GQ Patrol dash

[GQPorkroll]

Still have a drama with my 88 TB42 carb dash. No tacho and temp gauge flutters. I bought an aftermarket tacho but it annoys me that the dash one doesn't work.

I got quoted around $150 for a tacho/temp repair, but don't really have time to pull it out and can't be without a dash for the 2 week turnaround time.

I've looked for a TB42 dash and have had prices from $165 to $300+ for a second hand unit.

Will a dash from a RB30 carb motor work in the TB42? The tacho is different, I think it goes to 6k where as mine might only go to 4, but aside from that, is everything else the same?

[MudRunnerTD]

unlikely, chase around the forums mate and there is a few guys that are stripping TB42s now around town. Or give the 4x4 wreckers in Ballarat Victoria a call and get a price, he is pretty well priced. Will be a plug and play when you get one mate. and not that big a job to pull out and swap over.

[GQPorkroll]

Yeah I've tried most of the 4wd wreckers and they either don't have one or want a ridiculous price for one. I'll keep watching eBay and browse the forums when I get some spare time. Cheers.

[threedogs]

Smart parts in Ballarat, Have you tried the 4x4 wreckers in Deerpark , Melb??
Big one over the other side of town

[Yendor]

Have you checked for dry solder joints on the back of the instrument cluster.

With a hot soldering iron redo all the joints for the tacho and temp gauge.

Also check the tacho wiring out near the coil, it runs through a resistor and the connectors could be corroded.

One of the wire colours running to this resistor should be a Yellow with a Black trace, this should help you locate it.

Cheers Rodney

[GQPorkroll]

Hi guys,

I tried a fair few wreckers, I've lost count of who I've tried, I'm in NSW, near Newcastle so I exhausted all my local options and then started trying Aus wide as well as keeping an eye on eBay and looking for people wrecking cars. Those who did have one quoted me anywhere from $170 for just the tacho to as dear as $300 odd for the complete untested binnacle and some even wanted $50 postage. Not paying that much for it. As I mentioned I could have it reco'd and fiddle with the temp gauge myself for less than that, but again time is the factor.

I haven't physically touched the dash myself, I had a Crane ignition kit fitted and got a call from the mechanic to say the tacho wasn't working, I double checked wiring diagrams on the net and the mechanic had wired the tacho to the negative side of the coil, not the green tacho wire. I noticed on my drive home the temp needle was bouncing and going off the scale on both ends on a 20 degree day. Temp had never been an issue so I ignored it, got home and rewired the tacho wire to the green wire from the MSD unit and it was dead. Had an auto electrician check it out later on and the tacho was dead. I wired an aftermarket digital tacho in to the green trace wire from the MSD and it worked fine.

I haven't had time to pull the dash out, as I have an engine swap in my GS Fairmont going on, as well as working on my other car to get it ready to sell, and work, plus a wife and 2 kids, so time is very thin on the ground, and as it's my daily driver my best option is to swap dashes over.

I have all but given up on eBay, one guy advertises he's wrecking patrols but never replies to emails or answers his phone, and the wreckers who advertise on eBay are just so over priced its not funny.

It's not life or death, so once I finish my XB, ill pull the dash and have a proper look at it and go from there, I thought I may have been able to cheat a little.

Oh, btw my tacho goes to 6, the RB30 goes to 8 but doesn't have the powerband section marked from 1500-2500. Everything else looks the same.

[The Negz]

Had a similar problem with my 24V safari dash (good like finding parts) and a resolder and all is good and reading better.

[dom14]

Had a similar problem with my 24V safari dash (good like finding parts) and a resolder and all is good and reading better.

In my case, I only had to remove the dash unit and blow some air at it(mouth). It hasn't missed a beat since then for few years now.