Normal Operation
WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2006 Mercury Milan, 2006 Lincoln Zephyr, and 2006 Ford Fusion. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
The powertrain control module (PCM) uses the crankshaft position sensor to measure the engine RPM, and sends the instrument cluster the data over the communication network, to command the tachometer gauge according to the data.