No speedo

[dan brooks]

Not sure what happened between the time I parked the truck last night and just now, but my speedo is no longer working. It was fine on the way home from work last night but now it's dead - no speedo, odometer... nothing. The rest of the gauges seem to be working fine. I checked the wire to the speed sensor on the transmission and it is connected and in good shape.



Any ideas?



Just one more thing to cap of such a wonderful week.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Have you checked the gear box and gear? You can also check the sending unit on the end of the gear box. I used a ohm meter on my sons '90 sensor to see if there was a reading when I rotated the shaft. The problem with his was a broken cable on the gear box, the shaft cable broke off in the speedo gear. If that makes any sense

 

[dan brooks]

Grey Wolf - Thanks for the info. I pulled the sender and hooked it up to an Ohm meter, but being that I'm pretty much incompetent when it comes to electrical stuff I really don't know what I should be looking for. I hooked the leads of the meter to the terminals on the SU and spun it - the first few times it didn't do anything, but then it started to give readings. They seemed pretty inconsistent, so maybe the SU is bad?



I put it back in and took it for a ride, and guess what - it's working again.

 

[Grey Wolf]

Dan,



Good deal, maybe the contacts had gotten a little dirty?

 

[dan brooks]

If I could only be so lucky - Mr. Murphy has been having his way with me lately.



I'll keep an eye on it and keep my fingers crossed.....

 

[Grey Wolf]

10-4,



I just looked at your pics... ... the truck looks like the mileage. Still a baby.



Maybe the next time your under there you could shoot a dab of electrical contact cleaner on the SU, sounds like that may have been the problem..... or lets hope so... ... ... ...

 

[Shrimpy]

On my 92, the electronics in the speedo head failed. If you take the dash apart (not hard) you will see that there are electronics that move the speed indicator that you look at. I replaced (expensive) the speed sensor, instead of checking it first. Still no speedo. Then it suddenly started to work but I was not clicking off any mileage... ... . Finally ordered a complete gauge panel from a dismantler off the net ($45. 00) and replaced the head unit located in the dash and all works fine... .



P. S. If you figure out how to keep Mr. Murphy off your back, please e-mail me with the cure.



P. S. S. I to am an electrical mental midget... ... . It will always shock you if you touch it

 

[Case500D]

Hi Dan,



I think my truck has an extra seat for Murphy too! Anyway, if the speed/distance sensor quits working, the overdrive will also quit working. Been there about 6 months ago. If cleaning doesn't help, the sensor is about $60 from the dealer.



Jeremy

 

[dan brooks]

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one Murphy is going after... .



Shrimpy - When the speedo came back to life last night everything was working: speedo, odometer, and trip odometer. I'm really hoping not to pull the dash apart again - just put a stereo in a couple weeks ago and whoever installed the alarm (my guess is a dealer, being that it's a Chrysler system) did a horrible job with the wiring. When - or more like if - I get ambitous I'll clean it up, but I've had enough of working on vehicles to last for, oh, the next ten years or so.



Jeremy - The OD wasn't working when the speedo wasn't working, so I guess that increases the chances that it's the sensor? I'd rather it be that than the speedo, computer... or something even more expensive. I can probably pick up a sensor from one of the local parts houses for less than the dealer, but if not at least I know it's still available through them.



Thanks for all the replies.