My speedo sticks at "0" unless you tap the pod, then jumps up to speed..

Common problem? Whats the fix before i take it apart?

 

dave1200... are your odometer & trip meter working properly?

 

yep... no problems there as far as I can tell.. I see the trip moving as it should.

 

tisk tisk. You're not keeping up on your annual electrical maintenance. Clean the speedometer/odometer drive electrical connector in the right forward corner of the spare tire well (pre-'90 models).

 

Archives indicates this is a difficult fix involving removing the odo. I have it sporadically, and will try the electrical cleaning. But I['m wondering why tapping on the faceplate affects a prob originating in the back?? Thanks Rez.

 

Ill give it a shot...Thanks

 

dave1200... tapping the pod hints at an incipient wiring/
connection fault on/at the pc board or the speedo unit.
Fault(s) might be loose connector/dirty contacts/failing
solder joint.

G'luck.

 

Dave, I have the same exact problem. 1) the connection is the spare tire well is not the problem. You can eat off mine. 2) Macreel's guess seems most logical but I am not about to open pandora's box to fix this little issue. I went 1/10 of a mile exactly at like 2 miles an hour and the odo registered near perfect so it is not effecting the mile counter. Mine all I do is tap the wheel with my thumb and she kicks right in. Usually just rolling that little tap on the wheel will kick it in. If you venture to fix it please let us know.

 

im scared of opening it up...i probably wont tackle it unless it stops working all together.

 

I can testify that it is possible to open up the pod, extract the dreaded intrument cluster, change out the PC board (~$75 and you probably need it if you are driving an older car) and reassemble it. When you are done, the instruments work well, the warning bulbs have been replaced (WYAIT) the steering wheel is straight and the pod which was slightly crooked before is now on straight.

I was very(!) reluctant to open it up the first time, but having done it a couple of times, I can have the cluster sitting on my work bench in about 20 minutes. It is really not that bad a job. See the nichols write ups, and remember that you have a lot of help from this list if you get stuck.

 

I cut mine off and wired in a better connector.

 

With a little care and small fingers you can reach some of the edge connectors from under the pod, and at least wriggle them around a bit to try to improve the contact....
jp 83 Euro S AT 48k, BTDT