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Speedometer pegged!

15K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  russcrisp 
#1 · (Edited)
I just searched the articles and didn't see much mention of this problem. I guess it is not as widespread as I expected:

My wife noticed today after filling up and resetting the trip odometer that the speedometer is now buried at 6 o'clock. I've tried banging the cluster, resetting the odometer, etc but it stays there whether the power is on or off.

The van is a 2000 LX model (5 years old this week!) with 99,5xx miles on it. I read some mention of bad high $$$ electronics - I can only hope not. Per the shop manual I'll be checking grounds and cables tomorrow but does anyone have any ideas?

If this isn't a widespread problem I guess I'll be hunting ebay and the junkyards for another cluster...Can anyone tell me which guage clusters are interchangeable?

thanks in advance,
Keith R.
 
#2 ·
You may want to try a "wrecking yard", since "junkyards" sell "junk".:stupid:

Jerry O.
 
#4 ·
Well that was stupid!!!

After calling around to get quotes in the $100+ for junkyard clusters I decided to tear the thing apart to see what was up. Once apart I noticed the speedo and tach needles are weighted to drop the needle to 6 o'clock. All I had to do was spin the speedo needle back to the rest and all was well. I'm guessing when we reset the trip odometer there must have been a short in the board that pulsed the speedo and caused it to spin beyond return. I tested the trip buttons a few times and no short yet.

At least I know if/when it happens again how easy it is to fix! And I didn't pay the dealer $500 to 'fix' it! ;)

Keith R.
 
#7 ·
This happened to me this morning. I didn't reset the odometer, it did it for no apparent reason. My dealership told me that it could be because of a surge and that sometimes a magnet can be used to move the needle back into position. I haven't tried it, I'm going to get my huband to try. Otherwise, they quoted me $174 for the needle and $374 for the speedometer - unsure if that was for just parts or for the works.
 
#8 ·
Rats! I thought this was going to be a post about someone hitting 160mph in their Odyssey :D
 
#11 ·
See this thread which is about replacing the clock light but will take you through part of the process anyway until the cluster is exposed. Maybe someone else has info on how to remove the cluster to finish the job.
 
#14 ·
I have a new "favorite" speedometer repair technique, which I call "The Garmin GPS."

If you've got a hopelessly broken speedometer, instead of giving the dealer a fortune, buy a Garmin GPS. It has a screen that displays your speed very accurately. It also makes an outstanding GPS. Seriously, it's a great work-around for a hopelessly broken speedometer, if the tips in this thread don't help you.
 
#15 ·
Marshall2 said:
I have a new "favorite" speedometer repair technique, which I call "The Garmin GPS."

If you've got a hopelessly broken speedometer, instead of giving the dealer a fortune, buy a Garmin GPS. It has a screen that displays your speed very accurately. It also makes an outstanding GPS. Seriously, it's a great work-around for a hopelessly broken speedometer, if the tips in this thread don't help you.
Thanks Marshall. I also want to second the recommendation of having Garmin GPS, as I actually have one for almost 3 years now, and I truthfully love it. Even I do not use it frequently (like when commuting to work and back), but I find your advice very useful and valuable, in case people have their needle broken.

D.
 
#17 ·
Mine too...

Wife reported the speedometer at 6 o'oclock here too. Very strange. I accused her of traveling in excess of 140 mph. She denied this..
I took the instrumentation cluster out, popped off the clear cover, and carefully dialed the indicator needle back to the pin at 0 mph. Reinstalled, and it seems fine now.
 
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