How Important Is Yamaha Tachometer?

[seavent1]

Just bought a Yamaha 70 hp 4 stroke. This is the first 4 stroke outboard I've owned in more than 50 years of boating. I see that Yamaha offers a full featured and somewhat costly digital tachometer for this motor. I already have a standard tach in my boat and wonder if I need to upgrade. Just how important is it to have a digital tach with water temp, etc. included?

Thanks!

[BIGELOW-]

According to the operator.

It's similar to the difference in having a compass vs. a GPS- An old sailor can get you pretty darn close with a compass.

In the same regard, an experienced boat operator can tell the approximate rpm's, ect of his motor, He recognizes if his prop is pitched wrong by hearing the overreving.... watches for steam indicating overheating...ect

In sum the fancy gauge is not mandatory, but may save a lot of $ in the future by showing problems that may not be easily seen- especially by someone who needs a GPS

[countrytn]

if you have hds or new hummingbird you can hook it to that motor and get tons of info, just another option

[seavent1]

Thanks....

I carry passengers for hire in my charter boat business and use a tach with my gps to adjust load balance and trim for best mileage. So no matter what I will need to buy a regular analog tach as mine broke last year. That said I am wondering if the additional features of the Yamaha digital tach are worth a couple of hundred more or would I be OK just buying a normal analog tach w/hour meter? Also, does the engine itself feature low oil and overheat alarms without the necessity of buying the digital tach?

Thanks!

[99yam40]

Even if the buzzer goes off I would think it would be nice to see what alarm just came in if and when one comes in.
A low oil pressure alarm would take a totally different response than an overheat. just my opinion

[boscoe99]

A new motor deserves a new tachometer IMO. Not a lot of money in the scheme of boating and the features that the Yam multifunction offer are well worth it. Again, IMO.

Get the kit for the best bang for the buck. Simple installation. All plug and play.

2013-MRP-Catalog

6YR-W0035-E3-00 TACHOMETER RIG KIT 2

And while at it, upgrade the sender in the fuel tank to something a bit more modern than 1930's technology. CENTROID PRODUCTS - Computerized Tank Display - Electronic Senders - capacitive fuel gauges

[seavent1]

Whoops!

According to the dealer I won't be able to use a digital tach on my boat as they used the original Mercury wire harness with the Yamaha adaptor. Apparently this means that the connections for the digital tach are missing...

[rodbolt17]

sounds like a dealership induced cluster.
however you can use either the 6y5 digital OR the 6y8 digital tach.
biggest difference between the merc stuff and the Yamaha stuff is the color of the wire insulation.

some wrench monkeys cant deal with it.

[boscoe99]

Show us some photos of the engine pan harness connectors and the connectors at the dash end.

[seavent1]

The Merc is really old...

The boat is at the dealersso I can't take a picture of the wires right now. However since the Merc is a 2001 I suspect that here simply won't be any wires in the harness that could be used, color code notwithstanding, as oil pressure, water temp, etc were not commonly measured in 2001. Am I correct in this?

[boscoe99]

The boat is at the dealersso I can't take a picture of the wires right now. However since the Merc is a 2001 I suspect that here simply won't be any wires in the harness that could be used, color code notwithstanding, as oil pressure, water temp, etc were not commonly measured in 2001. Am I correct in this?

A tachometer kit is cheaper than the tachometer kit itself. The kit will include the wiring needed to get power from the key switch to the gauge and the wiring needed to get information from the motor to the gauge.

The new motor should not have been tampered with. So, it should be plug and play at that end. Worst that it can be at the dash end is if the connectors are missing in which case a bit of hard wiring will be needed to get power and the tachometer signal to the Yamaha multifunction gauge. Or, you can install a new Yam key switch and it will be plug and play.

But without knowing precisely the situation with the boat it is impossible to know what really needs to be done.