speedo-meter lag - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

n3rdifed · 03-19-2009, 04:27 PM

for all of you who clicked on this link because of your interest of male speedos, your in the wrong place.

but my speedometers whack as hell right now
whenever im accelerating the needle is very slow, and when i feel like im crusing around 60 it shows 45 or 40

. my tachometer is also dead. what could this mean? it started tweaking out when i had my oem rims. and when i traded for my LS400 rims it seemed to actually help bump the meter up but its still lagging..

could i take out the cluster and see if the cable is loose or something? or is there another alternative for showing how fast your going rather than using the stock cluster? i heard that toyotas clusters and crap are innacurate anyways.

i need some advice quick. march is the month where all the cops go on a rage and start giving out tickets like candy, even for going 5 mph over. i cant afford a ticket or to follow behind somebody that i think is going speed limit.

uibalnme · 03-19-2009, 05:28 PM

1st off, every gauge in the cluster is electronic. There is no speedometer cable. If the speedometer is reading that far off, it's probably a sensor that's going bad.

Toyota clusters are just fine. I've never had a problem with any of the gauges in any of my Toyotas.

tacomonkey69 · 03-19-2009, 06:29 PM

my speedo if off when i get higher in speed after put new wheels on

Fruitbat · 03-19-2009, 06:45 PM

is it actually laggy, or just terribly inaccurate? Throwing on bigger rims/tires will cause it to be out, but usually not by a huge margin unless you have some huge wheels now. (from experience, going from stock, to 33" mud boggers on a 4 runner threw the speedo about 20% off)

n3rdifed · 03-20-2009, 03:54 AM

well i checked out the tire calculator and my setup is only 2% different from oem. and besides it was reading off even before the wheels where put on..

its lagging like a lot..
so its a bad sensor im guessing? where is it located?
does the tachometer have a sensor too? i kinda miss seeing my rpms.. lol

abew330 · 03-20-2009, 11:07 AM

i have the same prob as you... but its only 4 mph - /+ difference usually my speedo says 50 but im actually going 45-46

Gibson99 · 03-20-2009, 11:11 AM

this sounds like a loose connection and/or bad ground. pull the cluster, check connections, make sure teh ground cable there in the dash is clean and secure.

also if you have indiglos or any other gauge face overlays, take them off as the needles sometimes drag on them, making it do exactly what you describe.

if all is well in the gauges, then yes check sensors. speedo sensor is on the transmission but tach gets its signal from the ECU. if ecu was going out, it wouldn't run very well at all.

n3rdifed · 03-20-2009, 04:44 PM

bad ground..sounds plausible because my tach has been dead for so long already.

ill check it out today and post up results

n3rdifed · 03-21-2009, 01:43 AM

ok i took out the cluster and everything seems fine..didnt find anything loose or problems. just a lot of dust so i blew that out.
now ive got an airbag light after i put all the plugs back in

-_-
tach is still dead.
now my speed meter is about 10 mph under what i feel like im going...
i guess its the sensor?

Gibson99 · 03-21-2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n3rdifed

ok i took out the cluster and everything seems fine..didnt find anything loose or problems. just a lot of dust so i blew that out.
now ive got an airbag light after i put all the plugs back in

-_-
tach is still dead.
now my speed meter is about 10 mph under what i feel like im going...
i guess its the sensor?

airbag light is because you took the cluster out with the key in the ON position. I think you have to either disconnect the battery for 5-10 mins or pull all the SRS/airbag fuses for 5-10 mins with the key off to clear it.

check other grounds, like the ones in the kick panels on both sides, as well as engine grounds. of course there's always the possibility that both gauges have indeed died on you.

frojoe · 03-22-2009, 05:05 PM

Many GPS's will tel you your speed, so you could just ignore the speedometer and get a GPS, since they are useful anyway. In mine the speed turns red when you go more than 5 over the limit on the highway, but it doesn't freak out or do anything obnoxious for when you know your speeding and don't care. It also tells you your speed on any road. I have the tomtom one, which is like $80.

Gibson99 · 03-22-2009, 05:08 PM

well it's still a good idea to get it fixed. your odometer will not record accurate mileage on the vehicle if the speedo isn't working right. plus once you decide to sell the car, a potential buyer will almost certainly notice that right away on a test drive, and then they'll wonder what else is wrong with the car...

n3rdifed · 03-22-2009, 07:49 PM

well ive noticed my trip meter has been racking up miles pretty quick..
but also my gas gauge has been draining down quick..any chance this is related to my speedo?

the gps idea is good
i think if i dont fix it ill just buy me a tom tom

highalti2d · 03-28-2009, 05:03 PM

I have a 1997 camry that is doing the same thing and it is totally stock. The speedo reads around 45 when I'm actually going 60. However, the odometer seems to record accurate mileage. I removed the speed sensor from the tranny and cleaned it up a bit. No luck though. Now I'm suspecting the instrument cluster.

cykaaro · 04-12-2009, 07:27 PM

Same thing with mine. Seems mine is off by about 10km until I hit higher speeds then is only about 5km out. [reads slower than I'm actually going.] I've been so used to using the GPS from when I was on 33" tires on the jeep, I just use it predominantely. I find it's dead on accurate speed wise. Nice to when I go to the US as it's just a couple clicks and it'll show MPH for me.
Now I know slightly is the wheels I use winter/summer, but strangely my winters what they should be size wise is off more than my summer tires. Now I could adjust the needle on the speedo to be where it should, but just not too concerned until I have a need to get into the dash and rip things apart.

Now with yours, and your tach not working, I'd suggest if you can pick up a cheapy from a wreckers, try it and see if there's any difference at all. it mayhap be something wrong with the guages it self, and can rule them out. I did have a problem with one tach I had, and once I switched it, all was well again.[my tach ran higher than it sould have]