Whacky Speedometer/Gremlin attack

bull4u2me · 04:27 PM

I am 100% sure that no one, and I mean NO ONE has ever come across a problem like this.

My speedometer never worked, and neither did the odometer.

I changed the impulse transmitter on the car 2 months ago, and it didnt work. So I left things as they were.

Today, I noticed something really weird. I stopped at a traffic signal, and my speedometer went haywire. The speedo jumped between 20MPH & 60MPH, and the odo clocked like crazy, ALL WHILE STANDING STILL.

So I praised the lord and hoped that my prayers were answered. I moved forward, and wham, im back at square one. It doesnt work. NADA, the speedo goes dead, the odo stops clocking.

NOW, My speedo/odo works only when Im at standstill, and they show funky readings like 40MPH and 5 Miles in 2 mins at a traffic signal.

All other gauges are working fine. I am pretty sure the car isnt overcharging, since the battery meter shows 12-14volts charging.

What should I do? Ignore and move on with my life? Or is there somebody out there who has gone through the same thing before?

PS: The same thing happened with my Radiator fan switch. It stopped working, the fans ran all night and drained my battery. I started pulling out the fuses each time I stopped my car, and after a week, I notice that the switch actually works now. I didnt tamper or fiddle with anything! Everything is back to normal, fan-wise.

DO I HAVE A GREMLIN IN MY CAR? WHAT IS GOING ON? HELP!!!

Makenzie71 · 08-16-2004, 01:36 PM

ok...first, there's no such thing as a "rev meter"...it's called a [i]tachometer/[i].

Second, check all the grounds you can find, and add a few. A lot of the problems with the car's electrical system seems to be due to old crappy grounds. Really, all the problems I've seen you list look like bad connections.

bull4u2me · 08-16-2004, 04:23 PM

thnx for pointing that out... its the tachometer.

I figured something out. The speedo/odo goes weird only when the tacho is at idling(sp?).

If I stop the car, and rev the engine the speedo goes back to zero and the tacho stops clocking. At idling it goes crazy and clocks miles in a hurry.

Any ideas on that now?

Makenzie71 · 08-16-2004, 04:28 PM

at idle our cars, usually, vibrate roughly. Does yours? The vibration the engine is putting through the body and such can be causing a loose connection to make sparatic contact. It's really the only thing I can think of.

Try going down a bumpy road and see what it does.

bull4u2me · 08-16-2004, 04:32 PM

She doesnt vibrate that badly at idle. The engine is really smooth at idle (constant with no "gurgles" at just under 1000Rpm).

But I will check the rough road thing. Thnx for the suggestion.

bull4u2me · 08-17-2004, 07:15 AM

How do I check the grounds for the speedo cluster?

Makenzie71 · 08-17-2004, 08:27 AM

the BEST way is to not check them and run new ones. Break out a wiring diagram for the cluster and run a new wire from all of the existing grounds to a bolt somewhere in the dash. Otherwise you're just going to have to poke around and search ack behind the cluster for viable grounds.