The easiest way in many cases is off of the engine's alternator. This is done by wiring a terminal into one of the leads on the diode and rectifier pack.
http://www.midwesternmedicalmachine.com/~damonfg/alt_rebuild/017.jpg
If you look in this picture, you will see the three terminals that the stator and diode hooks to on the rectifier. The diesel versions of alternators with tach outputs will have a wire from one of these terminals to a terminal on the outside of the alternator casing. You can wire one through a vent hole in a casing, but be sure to make sure the wire will not rub through. This gives the alternator a pulse to work from. Remember, the alternator is generally spinning faster than the engine, so you will need to calibrate the tachometer to the alternator's pulses, and to do this, you will need some type of photo or mechanical test tachometer.
Another option is to use a magnetic sensor which is mounted to take readings off of the flywheel or the front pulley. To have this work, you will need notches of some type for the sensor to create a signal from. To see an example of this type of set up, look at the set up of ABS wheel speed sensors on modern cars.
Yet another option is a mechanical drive tach. To do this, you will need an engine that is set up to drive a mechanical tach. They generally drive off of the oil pump or cam. Some tractors used a mechanical tach driven off of the rear of the alternator, but those are rare and hard to find.
A final option would be to use a photo sensor on the flywheel or front pulley. Generally these work by placing a reflective strip on the rotating object which reflects a light beam back to a sensor when it crosses in front of the light beam from the sensor, and that provides the impulses to determine engine speed.
It can be done, yes. You could even hook up a digital display which shows your RPMs, fuel efficiency, engine fault codes, etc. if you wanted. They're available.
To hook up a tachometer to a 2000 Harley Softail, first locate the ignition coil and find the negative terminal, which is usually marked with a "-" sign. Connect the tachometer's signal wire to this terminal. Then, connect the power and ground wires of the tachometer to a suitable power source and ground on the bike. Finally, ensure all connections are secure and test the tachometer by starting the bike.
You will need to hook up your tachometer to the coil connector. After disconnecting the throttle sensor and applying the hand brake, look for the plain black wire at the coil connector to hook it up to.
To hook up an aftermarket tachometer to a 1994 Cavalier 2.2, you can connect the green wire from the tachometer to the negative side of the ignition coil. This will allow the tachometer to receive the signal it needs to accurately display engine RPMs. Be sure to consult your tachometer's manual for specific instructions on wiring.
off the neg. coil wire just t in
Connect the green wire to the negative side of the coil.
The green wire from the tach goes to the negative side of the coil.
need to know where to hook coil wire is all i need to know.
on the drivers side of the distibutor cap using a blade electrical hook up you can plug into the opening or if there is a wire already there splice into it make sure all your grounds are in place or you will burn up you coil
I would say connect it to your coil pack or distributor lead if it has one. I am, however, old school.
There is a fuse for the tachometer in this model. Under the hood on the driver's side there will be a fuse box,Êopen this box and it will show the layout for all fuses.
There should be a blue wire behind your original gauges. That's where you hook up your green signal wire