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View Full Version : Pulling my hair out! Speedometer issues



Atik
06-06-2011, 09:41 PM
Ok, I've gone through about 20 results in the searches for speedometer issues, and though there are some good bits of info, none have helped me yet!

So, I stripped out the dash last week and on refitting everything, I dont have any speedometer movement. The cluster lights up ok, the revs work fine, the fuel gauge is fine, the temp gauge is fine, the lights on the dash work ok, but no speedometer movement.

I've checked the fuses all round and everything seems ok. I've checked my speedo convertor wires and they appear to be ok too. I've tested a replacement cluster and get the same issue.

Ay ideas where I should be looking? I see from a few posts in other threads that there is a speed sensor thing at the back of the gearbox, but surely that wouldnt have been dislodged when stripping out the dash? Am I missing something obvious?

Nick Mann
06-06-2011, 10:02 PM
The speedo connection is close to the water pipes as they come through the bulkhead from the matrix. It's possible that you have pulled at the wire as the pipes came away. IIRC the wire goes past those pipes on it's way down to the plug on the box.

Atik
06-06-2011, 10:06 PM
Ahh, thanks Nick. I guess if its in close proximity to the water pipes, then it may be possible I knocked it. I'll have a look at that area tomorrow.

Nick Mann
06-06-2011, 10:11 PM
From memory, the gearbox plug/loom connector sit almost below the water pipes. Maybe slightly towards the driver? But the wire certainly snakes over the top of the gearbox and down in a very similar position. It's not unfeasable that a pipe has snagged the wire and disconnected the plug.

vr4drifta
06-06-2011, 10:25 PM
yes atik we will have to check it tommorow.

mike74
07-06-2011, 12:40 PM
Its probably the convertor chip itself. £30 (or thereabouts) from DVLA website :)

BraindG
07-06-2011, 12:46 PM
Mine does this from time to time by itself, i find after starting off it doesnt work. stopping and restarting the engine fixes the problem - it prob happens about 2 or 3 times a week.

prob not connected to your issue but will monitor your progress.

Atik
07-06-2011, 09:15 PM
Update, still not working.

Both Amesh and myself spent the evening having a good look but couldnt find any faults. With my car being a mix and match of many parts and components, we couldnt identify the wire we need to look at behind the gearbox area. But just to make sure of other options, we pulled the dash back out just to make sure we hadnt trapped/chopped a wire when refitting everything. All looks in order, and I even removed the speedo converter just to rule that out as the suspect. I hoped that even if I got a KMH reading, that would help me identify where the problem would be, but no luck.

I'll hopefully be taking the car to Nick (at the mini meet) tomorrow so maybe we can locate what we need to look at!

Another day the VR4 stays off the road.

peter thomson
07-06-2011, 10:16 PM
The wire from the gearbox sensor has about 3 connections in the loom from the gearbox to where it finally reaches the dash .One of these connections is part of the audio wiring .Tracing them if it is due to a broken wire if not just a plug that is not seated properly will be bit of a pain. I had to strip down a loom when we replaced the loom in Keiths VR4 as the new loom being from a late model VR4 no longer used the separate speed sensor.

Atik
07-06-2011, 10:32 PM
Thats good info Peter. Do you happen to know where each of the plugs starts/ends?

See, how does a stereo loom connect in anyway to the speed sensor system?!? There was a few stereo related wires and plugs that were in the way of the dash removal, so some were removed and repositioned, so I guess that could be a possibility too.

Ok, so worst comes to worst, the fault being an electronic signal not being received from the speed sensor to the dash cluster, could I run a hard-wire through and bypass part of the loom? So in theory, I could run a wire from the speed sensor at the back of the gearbox direct to the cluster?

Gly
07-06-2011, 11:14 PM
ignore me blonde moment

peter thomson
08-06-2011, 12:25 AM
Been a long time since I looked at it but yes I hard wired in the cables from the old loom to the relative point in the car which turned out to be at a plug near the stereo equipment as it was the most convienent point to splice into.

MarkSanne
08-06-2011, 10:40 AM
Hmmm... interesting thread. Recently our Legnums' speedo is also playing up. At start it works, but when driving around 50-60km/h it comes to a halt and stays there until I floor it and it suddenly comes back alive, only to get 'stuck' at any given speed... I should first try swapping with the original cluster, but it might be related to whatever is wrong with the cause of Atiks' speedo troubles.

Beastlee
08-06-2011, 07:33 PM
Atik, have you metered the speed output voltage? You could do this at low speeds and should see a pulse on a voltmeter.

Atik
08-06-2011, 07:49 PM
Mini-meet at mine this weekend. Bring your own frying pans and form an orderly queue. 'Hit Atik on the head with a frying pan day' will commence at 10am sharp on Saturday.

Where is the dunce hat?

:whistle:

Beastlee
08-06-2011, 08:17 PM
What didn't you do?

Humpty's Revenge
08-06-2011, 08:56 PM
Mini-meet at mine this weekend. Bring your own frying pans and form an orderly queue. 'Hit Atik on the head with a frying pan day' will commence at 10am sharp on Saturday.

Where is the dunce hat?

:whistle:

Can I save mine till Eurospec if your coming down? So pray tell what kind of a caplonker are you dude?/popcorn

Atik
08-06-2011, 10:26 PM
Somebody didn't push one of the plugs all the way. It was one of the plugs under the stereo that wasn't home causing all the problems.

aboo
08-06-2011, 11:07 PM
Oops!!

peter thomson
08-06-2011, 11:23 PM
lol, in the right place with the stereo plugs . good to hear it's sorted

mike74
09-06-2011, 12:39 PM
45854 :)

Atik
09-06-2011, 04:44 PM
And the worst thing is... my car now reads the speedo in KMH! I removed the converter to see if that was the problem.. and it obviously isnt, so I have to refit that again! lol

Humpty's Revenge
09-06-2011, 04:46 PM
And the worst thing is... my car now reads the speedo in KMH! I removed the converter to see if that was the problem.. and it obviously isnt, so I have to refit that again! lol

The caplonka award goes to........................../pan

psbarham
09-06-2011, 05:19 PM
easy mistake to make.

when i did the gdi to v6 conversion i spent 2 days swearing at it like you wouldn't believe all because there is 2 plugs in the passenger footwell that will fit in the others socket perfectly. That'll teach me to be smug and work blind because it was easier than kneeling down /pan

John TheAntique
09-06-2011, 06:26 PM
And the worst thing is... my car now reads the speedo in KMH! I removed the converter to see if that was the problem.. and it obviously isnt, so I have to refit that again! lol

Atik, leave it, you go much faster in KMH

Atik
09-06-2011, 09:26 PM
But you then get snapped by the damn paparazzi, or those bleeding yellow boxes dotted on the side of most roads.

Nick Mann
09-06-2011, 11:04 PM
Atik - half it and then add 10% of the original. It's pretty close.

e.g. 100 kph, half is 50, add 10% of 100 which is 10, 60 mph.

80 kph = 40 + 8 = 48mph.

If you want to be really pernickety then your result is slightly low, but not enough to get you in to trouble.

BraindG
10-06-2011, 10:21 AM
hehe, woopsie! however, you bad man! now a few people in this thread will be disappointed to heard there wasn't a "proper" reason for the issue, therefore their intermittent issues will continue onwards! :) /pan

Atik
10-06-2011, 10:34 AM
I know :( I hope everyone elses problem turns out to be an easy fix.

I'll be getting the speed converter reconnected tonight and tidied up along with all the other wiring in the car