Diagnosing Odometer issues

[rhetoric]

So the odometer (mechanical, not digital) on my new to me 1996 i30 doesn't work. Or so I thought. Various 'love taps' on the dash do nothing. Then a few days ago I noticed that my trip odometer read 8.3 miles! It wasn't working by then, but clearly it had worked. So I reset it, pounded and bashed a few times and nothing.

Since then I have noticed on several occasions it has worked. ALWAYS the first drive of the morning and ALWAYS on a cool and damp morning. After a few miles (6-10) it stops.

Does this sound like a repairable problem? The mechanics CAN work so I'm wondering if it's just some sort of electrical contact problem and if I might do something short of installing a new one?

Thanks for the help.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I suspect it's an electronic/electrical problem as well. I'm pretty sure that the odometer operates off the same speed sensor signal that feeds through the speedometer to the rest of the cluster. Does the rest of the cluster work correctly? If so, I'd suspect it's an issue with the electronics for the odometer itself. If not, it could be an issue with the speedometer's output signal.

[rhetoric]

Yep. Rest of the cluster works just fine.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

Do you have cruise control and if so does it work?

[rhetoric]

Yes, I have cruise control and it works just fine. (theoretically, I could live w/o an odometer -- I couldn't live w/o cruise!)

[Super Mario]

My '97 I30 does exactly the same thing. It first started on a frigid night where the temperature dipped into the minus numbers. The odometer hasn't worked right since! I believe it to be an internal mechanical problem in the trip odometer caused by the fact that the plastic gears were "forced" to turn when the frigid temperature said "no!" Something in the plastic gear train got damaged. Occasionally my odometer will register a mile or two whenever it feels like it. Live with it. Just be happy that your speedometer works!

So the odometer (mechanical, not digital) on my new to me 1996 i30 doesn't work. Or so I thought. Various 'love taps' on the dash do nothing. Then a few days ago I noticed that my trip odometer read 8.3 miles! It wasn't working by then, but clearly it had worked. So I reset it, pounded and bashed a few times and nothing.

Since then I have noticed on several occasions it has worked. ALWAYS the first drive of the morning and ALWAYS on a cool and damp morning. After a few miles (6-10) it stops.

Does this sound like a repairable problem? The mechanics CAN work so I'm wondering if it's just some sort of electrical contact problem and if I might do something short of installing a new one?

Thanks for the help.