Just about every new vehicle available on the market has a built in tachometer. This meter displays the rotations per minute (RPM) of the automobile's rotating shaft. This feature however is not always available on older cars, which prevents you from monitoring the RPM. You do not need to remain without a tachometer if you choose to install your own equipment. It will take just a few minutes of your time.
Turn off your vehicle and remove the key from the ignition.
Hold down the external tachometer -- purchased from any auto parts store -- onto the steering wheel column where it does not block any other display readouts.
Slip the hose clamp around the bottom of the tachometer and pull it taught around the column. This prevents it from slipping while driving.
Slide the four wires running out the rear of the tachometer down through the dash until it emerges out in the hood of the vehicle. If you follow the column with the wires it is going to slide directly into the hood area.
Open the hood of your vehicle and locate the two wires you just slid through. There are two red wires and two black wires to make up the set. Connect the first red wire marked "Trigger" on the wire onto the coil wire of the distributor -- check your owner's manual for the exact placement of the distributor. Connect the opposite red wire into ignition near the fuse box. Check your owner's manual for the placement.
