How to Install a Tach on a 1996 Sea-Doo GTI

The instrumentation on the stock 1996 Sea-Doo GTI is fairly limited. At best, it has one gauge that incorporates four "idiot lights." It has either a fuel gauge with a low oil warning light or a multifunction gauge that includes a bar graph for the fuel level, an engine overheating warning light, a low oil level warning light, a low fuel level light and a low voltage light. Incorporating a tachometer -- one of the options offered by the manufacturer -- expands your awareness of both the engine's performance and its condition.

Things You'll Need

  • Drill
  • Hole saw
  • Shop rag
  • Flat-head screwdriver
  • 8-0 AWG stranded-copper wire, gray
  • 8-0 AWG stranded-copper wire, black
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Instructions

    • 1

      Drill the hole in the instrument panel for the tachometer using a drill and appropriately sized hole saw. If you are using a Bombardier tachometer -- available from a Bombardier dealer -- wrap the tip of a flat-head screwdriver with a shop rag and pry the existing tachometer-size knockout from the left side of the dash.

    • 2

      Remove the screws from the trim ring of the multifunction/fuel gauge and pull the gauge from the dash. Twist the tab housing on the back of the gauge to remove it.

    • 3

      Cut a 4-foot piece of gray 8-0 AWG copper-stranded wire with wire cutters. Strip a half-inch of insulation off both ends of the wire with a wire stripper. Install a ring terminal on one end of the wire, using a pliers-type crimper. Cut a 2-foot piece of red 8-0 AWG copper-stranded wire and strip a half-inch of insulation from both ends.

    • 4

      Activate the seat latch and remove the Sea-Doo's seat. Locate the multipurpose electronic module -- the MPEM -- directly above the starter, on the left, or port, side of the motor.

    • 5

      Inspect the MPEM and locate the screw holding the gray-and-white wire. Remove the screw and place the ring terminal of the gray wire over the screw along with the gray-and-white wire. Reinstall the screw and tighten securely. Push the gray wire you just installed up through the molded body and up to the instrument panel. Pull the end of the gray wire out of the instrument panel through the hole for the tachometer.

    • 6

      Push the "S" tab on the back the tachometer. Push the gray wire into the "S" slot. Push the "+" tab on the back of the tachometer and plug one end of the red wire into the "+" slot. Push the red wire through the tachometer hole, under the dash and out of the hole for the multifunction gauge. Press the "C" tab on the back of the tab housing and push the red wire into the slot with the pink wire. Pull the tachometer's black ground wire through the dash and connect it to the common ground, or to the "B" tab on the tab housing, with the multipurpose instrument's ground.

    • 7

      Push the tachometer into the dash. Position the trim ring around it, thread the mounting screws through it and tighten them snugly. Position the tab housing on the back of the multifunction gauge and twist it clockwise to lock it into place. Replace the multifunction gauge in the dash and reinstall its trim ring, tightening the mounting screws snugly.