Spedometer Issues

[RIPCAT]

For some reason my speedometer stopped working... I know I was going at least 60 but yet my speedometer read 0. Sometimes it works for about 10 seconds, but then it dies again.

Does anyone know what might be causing this

Thanks,~Matt

[ThuG LyFe]

maybe your speed sensor took a crap...the one that plugs into the back part of your transmission. or maybe it's something electrical that's gone wrong in your gauge cluster.

[RIPCAT]

How much would it cost to fix the speed sensor? And how would I go about replacing it? Is it just a plug in the back of the trany?

[ThuG LyFe]

http://z.about.com/d/autorepai...8.gif

here is what it looks like...kind of. i'm not sure how a s13 speed sensor looks like though. i have one but i dont think it's OEM and it didnt work on mine because i have a S14. i have the S14 ss though (oem) and it works great.

i would check courtesyparts.com to see if they can get you an OEM one but first make sure that is what is actually wrong with it. i don't want you to buy one if that's not the problem...

[pflicht]

For some reason my speedometer stopped working... I know I was going at least 60 but yet my speedometer read 0. Sometimes it works for about 10 seconds, but then it dies again.

Does anyone know what might be causing this

Thanks,~Matt

My car does the same thing. My speedo cluster doesnt have the clear plastic, so i tap the speedometer and it starts working again... Then dies... then tap... then dies... etc

[got chub]

I've have the same problem with my car i just don't want to fix it yet. i replace the VSS, cluster, ECU, dash harness, trans harness and now the only thing left is the tail shaft in the trans. it is made out of plastic and it get worn out and gets out of alignment and will not hit the VSS anymore.

how many miles are on car

[2ndnissan]

Find a used cluster and change out the speedo head. It's a quick job to do with basically a screwdriver. Might need a 12mm socket to drop the steering column a little to get the cluster out. I changed my sensor and kept having an on again /off again problem for another three months. I just bought a cluster from someone on here for $40 and changed it out. It's less expensive than the sensor by about half and I still have spare gauges for water and fuel if they fail. Also a spare lens if mine should ever crack or if someone one here needs one....

[marlin29311]

are all of your fuses ok?

[2ndnissan]

I knew mine wasn't the fuse because it worked now and then sometimes for ten miles even. Speedo head was just worn out. No problems at all since the changeover(about 1200 miles).

[nismo592]

I’ve had similar problem, after removing the entire cluster, my technician found that there was “lose” soldered connection on the I.C. that controls the speedo and it working perfect again. Maybe you should look into that.

[Clawhammer]

Can You elaborate on this loose solder?

My speedo has worked intermittently since the day I got the car. I put a new speedo in, then a new VSS, then I checked all my wiring, then I did an SR swap (new ecu, transmission etc.) and it still works intermittently...

[RIPCAT]

I have 170,000 right now, engine was rebuilt 30k ago.

[RIPCAT]

Thanks for the help everybody

Now to figure out which one of the many problems it is! lol

[nismo592]

Can You elaborate on this loose solder?

My speedo has worked intermittently since the day I got the car. I put a new speedo in, then a new VSS, then I checked all my wiring, then I did an SR swap (new ecu, transmission etc.) and it still works intermittently...

New speedo? Remember these cars are just about 14-18yrs old so having loose solder is possible. I'm not saying that this is the only problem, but because I work at an electronic store and we have a technician on hand he told me that it could be a loose solder connection or a broken wire because of the way it behaving. It would jump to 60+mph while doing just about 10mph, this would happened on and off. So after procrastinating and wondering where i would get a replacement since I live in South America I decided to remove the cluster and unscrew the speedo and give it to the technician. This was when he discovered that theory was right; an IC that controls the speedo was loose. he re-soldered the entire board for the speedo and for the past 3yrs it's been working great. Maybe you should look into that, what do you got to loose?

[morsecode]

Sometimes there is a broken wire strand or grit in the speedometer cable causing it to act intermittently. Check the outer casing of the cable if its still intact and clean. If not, try to clean it or replace if necessary.

[2ndnissan]

I may just be getting daft, but I don't remember an actual cable going to my speedo on the 240. It's all electronic(even with analog gauge) . I did have the splintered cable wire problem with a 65 barracuda once though...

[Clawhammer]

I checked the board on the back of the speedo last night, everything looks good. And by new speedo I mean a different speedo. And both did the same thing. I was thinking you meant something on the back of the cluster itself, not the actual speedo gauge board.

The only thing I haven't replaced is the entire cluster...so I'm thinking maybe there's something wrong with that.

[94_240sx]

I checked the board on the back of the speedo last night, everything looks good. And by new speedo I mean a different speedo. And both did the same thing. I was thinking you meant something on the back of the cluster itself, not the actual speedo gauge board.

The only thing I haven't replaced is the entire cluster...so I'm thinking maybe there's something wrong with that.

You should check speedsensor, wire and harness.

[nismo592]

It could be a different problem because you did try an other speedo. As “94-240sx” said you should check what he suggested.

Don’t hold me to this , but the problem with having a loose solder connection is that sometimes it might be hard to find. It could be just one leg on the IC and you wouldn’t even notice.

See below for picture, it's a JDM speedo I got from my CA front clip I'm only using for reference. It's very similar to the USDM 240SX speedo only that it reads in K/mph.







Hope it helps somehow.

[Clawhammer]

I put a new VSS in a long time ago, and it's currently the one in my SR transmission. I know how to take it out and test it so I know it's not the VSS. Wiring I have looked over, and as far as I can tell looks good...but that's the best I can say for that.

Both of my speedos, 110mph and 115mph look good as far as solder points go. I've done three s13 window amps now, so while I'm no pro I do have some idea of what I'm looking for.

[PHeller]

Bump, any news to this problem?

[AZ89two4Tsx]

+1 for the gear in the trans. I have the same problem and I've come to the conclusion that's what it is. Lucky me my transmission needs a rebuild soon.

[hazukijitsu]

I am having the same problem!!!!

[SirSilvia]

I swapped from a digi to an analog about 2 years ago, but for the past 4 months I've noticed the needle would twitch or flicker and go back to it's spot. I just dug out my digi again and i really want to go back to that.

[PHeller]

Then why is it that people say "swapping speedometers fixes the problem?"

I would think people who've got the issue with the speedometer going dead, then coming back to life, accompanied with a cut out, would be having more than just a speedometer issue.

[SirSilvia]

it was right before inspection and i needed it to work, plus i tore apart my cluster last night, or well, early this morning and used a multimeter. the is a broken solder link i did not notice from last time i looked at it. and I hope that fixed it because I cannot replace that tiny little capacitor like sometimes is the problem. just too tiny

[2ndnissan]

Sometimes just changing speedos works. Mine did the flickering thing until I changed speedo heads and no problems since the change. . I did also change the sensor and gear before I did that. I don't think anything was really wrong with the sensor I had but now I've got some peace of mind that if it ever happened again the problem won't be there.