[rxter]

OK thanks.  Then she sits awaiting the part.

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[ryker]

North Hollywood Speedometer & Clock Repair is $110 fixed with new gears and recalibrated in one day. When I learned this, I saw no reason to buy the gears and take everything apart. Just hand them the whole cluster. They can fix any of the other gauges in your cluster as well.
I've taken the steering wheel off numerous times in several cars and never set off the airbag light. I wait an hour or so after disconnecting the battery.

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[ds968]

Wow, that's dirt cheap ! Over in this area you're looking at $ 300. I bought the gears for my daily driver whose odo stopped thinking a DIY ( using the help of a very mechanically-apt friend and forums member ) is in order, but for only $ 100 , hell , I may just drive the car on my next trip to SoCal and stop by the shop to get this done, instead of wasting my friends time . The other thing is ; why even bother to fix the trip / mileage odo at all ? Since I have no interest in ever selling the car so mileage accuracy ( honesty ) is not an issue, I really have no use whatsoever for a functioning odo. My monthly mileage throughout the entire year is consistently the same so I can easily calculate when it's time to do the next prescribed maintenance, so that aside, can't think of any other use for that gear.

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[Peter]

Wow, that's dirt cheap ! Over in this area you're looking at $ 300. I bought the gears for my daily driver whose odo stopped thinking a DIY ( using the help of a very mechanically-apt friend and forums member ) is in order, but for only $ 100 , hell , I may just drive the car on my next trip to SoCal and stop by the shop to get this done, instead of wasting my friends time . The other thing is ; why even bother to fix the trip / mileage odo at all ? Since I have no interest in ever selling the car so mileage accuracy ( honesty ) is not an issue, I really have no use whatsoever for a functioning odo. My monthly mileage throughout the entire year is consistently the same so I can easily calculate when it's time to do the next prescribed maintenance, so that aside, can't think of any other use for that gear.

I think the car will not pass the state inspection with a non functional odometer (that is my main concern here in PA as I do not plan to sell the car either).

 

In my case the gear replacement did not fix the problem,although I found it broken when I took the speedo apart (the common problem). Now the odometer works time to time, always in colder weather. After reset,when it works, it works for less than 10 miles then it gets stuck. I think either the gear is not precise (has an small offset which accumulates as it spins until it does not engage anymore) or the issue is of electric nature. I am more inclined to believe that it  is an electric issue.

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[ryker]

Dan, you don't have to drive it there, if you don't want to. I've mailed clusters to them, and they send them back in a week or so. I've had to fix several VW Vanagon clusters. 

 

I asked them about the gears breaking if you reset the odometer while in motion, and they said that is definitely a myth.

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[ds968]

We don't have a state inspection other than the smog test every two years ..and the smog station or DMV computer to which it links should not trigger anything that questions if or why " sufficient mileage " has been logged on the car since the last test.. especially for people with multiple cars - the assumption is that lack of mileage simply reflects that particular car may be a garage queen, rarely driven, if at all.. but, you can only use that reason once, at the next test two years later they'll wonder why the mileage is identical, after all , you had to drive the car to the smog shop, LOL .


As for the myth, by every technical fact whether the car is moving or not there should be no effect whatsoever on zero-ing out the trip odo, and yet the coincidence of countless incidents where the gear breaks simultaneously with that push of that button while the car is in motion, and no record of it breaking when the car is stationary is uncanny ..bizarre, to say the least .

And I would not drive the car to L.A. to save $ 200 lmao, but since I drive it there several times a year anyway, if they can do it in an hour or two while I go have a coffee ( or a glass of wine ) nearby, it's a " why not ? " type of thing...

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[ampegboy1]

countless incidents where the gear breaks simultaneously with that push of that button while the car is in motion, and no record of it breaking when the car is stationary is uncanny 

Mine broke when I was stationary, FWIW.

 

Michael

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[ds968]

In my blue car it broke when I zeroed it out while moving, in my green car it broke all by itself without me even touching the reset button.

One day while driving to work I simply noticed that it was no longer working ...after I parked the car I pushed the reset button and the trip odo did return to zero which surprised me because I thought when it breaks it just stays stuck on whatever mileage is on at the time .

At least it did not also zero out the main odometer, lol.

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[rxter]

Gears replaced.  Any way to test the odo without driving the car?  I did not remove the steering wheel and so the car is not drivable with the gauge cluster connected but not installed.  The wire looms are too short so the connected, uninstalled cluster is in the way of the steering wheel.

 

Mine also stopped working while the car was stationary.  I noticed that neither was moving.  Next time I stopped the car I hit the zero button.  It zeroed and never moved.

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[ds968]

any chance to lift the rear wheels on a couple of jacks , secure the front wheels and then just " drive " for a mile or so ?

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[rxter]

Will that work?  Is the speed sensor in the front or the rear?  i always assumed rear but I don't know.

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[ds968]

hmm, now I don't know, I also assumed it was at the rear wheels ...but i could be wrong.     

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[rxter]

Speed sensor is not in the rear.  Is in the front.  Not sure if this qualifies for a DYI writeup  See validated procedure for moving odo without running car.

 

 

   

 

 

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[ds968]

cool, if you move the wheel clockwise will it start reducing the mileage on the odo ?   

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[Waylander]

I doubt it but can we have a video trying it out

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[ryker]

My odometer just stopped working on one of my cars. There is a shop in West Sacramento that charges $190, so this time I decided to tackle it myself. Simple job! I can't believe someone charges $300 for this in the Bay Area, or even $190 here. North Hollywood Speedo just raised their price to $130. This job can literally be done in 30 minutes start to finish, including pulling the cluster out of the car. New gear is only $25 plus $5 shipping. The shop in the Bay Area that Dan referred to is simply preying on the ignorant public.

 

Just one tiny tooth was broken off of the little gear in my car.

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[ds968]

yup, but you have to consider that for many residents of that city, and most of the surrounding cities where that particular shop is located, $ 300 amounts to just loose changed dropped through the sofa cushions, so it's not preying on the ignorant,rather, it's opportunism ( some would refer to it as capitalism )  at its peak -you charge whatever the demographic is ready and willing to pay for it.             

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[ryker]

Dan, great points, and I agree. I just want to make sure that everybody on this site understands how easy these gears are to replace, and this from a guy who has paid to have several odometers repaired over the years.

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[MCL968]

Ryker, I did mine last week and I was also surprised at how easy it was. The hardest thing was getting the airbag off, beyond that, it was just part swapping. I also took some time and cleaned the seven little grounding nuts and the contact areas. Now my gauges are actually working properly! I filled the gas tank and was surprised to see the needle go to 4/4, which it has never done in the past.

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[ds968]

I think I have a friend who can do this in 30 minutes , lol.. will be knocking on his door pretty soon ( figuratively and literally ..he lives five minutes away ) . No way, no how would I attempt to do this job on my own no matter how simple and hpw quick it may be- taking an instrument panel cover off and maneuvering it around the steering wheel, not to mention all the wires and crap connectiond scares the crap out of me..

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