges, the clear plastic bezel with trip odometer button, a printed circuit board and the following: 6 screws to retain the clear bezel on, 10 light bulb sockets, 5 blue covers to change the light bulbs and diffuse them, 12 speed nuts to hold the gauges down from behind and make contact with the printed circuit board, and finally... 2 bolts for the speedometer along with a gasket to isolate it from the enclosure and seal it some. Whew!

Now some dismantling photos:

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And finally, the best for last.. and why you may have clicked on this thread!

Removing the tach from the back has the following cast into it:

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Interesting, time for google shall we?

"The Faria Corporation has been manufacturing gauges in Uncasville, CT for more than 50 years (established in 1956) and has grown from a company that primarily produced tachometers for the marine and auto industries to one that today offers a multitude of analog and digital engine monitoring instrumentation to a wide range of global markets.

Over the years, the company has transitioned from an electric and mechanical gauge manufacturer to an ISO9001 electronic hardware and software design company with in-house pick and place assembly lines for surface mount technology (SMT) circuitry."

Here is their website:

http://www.faria-instruments.com/

And some even more interesting stuff pop ups on their website:

Industrial Tachs: http://faria-instruments.com/products.php?calledGauge=1_tach

Industrial Tachs with Hourmeter: http://faria-instruments.com/products.php?calledGauge=1_tachHr

And finally:

Click onto this link: http://faria-instruments.com/styles.php Then on the coral one, click view. You'll be presented with 4000 rpm tach choices.

I know it's a 4500 rpm tach I have, but that's obviously a danger zone reading. Maybe something out of these can work for others being the "OEM" supplier for ford back in the 80's?

I hope in some way that assists with the mystery of the tachometer on these. I'll see about emailing the company and see if they have any knowledge still kicking around about them, maybe even if they can be remade, stuff like that.

Keep a eye out in this thread, i'm going to paint the needles, get led's installed and post more photos of that plus the end result of it hooked up.

And in closing, here is a list of all fordpart numbers I can find cast/printed into everything above:

Fuel Gauge: EOTF-9306 E1TF
Oil Pressure Gauge: E1TF E4T-9AA
Battery Gauge: E1TF EOTF-10671
Water Temp Gauge: E1TF EOTF-10971
Faria Tachometer: E6TF-17360-EA Also: 6G15 And: FQC 5 (Unlike the others above, the Faria one has it's numbers printed/silk screened? on it rather then cast. I am 99% sure I read them right. It's very faint purple ink for the main number. Others I included just in case in helps, suspect the Last one is a quality control number...)
Front of tachometer: E5TF-17B316-A
Speedometer: E1TF-17265 (2179/80-5) 2293 On Front
Instrument Bezel (Diesel Fuel Only,Fuel,Oil,Temp,Charge,Tach,Speedometer, Top row of lights): EOTF-10894-BB
Gauge Housing: E2TF-10848-AA (CAV 2)
Clear Instrument Bezel W/Trip Odometer: $P2 EOTF-10B885BA
Printed Circuit Board: A E1TF-10C956-B (Q633460686) <--- Possibly the circuit board serial number unique to it? Added anyway)

It's interesting to see the different beginning letters/numbers (EO,E1,E6,E2) Wonder what it means? Different codes for the aftermarket/in house makers of the products?

And that's all folks. Only stuff not in the parts # list above is the screws, speedometer rubber gasket, speed nuts, light sockets/blue lenses (you can find those very easily in dennis carpenter or other sites)

Enjoy!

edit: possible to move to the tech section if good enough? I thought the moderators would choose what to put in the tech section like some forums i've been on!

 

[Knuckledragger]

Thanks for the photos and information. I have found that Ford does not always put the real part number on the actual part, they use an "engineering" number. I think that it is used on a part that may have several different variations, but looks the same from the outside, like our tank switch valves.

I was looking at a site that decoded the part numbers, and if I remember right, the first letter indicated the type of vehicle (E= truck from 150-350 series), the number is the year (E0=truck, 1980) the part was introduced.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

Thanks for the photos and information. I have found that Ford does not always put the real part number on the actual part, they use an "engineering" number. I think that it is used on a part that may have several different variations, but looks the same from the outside, like our tank switch valves.

I was looking at a site that decoded the part numbers, and if I remember right, the first letter indicated the type of vehicle (E= truck from 150-350 series), the number is the year (E0=truck, 1980) the part was introduced.

Generally i've seen the last digits/letters of the "part number" seem to give a marker if it's upgraded. I found differences in TFI Modules from ford as a example. would be different then the one originally on the vehicle. I took it into a local ford dealer and they looked it right up, finding it had changed some. But the old one assisted their search

 

[opusd2]

Now THIS is a thread I can chew on!

Makes a person wonder if it's possible to seamlessly incorporate and modify a tach from another application to our stock tach-less dash's. Adding an LED unit is easy the parts are readily accessible in my Allied Electronics catalog, but a nice looking analog unit would be preferred. With such "warm" weather outside right now, it would be a good time to take measurements and do some "cyphering" as Jethro Bodine would put it.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

Now THIS is a thread I can chew on!

Makes a person wonder if it's possible to seamlessly incorporate and modify a tach from another application to our stock tach-less dash's. Adding an LED unit is easy the parts are readily accessible in my Allied Electronics catalog, but a nice looking analog unit would be preferred. With such "warm" weather outside right now, it would be a good time to take measurements and do some "cyphering" as Jethro Bodine would put it.

hence why I did the digging on faria corp being cast into the back of the tachometer I got, obviously a OEM supplier to ford for them. Maybe, just maybe, some of their product line can be retrofitted easily into your truck without a big mess unlike some other tachometers on the market?

 

[CDX825]

If we could get them to repop the tachs for the 83-86 trucks that would be sweet!

 

[mohavewolfpup]

If we could get them to repop the tachs for the 83-86 trucks that would be sweet!

I am going to find that out actually. see what they say, history, knowledge, etc etc on it. I'll either get blank stares via email or flooded with info!

edit:

I recently purchased a replacement instrument cluster for my 1985 ford f350 diesel, and inside I found a tachometer your company made back in the 1980's. Here is the part number off of it:

E6TF-17360-EA Also: 6G15 And: FQC 5

The last two numbers are printed on it along with the part number in a purple ink. I know the first one is a ford part number, but maybe it is referenced some how in your (hopefully) collection of information?

A lot of us F250/F350 owners with a 6.9 diesel would love it if you made these still, have the tooling for it if you don't make them anymore, or at least can give us any information relating to them. Any replacement parts?

Thank you so much for your time!

 

[mohavewolfpup]

Just noticed this number on the front of the tachometer also: E5TF-17B316-A

Updated the post with it to reflect the information

 

[opusd2]

Well, the sending units can easily be constructed using universal units with thread adapters and all that would be required is the guts to decipher and armature to swing the needle to display the RPMs. I will continue my search for an OEM unit but at the same time keep looking for options. I'm curious to see what you find.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

Well, the sending units can easily be constructed using universal units with thread adapters and all that would be required is the guts to decipher and armature to swing the needle to display the RPMs. I will continue my search for an OEM unit but at the same time keep looking for options. I'm curious to see what you find.

it does have a very simple looking circuit board on the back. Don't know if I should try to take it apart and get photos. Not really in the mood to push my luck though. I've got one, don't want to break it! I still have my eye out for them, even though I have one. This isn't my last 6.9!

 

[franklin2]

The colored caps that the cluster lights shine through get dark with age, that's why no one with a 80-86 truck can see their cluster at night. I am assuming you will be knocking these lenses out and going with a colored bulb or LED? Did I hear somewhere that when the LED's are dimmed by the headlight knob they do not work too well?

 

[riotwarrior]

Last I checked, and this is not long ago, the 87-91 diesel tach won't work in a bullnose 83-86 setup....

Just sayin..been there done that...but others may have different results.

 

[ToughOldFord]

The first letter and number on a Ford part number is the year. A=194x, B=195x, C=196x, D=197x, etc, etc.

An E1 =1981. You'll see older part numbers if no revision was made up until the time on installation. Meaning if the part was installed in a 1985 you could see a part number for 1980. Doesn't mean someone put an older part in, just there was no change in the part design in the years.

Another example, I've been doing some of work on my '62 F100, I'm finding C1-XXXX part numbers all over the place. Ford was good at marking parts, and their date codes are nice and easy to decipher.

 

[mohavewolfpup]

Last I checked, and this is not long ago, the 87-91 diesel tach won't work in a bullnose 83-86 setup....

Just sayin..been there done that...but others may have different results.

What do you mean? This is a tach that came from a 86

 

[ToughOldFord]

What do you mean? This is a tach that came from a 86

Yep, you got the right one, I see it in your pics.