I've got a 1990 UK CRX Vtec. The rev counter at high revs(6+) gives in accurate readings. The needle moves all over the place. I've put on a new distributer cap and rotor arm with minimal improvements. I talked with the local Honda garage and they mentioned that the distributor itself may need cleaned. I had a look and it looks like one of the pickups(one closest to the back of the car) is loose.

Anybody with this sort of experience?

 

yes check your distributor, as well as any connections on the cluster itself...

the thick blue wire coming from the distributor is the tach pickup line...

 

mine did that as well on my old Si motor.... i took it to honda and 5 minutes later it was fixed... no charge.

 

Yes, you were spot on. The blue wire crimp was a little tired. I just gave it a good squeeze and put it back together. Now it's smooth all the time to the limiter at 8250, Yahooo...

Thanks