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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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 Posted - 30 Dec 2009 : 8:25:47 PM
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Hi there.
My speedo still works but the odometer and tripmeter seem to have stopped working.
I think this just happened after I last pressed the reset button on the trip meter about a week ago.
Has the button jammed?
Is this function driven by cable or electronics?
Is it fixable and at what cost?
I did have the dash out about 18 mths ago while doing other work, so am unsure if did not reconnect something properly while putting it all back in.
Thanks for any help and suggestions.
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 30 Dec 2009 : 10:48:47 PM
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Two things known to stop them, one is mechanical, the other is electronic. The tiny gears on your odometer and trip meter are interlinked; one fails, the other fails too. These are not driven like a VB Commodore or the like i.e. cable to the back of the gearbox. They have some electronic sensor thingy, but I'm sure one of the guys will have more detail on that one than me.
The only place I know for sure that can recondition an entire VN instrument cluster (the dry solder joints have been known to crack and make the instruments go funny) is AISAT instruments in Kurnall Rd, Welshpool, WA. Last quote I got for my Exec cluster was $160 to recon everything in it. Speedo, odometer, fuel and temp gauges, and all the circuit board behind it. I'm a recent "migrant" to Victoria, but there's bound to be others across Australia whom can do this kind of job.
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 31 Dec 2009 : 01:32:51 AM
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Thanks MechKnight. It seems likely I'll have to pull the Exec's cluster out and get a specialist to work their magic. Dammit!  It really hasn't been a bad car, despite the money and work I've put into it, but I find failures like this frustrating. Still, it'd probably only be worse if I owned an old Mercedes, I guess. |
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VNSVLE
Forum Moderator
1316 Posts
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Posted - 31 Dec 2009 : 01:44:12 AM
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| If I remember correctly there is 1 little gear that strips in there which you can purchase for about $10 from repco/autobarn type stores. |
What's the difference between understeer and oversteer?
Understeer is when the driver is scared.
Oversteer is when the passenger is scared. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 01 Jan 2010 : 01:03:43 AM
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Thanks VNSVLE. I rang Repco and Autobarn. Only the latter had a clue as to what I was asking about, but no longer sell them or was able to get one. I guess the VN is becoming older and increasingly less common.
HOWEVER...Autobarn did point me towards an instrument repairer and parts wholesaler (hopefully retailer too )... weren't answering their phones today,but they're pretty close by.
I'm feeling a lot calmer and optimistic about fixing this for next to nothing and with little effort. Thanks guys.  ...I just spent more than the car's value on parts this week (AirCon compressor +hoses and radiator), so was starting to feel a bit like I was being nickel and dimed to death. Ahh, A/C.... |
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VNSVLE
Forum Moderator
1316 Posts
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Posted - 01 Jan 2010 : 06:52:30 AM
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| Not a problem buddy let us know how you go :) |
What's the difference between understeer and oversteer?
Understeer is when the driver is scared.
Oversteer is when the passenger is scared. |
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Blacky
P Plater
45 Posts
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Posted - 01 Jan 2010 : 7:20:52 PM
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| hey mate, i had the same problem last week and you can buy the cog for the dash of ebay for $13 free postage, and the odometer works fine now, only now the speedo is out by 20kms phr so if u know how to fix this let me know. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 01 Jan 2010 : 9:38:16 PM
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| Thanks for the Ebay tip, Blacky. I think I'll still visit the instrument repair shop first - better chance of getting exactly the right part and any instructions/advice that might be necessary. I'll try to remember to ask them about your problem, just in case I get it too! |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 11 Feb 2010 : 12:10:23 AM
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Okay, I got a gear off Ebay and finally got around to doing it tonight. Got the cluster apart. Only a little scary. Took the side piece off the speedo that mounts with the two tiny phillips head screws and found the grey plastic gear, which was BROKEN. Now, I was a bit tired and my back was hurting, so I was a bit more rushed than I would have liked (excuses...) BUT...the new gear seemed to have a dead end to the sleeve/hole that ran through it. I think it's supposed to and that it had simply worn off the old one. I put it on with the smaller/shorter flange facing down, so that the pin it slides onto basically bottoms out on the end of the gear's sleeve. The gear seemed to mesh fine with the much smaller pinion in the centre. Other than that, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to how it worked or to see if anything else needed to be aligned. I just screwed it all back up....and wouldn't you know it, it does not work! Speedo works, but no odometer. Fuggit, I'm going to sleep. Any tips or hints? It's not quite as scary as I first feared to take it all apart again. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 11 Feb 2010 : 12:06:21 PM
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Is it possible that the gear could fit on more than one way? Having not seen the mechanism myself, I don't know for sure. Although it's also possible there's a tiny spring or spacer needed to make that gear mesh in a different way. Just trying to come up with other ideas. However, if you sent it to AISAT, they could do a recon in a day, and you won't have to touch it again for another 20 years. The only downer being how long it would take to get your cluster back.
Last week, I did a "test strip" of the instrument cluster, to find out how much of a job it was to get it in and out. I plan on buying another cluster so as I can drive the car while the other one is getting overhauled. I suggest you do the same, so you can a. study how one that works looks, b. if you go the full recon route, you can take your time and c. if anything goes wrong with the one bolted to the car, you have a spare. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 11 Feb 2010 : 12:17:20 PM
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Thanks for the suggestions Mechkight. I'm pretty much positive the gear will not go on the other way around. It's not a completely "blind" hole that goes through it, but it's not much more than a pinhole on the end with the longer sleeve. So it seems like it's meant to bottom out on that part.
I really should have tried to see better how it works. I get that an electrical unit drives the little black pinion, I think. And that in turm drives the new grey plastic gear, which I think functions as an idler, but i didn't look to see exactly WHAT the grey gear drives and whether or not my positioning of it was correct in order to engage whatever it must engage with. Too much haste, less speed.  I couldn't easily see anything, so am unsure if there is more broken or not. Never mind. I had it all out, apart and back together in 90 minutes, so I guess I can stand looking at it again. It can't be that complex. I admit I was a little scared the first time. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 12 Feb 2010 : 10:08:33 AM
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| Sounds like when I cleaned out the engine bay yesterday. There was grease and crap everywhere, and it worried me that by disturbing all that grease, new oil leaks might show up. However, with all that grease gone, I can now see where any existing oil leaks are REALLY coming from |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 12 Feb 2010 : 10:58:25 AM
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Yep, sounds obvious but you gotta get a good look at what you're dealing with before you know what to do.
My oil leaks are pretty good, barely need a drip tray in the garage. I fear the rear main seal getting bad. Don't want to do that. G/box off, engine lifted (or out) and sump plus reaar crank cap off (if I recall correctly) Must be #1 hardest job on a VN V6. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 12 Feb 2010 : 11:03:46 PM
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| From personal observation when I was working in a remote roadhouse, when VNs were new, they tend to leak oil from the rear man when either driven hard for long periods of time, or when they get hot a lot, often the same thing. Changing a rear main seal on most engines usually means gearbox out, but from what I can tell, you only have to lift the engine, not take it out. Undo the engine mounts, lift it enough for the sump to clear the crossmember, and drop the sump. Change all seals and gaskets, lower back onto mounts and tighten. It's a bastard of a job best done on a hoist with the appropriate rig to hold the gearbox. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 17 Feb 2010 : 11:53:18 PM
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Fixed it! I didn't see exactly what was wrong, but I removed and replaced the the gears slowly several times, making sure the new grey gear meshes and looks straight as it engages the big fixed, toothed outer circumference (the clear plastic housing itself), and tried as best I could to ensure the pin on the end was actually going into it's locating hole inside.
I have to say, it's not an impressive looking piece of engineering or manufacturing, but I guess it does work. And it IS cheap and simple to repair.
Oh yeah, one more thing... I also removed the centre piece of the electrical drive unit, pulled out the little spring which looked like it was a little tired. The pressure it provides is the only thing pushing the gears home on their seats inside the speedo unit. So I held each end of the spring in my finger nails and gave it a bit of a stretch 6-10 times. It was noticably longer when I'd finished, and I think this may have helped ensure the whole box and dice went all the way in and stayed there.
I suspect this spring should be replaced. Possibly the entire electical motor that drives the gears could really do with replacing, but that would mean replacing both electical circuit boards there (connected by soldered ribbon wire) The electrical unit is soldered in - integral to - one of the circuit boards.
Odometer and trip meter both working fine now.  |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 18 Feb 2010 : 8:18:31 PM
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| If ever you have the speedometer start to "flap up and down" it means that the dry solder joints are due for reconditioning. You could cannibalise another cluster for it, and have an expert redo it, or hunt around for possible replacements. Either way, the second cluster gives you the freedom to take your time. |
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Mr Persistant
P Plater
72 Posts
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Posted - 18 Feb 2010 : 11:45:48 PM
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Thanks Mechknight. I know I should do that.
As long as I can be without the car while the cluster is at the specialist, won't an instrument repair shop be able to fix it if something goes wrong in the future? Whether that's resoldering or replacing the little electrical drive unit for the speedo itself?
When you say dry soldering, do you mean those two green circuit boards right there in the speedo? I think that's beyond my capabilities.
Does the plastic sheeting with electrical circuits on the outside back part of the cluster go bad? The stuff that actually plugs in and makes the connection to the dash wiring? That stuff looks pretty dodgy.
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dirk diggler
P Plater
32 Posts
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Posted - 21 Apr 2011 : 8:50:14 PM
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| fa%%%%k bought vn s2 exc 2 weeks ago speedo works but not odometer and trip meter itook out the panel cos it didnt have a tacho bought one out of a vp for 39 bucks it had a tacho and it looks better than the vn unit i put it in and still got the same problem i will pull the old unit apart hehe what are the odds of having the same problem |
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VNSVLE
Forum Moderator
1316 Posts
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Posted - 21 Apr 2011 : 10:16:18 PM
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odds are extremely good buddy. Every odometer problem i have seen has been fixed this way
Cheers |
What's the difference between understeer and oversteer?
Understeer is when the driver is scared.
Oversteer is when the passenger is scared. |
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Mechknight73
National Driver
1001 Posts
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Posted - 23 Apr 2011 : 5:23:45 PM
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| It's a very common "old age" wear thing in VNs. Simple enough to fix, and relatively cheap if you go the full recon method. HAve no idea who does it in NSW, but there is a place in Hawthorn, Melbourne called Howards Instruments that specialise in this kind of fiddly work |
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