Tachometer for Volvo MD11c

[Sailorlady323]

Apparently there are no substitutes for the tach according to McDonell Marine the big Volvo Dealer. No suggestions either. Not a new engine but I 'd like to have a working tach. Are there any people out there who have replaced the tach successfully on a Volvo MD11C?

[Celestialsailor]

How did they diagnose the tach? I believe that Volvo uses a "null" system where a sensor read pulses from the flywheel. That said, I would have the wiring and sensor checked.

[DougR]

The tach on the MD11 was powered by an inductive pickup driven off the camshaft gear teeth.

The Volvo Penta “universal” tach can be driven by this inductive sender, and you set the tach code to #16.

Or you can get any other brand of tach such as a VDO, or Faria, or Stewart Warner, etc., that works on a two wire inductive pickup and use it. The inductive sender puts out 28 pulses per engine revolution.

[Chollyfunk]

Originally Posted by Sailorlady323

Apparently there are no substitutes for the tach according to McDonell Marine the big Volvo Dealer. No suggestions either. Not a new engine but I 'd like to have a working tach. Are there any people out there who have replaced the tach successfully on a Volvo MD11C?

I'm in the same boat (!). Would be very interested to know if you found a replacement. Searching for "Volvo Penta Universal Tachometer" just seems to give confusing results and then there's a lot of talk about nothing working with 2 cylinders.

[DougR]

OK....a little update on the universal tach info as mentioned up thread.

The tach that was used by VP for many years on many models and programmable to various engines (#873992) has been replaced by later model
units #23715874 (4000 rpm range) and #23715875 (6000rpm range). These are slightly different from the older units with a slightly different look, bezel and attaching ring. They can still be programmed to just about any engine built by VP over the years with the exception of the can bus driven EVC tachs.

A very informative site for info on these tachs can be found at “yachtboatparts.com” , a UK based parts seller. On this site you can find a link to the installation instructions for this tach (#47712279), which holds a lot of info as to what is included, which engines it works on, etc.

Hope this helps. By the way.....disregard the BS about nothing working with 2 cylinder engines. The alternator tach drive or inductive pickup doesn’t know or care how many pistons are connected to the crankshaft!

[Chollyfunk]

Thanks so much for looking into this and getting this info! Weirdly they don't list the MD11 as compatible but it is there in the settings instructions. I'll give them a shout to confirm / deny.