84 wagon gl 4wd auto - in the beginning had some annoying electric problems (hibeams were perminantly on).....dash was removed.......bypassed hibeams......works fine; however, the hibeam indicator on the dash is now perminantely on....though the lights (low and high) work fine....not a problem . The problem is, the RPM guage is incorrect. I idle at below zero....the automatic shifts at 1.5 - 2.0k rpms. My guess is that its about 1,000 rpms off. So how do I correct this so my guage shows correctly???

Sounds like some serious electrical problems. First thing I would check is grounds.

Sorry, I should clarify......it seems that the RPM guage is working correctly, but just 1,000 rpms off...........almost like something within the guage needs to be adjusted...........so I would guess its more of a mechanical problem than electrical?? The guage runs smoothly in acceleration and deacceleration. I sense the problem is similar to a situation when you step on a scale to weigh yourself, but if the scale is not set to zero, you won't get a correct measurement. Its like the rpm guage is not set to start at zero, but negative 1,000...therefore all readings are 1,000 short? So how could this be fixed.

I think what Subynut is getting at is that a lot of times one electrical problem is related to another. Sounds a lot like they could be in this case. I'd check grounds, then try to rewire everything to as close to original as you can and start trouble shooting for loose or broken connections.

my tach was off like that in my 82 Brat. the needle is just pressed on. I used a brute force method.

 

took off the cluster plastic front to expose the guages, then manually moved the needle to see what the range of motion was. then, because my guage was reading too low by about 1000 rpms, (when shut off, it was below the guage numbers like where a "-1000" would be) I then manually moved the guage/needle to it's maximum. then applied further pressure to rotate the needle on the shaft, being very careful to move it the same distance as the tach was off.

 

now when I shut it off, the tach goes to "0" like it should...

It makes sense.....I just am trying to deny that its an electrical problem and convince myself and others that it would be more simple than that, being that electrical problems can often be a pain in the arse! Hello voltmeter...... and likely hours of proding and poking.....

Brilliant! I must try it!

Thanks...........

In order to make this adjustment to my gauge, does anyone know approx. at what rpms an 84 auto is suppose to shift gears??? If I know this, then I can better pinpoint how far off my gauge really is..............thanks again.......

Mine sits at 0 with the key off. I'd say set it there.

I think what Subynut is getting at is that a lot of times one electrical problem is related to another. Sounds a lot like they could be in this case. I'd check grounds, then try to rewire everything to as close to original as you can and start trouble shooting for loose or broken connections.

Precisely.

The indicator lamps for the H-beams sounds like somthings amiss in the dash area. Well, that's where I would start. Could be under the hood. Hafta start checking circuits. That remindes me, I need to track down that buzz in my tweets......oh what fun electrical troubleshooting is!