Odometer not working

[bgarner]

My odometer hasn't worked since I got my S2 a little over a year ago. I pulled the odometer out to find that the odometer gear had been replaced and the odometer motor had some re-soldered wiring. Anyone have any ideas to get the odometer working again?

[Monkey Wrench]

mine is dead so i just use google to tell me how far it is from A-b for fuel reimbursement.

you are going to have to take the speedo apart to change the gears, possible, Im ignoring mine, every volvo seems to stop at some point. the plastic turns to garbage I think, Id be careful if you reset them or just never reset one that's working. Ive heard many say that if you push the reset button too hard, then that can break them.. How about take a cell pic of the speedo, if the odomoter works, and calculate it ?

I sometimes work on machinery that incorporates a old school mechanical counter, what I can do is use an electronic batch counter that's triggered with a reed switch or similar.. then its no longer a mechanical marvel, its omitted. perhaps there is something on the market that could simply replace it with a digital one?

[OK-944]

Just the Odometer not working...or both the Odo and Speedo?

If that plastic gear has been replaced correctly, it might be easiest to first check the electrical connection...located (on my '87NA, not sure about the S2) on the driver's side (upper front surface) of the transmission case. You can unplug this and check to see if the contacts are clean.

There is yet another (speedo/odo associated) plastic gear (at least on my /87NA), inside the trans case just inboard of that electrical contact I'd mentioned - but to check this you'll need to pull the CV axle off of that side, possibly along with that axle's seal...to view this gear and see if its OK.

Not sure what else to tell you...except if all looks well on the outside, you may want to pull your gauge cluster and clean up some electrical contacts. There are several "football" shaped contacts on the rear of the cluster assembly, which you can gently pull out and clean (each "football" has two metal prongs, which can over time become covered with deposits).

I've done this cleanup/disassembly/gear replacement a few times, but I think I'd originally consulted Clarks Garage about this...and I'm guessing you'll find some good info in their Speedo/Odo "trouble shooting" section. Good luck!

[djnolan]

Similar issues, I replaced the odometer gear and it worked for a while, and then it stopped working. The speedometer is still working as are all of the gauges. Kind of frustrating.

[kdjones2000]

Originally Posted by djnolan

Similar issues, I replaced the odometer gear and it worked for a while, and then it stopped working. The speedometer is still working as are all of the gauges. Kind of frustrating.

Happened to me also. Careful inspection of the ODO gears on each of the mileage wheels showed that some of them had chips on them, which caused it to lock up. I got a new set from another speedo, or I swapped them around, and things worked fine after that.

[Monkey Wrench]

here we have a program where you take a pic of the odometer buy insurance and can get a discount if the mileage is light.. my brother said he;s profiting because his works intermittently, mine is stuck dead so I can't take the pic back as it would be in the same spot next year. lol..

i rarely keep a car on the road long anyway I have 6 , nothing newer than 1990 and rotate most of them as they break down and play catch up during the summer, no garage so winter repairs are usually emergency repairs only. never bought a new car , never walked ont o a car lot, saw a mechanic a few times in my life, under 5 , for some smallish emergency job otherwise its just me and my bag of hammers ;-)

[TheSecondChris]

If it were me, I'd buy a new cluster and replace the whole thing. Or you could buy a new cluster and just replace the single gauge. Or, you could send it to a specialist to repair. I think the place is called Palo Alto speedometer.

[jcommin]

I'm the original owner of my 83 and early on, the odometer stopped working. That stupid plastic gear is the weakest link. I have the speedo gear replaced and was cautioned to never reset the odometer while the car is moving. Honestly, I can't remember that last time I reset it. It still works and I won't touch it.

[Monkey Wrench]

it probably not something youd do with speed o gears but Ive seen a neat fix for broken plastic gear teeth.. what you can do is make a plasticene or similar push mold..

press the gear into it to form a mold, pull the gear out and turn it and press it in again so the teeth are all there in the mold, then fill with epoxy or similar, make a new gear from the push mold.

those gears are too tiny, and they are available,
it might work for something similar but larger, if the part is completely obsolete. I just thought it was a cool trick. I suppose you could cast aluminum if you used heat resistant putty.

they use a heat resistant putty similar to plasticene it to pour new babbit bearings, usually found on antique machinery. really old school stuff. Babbitt is lead tin and antimony, it melts about like solder basically. the special putty can take that temp.