Spedo issues...

[many944s]

So here's the deal:
I was driving home from pool league this evening, and all of the sudden my spedo stopped functioning? I was driving along at 35mph and then out of no where it read 0 for about 6 blocks? Then almost a block from home it started working again...

So the question is:
Where is the spedo pickup in these (1990 325i) is it a tranny pickup, or is it an axle based sensor?

thanks!

Nick

[supertack]

It's not out of the relm of possibility that the cluster electronics are going bad. If found these things have electronic issues left & right.

[Jeron]

The speedo pickup is on the diff. Did the odo stop when the speedo stopped?

[many944s]

Yes, the odo. stopped along with the spedo.
I have driven it a couple of times this morning, and have not had a problem? I guess it's time to crawl under her and take a peek.

Thanks for the info!

Nick

[Jeron]

I would check for loose connections and frayed wires. If it happens again I would pull the sensor and see if it needs to be cleaned. If you end up replacing it you might consider a diff and tranny oil change as well.

Might was well take a look at the flexdisc at the front of the driveshaft while you're under there.

[Wayne 962]

Right - try the sensor first, it's easiest and cheapest to replace. The location of the sensor is documented in the 101 Projects book...

-Wayne

[many944s]

Jeron, Wayne, thanks for the info. I am going to climb under the car this afternoon and check the spedo sensor. I also have to check my wheel speed sensors as every once and a while, at low speeds, the ABS will kick in. It only happens about once a week, but it bugs me.

I'll be sure to let y'all know what I find.

Thanks,
Nick

[Wayne 962]

Originally posted by many944s
Jeron, Wayne, thanks for the info. I am going to climb under the car this afternoon and check the spedo sensor. I also have to check my wheel speed sensors as every once and a while, at low speeds, the ABS will kick in. It only happens about once a week, but it bugs me.

I'll be sure to let y'all know what I find.

Thanks,
Nick

These sometimes pick up lots of dirt and can give out faulty signals...

-Wayne

[OzBimmer]

It probably is the sensor, but from memory the speedo signals pass through the SI (Service indicator board) on the way to the speedo/odometer. Bad connections, cracked solder joints etc can cause the speedo to drop out. Also there are a number of solder joints on the cluster board that can play up. Hopefully it is just the sensor!

Good luck
-Mark

[mfowler]

not to mention....Grounds, grounds, grounds....

[dhaus]

On mine, intermittant speedometer was cured by re-soldering connections on the back of the speedo head. If you search a little, you'll find a description of the fix. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I did that so I can't give you the link.

[many944s]

Ok, so I finally had a chance to work on the car! I have been a little busy since my wife gave birth to our first child on Friday the 13th A little girl, who is absoultely adorable!!

Back to the car... I checked the sensor first and found that the wires did indeed need to be fixed. Since then, no problems! I also checked all of my ABS sensors, and found that some of those wires had broken insulation and were causing faulty signals, hence I fixed those as well.

All I need now is to find a replacement chin piece for the front end, and I will be extatic with the car until I make a new list of things I want to do to it.



Laters all,
Nick

[Wayne 962]

Sweet - glad it was an easy fix. Those SI boards can be a pain to troubleshoot...

-Wayne