Tachometer on 2000 Dodge Ram


  #1  
Old 07-04-03, 05:23 AM
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Question Tachometer on 2000 Dodge Ram

The tach on my 2000 Ram 1500 quit working. The needle on the gauage just sits at about 1500. When I step on the gas to get up an entrance ramp on the freeway, the needle starts to move, but it moves backwards, toward the zero postion. The truck has the 5.2 liter V-8 in it. Any help out here?
 
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Old 07-04-03, 05:36 AM
Joe_F
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Should still be covered by the OE factory warranty. Let Chrysler handle it free of charge.
 
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Old 07-04-03, 06:27 AM
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Angry

That would be great,but it just turned over 40,000 miles and now out of warranty.
 
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Old 07-04-03, 07:07 AM
Joe_F
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The tach could be defective or there's a short.

My truck: Chrysler would be eating this repair---even if out of warranty. Ask for a "goodwill" repair. That is when the dealer will take care of the problem at little or no cost when being out of warranty as a "goodwill" gesture (to keep you as a customer).
 
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Old 07-07-03, 12:10 AM
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joe, you'd be yelling (for a goodwill) til your face turned blue, then you'd still have a broken tach and a blue face.

i'm speaking for MY dealership, if you're out of warranty by about 100 miles and your trans or engine or rear goes bad, they probably would cover it(provided you have maintenance receipts). if it's an electrical problem like this and 4,000 miles out, you're pretty much out of luck. goodwill isn't easy and has to be signed off by a zone manager and has to be used (by the service manager) very sparingly, meaning(translation) on customers who frequent the dealer, for example...oil changes, tune-ups, brake jobs, 'services'. if he or she is a good customer---they get it, if they've never been here (and most likely won't ever return) why try to help them. not that i agree completely with the policy, but that's usually how it works.


on to the tach question, you can perform a self test. Press and hold the 'Trip Reset' while turning Ignition On. Tachometer Calibration Points: #1 (0), #2 (1000), #3 (3000) and #4 (6000). this will tell you if the tach will physically work, sometimes just a needle sticks, although i don't think i've ever seen a problem like you described here. what i might try is to unplug the battery for a few minutes and see if everything resets, some modules have been known to "lock up" before, on this year truck the tach gets it's feed directly from the (pcm) engine computer, so it could be a pcm, the wiring to the dash, or the tach, unless you have a scan tool and a wiring diagram, it's just an expensive guessing game, sorry to say.


i encourage everyone in my family and even on this board to buy an extended service(warranty) plan (from the factory, NOT an aftermarket one.) with today's ever increasing prices on transmissions, computers, a/c systems, rear axles, steering parts, wiring problems plus the labor to even get to some of these places is outrageous. on my mother's car, the cost of the plan was only $19 a month extra on her payments, now she gets up to five days free rental car per major repair and $0 deductible, (plus i get paid to fix it.) make sure you get the bumper to bumper plan, it covers almost everything except 'wear' items and is worth every penny in my humble opinion!! the cost alone of some transmissions is more than the policy and it's honored at any dealer nationwide, plus free towing. just some advice to anyone who's reading this. (no---i don't make a penny off these plans)
 
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Old 07-07-03, 03:15 AM
Joe_F
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Mike:

I had this problem with Saturn. The compressor went bad right out of warranty. I complained to the dealership and got nowhere.

I got on the blower to Saturn corporate and told 'em their product was the rock bottom pits and you can bet a Toyota would be my next vehicle. The person IMMEDIATELY called the dealership, got to the bottom of the issue.

In fact, it was discovered that the service manager there was problematic and due to some bad surveys by customers, they fired this guy. You can bet people gave 'em straight zeros down that survey .

Long and short of it? I got a new compressor for free. Skip the dealerships, they will tell you "The factory will say no". Go right to the top. Call the OEM and tell them what you think of the product.

FYI: My sister had a 1999 Durango that was riddled with problems. She made Chrysler eat the lease payment more than once.

In the end, she bought a 2002 Tahoe. Far superior. Not one problem. By this time, the Durango had been back to the dealer 7 times for problems!

Why goodwill? A tachometer shouldn't go bad on a 2000 vehicle. That's pathetic! I have three Trans Ams, almost all 25 years old and ALL the tachs work!

I believe the poster is entitled to a free repair. I'd demand it if it were my truck. What else is going to fall apart on this poor person right out of warranty?

You lose NOTHING but a phone call and some time.
 
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Old 07-07-03, 10:58 PM
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i didn't say he shouldn't try, just don't get high hopes from reading peoples responses
 
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Old 07-08-03, 03:28 AM
Joe_F
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True, but we have to encourage people to try.
 
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Old 07-08-03, 05:31 PM
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Okay, I did the check sequence this morning before I left for work and after the sequence was complete the tach woked fine on the way to work. After work tonight The darn thing went back to not working. I tried the check sequence again and the needle didn't budge this time. Anymore suggestions, Thanks for the replies so far.
Dan
 
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Old 07-09-03, 12:36 AM
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well, if i had to 'guess', i'd guess at a tachometer, it's the only moving thing and usually moving things wear out/break first. maybe take it to a dealer and authorize 1/2 hour labor for them to look at it, or if you know someone with the same truck or even a junkyard, try swapping it out, it's not that hard.
 
  #11  
Old 07-09-03, 03:49 AM
Joe_F
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Arrow

Sorry guys, a tach shouldn't quit on a 2000 vehicle.

Original poster: Have you tried to call Chrysler and complain? You lose nothing.
 
 

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