Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Odometer doesn't work.

  1. #1
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor supercrackerbox's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Firth, Nebraska
    Posts
    5,022

    Odometer doesn't work.

    The odometer in my Charger doesn't work even after replacing the gears with new ones from the website. Is my gauge just shot?

  2. #2
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor supercrackerbox's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Firth, Nebraska
    Posts
    5,022

    Re: Odometer doesn't work.

    I found my stash of extra '90 speedometer parts, including my previous one which I know had a functioning odometer before the smaller gear broke. Swapped the new gears into that one. Still doesn't work. I put the old larger gear back in with no luck. I made sure the gear set was seated all the way and meshing with the odometer and trip gears.

    The gears themselves seem to be driven by a small electric motor that is mounted to the side of the speedometer body; there's no mechanical connection between the speedometer motor and the odometer gears. The speedometer has a three wire flat cable that plugs into a socket on the main circuit board. One pin is the signal from the VSS via the logic module. The other two seem to be power and ground, best I can tell by tracing the printed board. I reflowed the solder where the speedometer plugs into the main cluster circuit board, and verified continuity. Nothing has worked so far.

    Everything worked fine before the gears broke, and worked again temporarily when I swapped in a set of used gears (which also eventually broke). All the gauges are working perfectly except the trip/odometer. The only thing I've changed to the cluster was converting to LED lighting.

  3. #3
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor supercrackerbox's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Firth, Nebraska
    Posts
    5,022

    Re: Odometer doesn't work.

    Speedometergears.com just emailed me back a quote for $195 to fix the entire cluster for my 1991 Omni. WTF. It's like they didn't even read my email.

    I'm infinitely frustrated right now.

  4. #4
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor jonnymopar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southeastern MA
    Posts
    780

    Re: Odometer doesn't work.

    $195! ----, send it to me and I'll at least test the little stepper motor to see if works. I've never heard of them failing. It's been the gears every time. But if that doesn't work, good gears won't do much.

    Any broken teeth on the individual digits of the odometer? Is your speed sensor the type with both the cable and a sensor, or is it just the sensor type? Does the speedometer work?
    Jon J.

    1989 Daytona ES 2.4L DOHC
    2003 Neon SXT - gone but never forgotten

    If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is!

  5. #5
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor supercrackerbox's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Firth, Nebraska
    Posts
    5,022

    Re: Odometer doesn't work.

    It's fully electric, no cable. Speedometer works flawlessly (and is actually more accurate than the Daytona's. Odd for an L-body)

    I took that motor (and its circuit board) back off tonight and checked that actually. The gears on both the trip and odometer turn freely and are in good shape. The trip reset works smooth as butter (I did clean and grease that when I originally installed this speedo). So I put it back together one more time, and stuck a pick in there to see if they still turned. They were seized up. So I loosened the screws slightly until they did turn, and I could see the stepper motor spinning. Thinking I was on to something, I reinstalled it and took it for a test drive. It works now. The movement is very notchy, so I think I may need to adjust it a touch more, but I'm soo glad it works again.

    Now if I could just figure out the check engine light and the oiling issue, I'll be in business.

  6. #6
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor jonnymopar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Southeastern MA
    Posts
    780

    Re: Odometer doesn't work.

    The movement has always been pretty notchy on my cars. It's a stepper that runs on a pretty coarse frequency from the speed sensor anyway. I'd compare it with some highway mile markers and if it's counting correctly, I'd leave it.
    Jon J.

    1989 Daytona ES 2.4L DOHC
    2003 Neon SXT - gone but never forgotten

    If it ain't broke, fix it 'till it is!

  7. #7
    Supporting Member Turbo Mopar Contributor supercrackerbox's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    Firth, Nebraska
    Posts
    5,022

    Re: Odometer doesn't work.

    Yeah, it's reading pretty accurately.

Similar Threads

  1. HELP! First gear doesn't work
    By iceman.kcmo in forum Transmission
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 04-10-2010, 08:37 PM
  2. Blower fan doesn't work right on 94 Duster
    By Dodge Aries K in forum "I need help!"
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-02-2009, 05:46 AM
  3. Odometer doesnt work
    By 1966 dart wagon in forum Maintenance & General Tech
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 10-04-2007, 09:17 PM
  4. VNT actuator doesn't work!!
    By stitus in forum "I need help!"
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-01-2007, 09:15 PM

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •