how do i use a tach dwell meter?

[nico27004]

Does anyone know how to use a tach dwell meter to adjust the rpms on a car? I have an older truck that doesnt have one built in and rpms sound alittle high. some sites say connect red wire to positive terminal on ignition coil and i dont understand what that means lol! what is the positive and negative terminals on a ignition coil, and how would i hook up a tach dwell meter to use it?

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[619DioFan]

Not knowing what year or type truck this is what I can say… on a points type distributor you hook up to the side of the coil that goes to the distributor. on a hei distributor I believe you hook up to the ignition wire for the coil ( probably need some type of jumper- I have used a cotter pin in the past )

[EricTheCarGuy]

Normally the coil is marked + or – but depending on the type of meter you normally hook the red lead to positive and the black to ground. However I don’t think dwell is what you are looking to check but rather the rpm’s, for that your meter will need the ability to check RPM. Different meters handle this in different ways so consult with the manual for the meter your using and how to hook it up to check RPM’s IF it can check them.

[nico27004]

its a 1984 toyota pickup. i dont want to check dwell. i want to check the rpms

[dreamer2355]

There should be a green lead on the tach/dwell meter that you would hook up to the negative side of the coil.

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