Tach Mode for Mercury Sportjet 175 X2

[James_Sugar Sand Mirage]

I need to install a new tach in my '03 Sugar Sands Mirage w/ Mercury Sportjet 175 X2 engine. Tachs have a setting switch on the back which often say "4 cyl, 6 cyl, 8 cyl, 12 pole" and I've seen others with more Pole settings; at least a 10, maybe others.

I believe this engine should be set on a Pole setting, not Cyl. But I'm not sure. Also, haven't been able to confirm which one from the boat's literature what the proper Pole setting would be.

Installed a new tach and set it to 12 pole. When I turn the key to Acc position, (engine not running yet) tach needle starts to slowly rise until it gets to about 3500 and then slowly falls back to about 1000. It will fall if I tap the gauge. Not difference when engine is running. I tried the other settings, but it does the same thing. Figured I had a wacky tach (don't have a tach tester) and returned it.

Gauge cutouts are 4-1/4 or so, and the selections of oversize gauges are more limited than the 3-3/8" cutout size gauges. There were Faria gauges installed (found paperwork that the tach had been replaced at some point) but they no longer make the same models. Tossed the speedo when I got new gauges, tach/fuel/volts gauge was GT0011B. Replacement gauges (from Great Lakes Skipper) were GSC027A (mph pitot, fuel, volts) and GTC031E (tach, oil temp, trim). Fuel on combo speedo didn't work, so I returned it too.

I'd like a matching combo set, but at this point, I'm past aesthetics and might just install a devoted speedo and a tach in cutouts and add separate smaller 2" fuel and volts.

My questions are:
What is the proper tach setting for the Merc Sportjet 175 X2 engine?
Does anyone have a recommendation for 2 matching gauges with combo of:
Tach, up to 6000 or 7000
MPH, up to 60 mph, pitot style
Fuel, 240-33 ohms
Volts

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

 

[Chuck Buck]

Hi James, I would have noticed your post sooner had it been in the “Sugar Sand” model specific discussion. This site is overall heavy skewed toward Yamahas. To answer your first question, the Faria tach setting for a Mercury 175XR2 SportJet is "4".

As far as the rest, I share your pain: I had an inoperative (stuck) tach on my 2004 Mirage. Bad news is I contacted Faria and all the large marine salvage companies, but couldn’t find a new or used replacement. I also found that the Tach/Fuel/Volts configuration wasn’t offered by anyone else, at least not in the OEM instrument panel cutout size. Good news is Faria will fix their gauges for a reasonable fee.
On-Line Gauge Repair Portal
So over last winter, I sent my multi-function gauge to them and they returned it good as new ($125 + shipping both ways). I was very happy with their work, but turnaround time during peak boating season would have been prohibitive. Additionally, when I installed the repaired gauge, I started the engine and the tach read correctly for a few minutes, then dropped down below 600 rpm. Diagnosis per the OEM service manual showed the engines’ regulator/rectifier output signal for the tach was faulty, so I bought a new CDI Electronics unit off Fleabay for $129 shipped (PN# 194-5279). All is good now - only $300 to read engine rpm, yay! Too bad you can’t dig your old gauges out of the trash and get them fixed since that would have been the “quick and dirty” solution. Let us know how it turns out! And as a fellow Mirage owner, you might be interested in my trials and tribulations in the “When Nice Boats Go Bad” series I posted in the Sugar Sand section. Good luck!