Another tachometer question

[simplydave]

I just purchaseda Faria tach for my 1985 90 hp evinrude. the last tach showed no sign of life no matter what I did. question is; it is recommended that a voltage regulator kit be installed with this tach according to the paperwork. How does one find out if there already is or is not one?

 

[gm280]

simplydave, if you have a volt meter, you can read the voltage at the battery to see if it stays relatively stable and not allover the place when the engine is running. It shouldn't be going up to the 15 volt range when the engine is running WOT if it has a voltage regulation circuit. However, with that stated, you can buy smaller individual voltage regulator for the tach power supply and keep it regulated regardless what the engine puts out.