Not a single comment at all? I figured with all the broken speedos out there this would come in handy.

 

now , if you were to do a thread on wonky tachometers...................

 

its not super common, but it does happen.

 

...but don't get a $130 ticket like I just did. Speeding ticket donations accepted...

That's a bargain. I was driving along about two months ago and misjudged the signal. I thought I could make the light and would have if I would have just hit the gas as the numbers counted down. The camera got me .3 seconds behind the red line.

$500 + $11.50 internet traffic school:headbang:

 

Thanks!

Ok so your speedometer doesn't work and when it does it just jumps straight to 62 mph and stays there the whole time you are driving. More than likely you didn't do enough research and already wasted your time and money on the speed sensor on the transmission. Probably didn't work did it? I have been buying cars under $500 for quite some time now and about a third of them have erratic speedos. Most of the time this is due to poor connections on the back of the speedo itself. Particularly the soldered joints. Most of the time you can't even tell that the connections are even bad. So here is what you need to do...

1. remove 2 screws from the trim ring around the gauge cluster.
2. remove 4 screws that actually hold in the gauge cluster.
3. pull cluster put slightly and then remove the 3 wiring harnesses from the back.
4. remove the cluster the rest of the way from the dash.
5. remove 2 screws from gauge cluster and press locking clips in to remove the clear plastic cluster face.
6. remove the 4 screws on the back holding the speedo into the cluster.

Now that you have it apart you can start looking for cracked solder joints . These are probably what is causing your speedo to not work correctly. You will NOT need any solder, only a soldering iron. You will heat the iron until it is hot enough to melt the solder. If you look closely you will see the solder slightly change color and move a little. When it does this just remove the soldering iron and let it cool. Do this to all of the solder joints you can see on the back of the speedo and the gauge cluster. Be carefull not to let the solder short out a nearby connection. You will also notice a small black box on the back of the cluster. It is just clipped in place and cant be popped right off. Go ahead and pop it off and clean the contacts underneath it. you may even slightly bend the contacts so they connect better when you put the black box back on. While you are cleaning the contacts you should also clean the contacts where the 4 screws go that hold the speedo into the cluster, as well as the contacts for where the 3 wiring harnesses plug in. Now put everything back together and enjoy your working speedo.

I will add some pictures later if people really need them.

Now go test your speedo against a gps, but don't get a $130 ticket like I just did. Speeding ticket donations accepted...

My speedo was not working for over three years, and the above procedure took me $0 and about 30 minutes to try. It now works perfectly. You are a genius, thanks a lot for the info!

 

I am glad it worked for you. I am surprised you are the only one to try it and post back.

 

maybe soldering is a skill most have not tried to master, so this thread has been ignored.

Cold solder joints and bad chips have been the bane of my speedo problems. Its so easy to test the speed sensor, and they usually dont go bad. I did replace one on a Kia though.

-SP

 

I also fix abused prizms (mostly toyotas) and I came across the speedo sydrome recently. I soldered the connections on the back like you said, and pulled out the little black box and bent-out the three tabs for a better connection.
The speedometer now works pefectly. Thanks for the post. It saved me time and money.

 

wow talk about timing. I had read this thread the other day and JUST today my speedo started acting in the exact same manner as described by the original poster. I will most likely be taking it to the mechanic and telling him exactly what is wrong with it and what to do, thanks to you!!!!!
BTW if you could add pics, would be greatly appreciated, i might give this a try myself if there are pics

 

well this is my first post, and i must say it is a good one!


you sir hopefully just saved me about 50$. I'll respond back tomorrow to let you know how it went

 

well this is my first post, and i must say it is a good one!


you sir hopefully just saved me about 50$. I'll respond back tomorrow to let you know how it went

post pics if you can

 

Or, you could do what I did. Go to a pick and pull junkyard and get a whole "new" cluster. I got one with a tach from a 97, for my 94 for $17 bucks. Works great...

 

i took it apart, didnt see any obviously cracked solder joints.

Went ahead and re melted every pin that i could, doubtfully put it back together and put in in the car.



Whala, it worked.
Only thing the write up is missing is removing the black plastic shell from the spedo backing (after removing the clear plastic).

Great write up! Saved me a lot of money, and it only took about 45 minutes in total.

 

guys, i have my speedo sitting out here but have no clue on what to do next, as in heating the solder joints and what not, can anyone help me out here? thanks

 

Try re-reading my original thread. It tells you what you are asking.

 

how about, say you had the stock 14" wheels then u upgrade to 17's it throws the speedo off a little bit doesnt it?
how do you fix that problem?

 

I put the 17" wheels on my car.... if you use the right tires, you will not have a problem. I am using 205/40/17.

Of all 3 speedometers I've had, I've never had a problem with them.... except that none are accurate lol. I adjusted my current one so that it matches with my GPS.

 

like gold94corolla said, the right wheel and tire combination will keep you at the correct speedo settings

 

I am in Phoenix now, but when I get back home I will try and take some pics since I still have the speedo out of the car. Hopefully a mod will sticky this, make it a tech article, or add it to FAQ.

 

oooooh ok thanks i just wasnt intirely sure

 

Now that's really weird, just unplugging the cluster NEVER turned on the airbag light.... I wonder if your friend screwed up something?!?

 

yea its wierd, he just played around with the back of the speedo only, he didnt touch anything else. Ill just get a new one and find out whats goin on

 

Well, a lot of the parts are interchangeable between the two clusters....

 

True, but what can I do about the air bag light comin on? I purchased a new one for $20, everything is workin fine now. One of the bulbs was out so I was put one in from my old one. But now the air bag light is on for some reason, what can i do to turn it off?

 

So the only thing wrong with it is the airbag light? Well, I have used the following method to reset the airbag, and it has worked twice now. But my airbag light came on because I took out the passenger airbag, so I'm not sure this reset will work for you.

Here's a pic:

That is probably really confusing, but you open up the "diagnostics" box on the strut tower under the hood. Then you insert some long wires To and AB into the sockets as shown. You will ground them to the - battery terminal, so that's how long the wires need to be. You will ground the wires in the pattern shown in the diagram.

Ground To for 1 sec,
Remove To and ground AB for 1 sec,
Ground To and remove AB for one sec,
etc.

It helps to get some pattern or drum beat in your head LOL (OK I'm a drummer, sorry).

Then turn the key over and watch the light, it should go off after a few seconds.... if not, try this procedure over and over again.... it is hard to get just right, and it took me a long time.

Let me know if this fixes your problem.... and that diagram cost me $30 so be happy.

 

So the only thing wrong with it is the airbag light? Well, I have used the following method to reset the airbag, and it has worked twice now. But my airbag light came on because I took out the passenger airbag, so I'm not sure this reset will work for you.

Here's a pic:

That is probably really confusing, but you open up the "diagnostics" box on the strut tower under the hood. Then you insert some long wires To and AB into the sockets as shown. You will ground them to the - battery terminal, so that's how long the wires need to be. You will ground the wires in the pattern shown in the diagram.

Ground To for 1 sec,
Remove To and ground AB for 1 sec,
Ground To and remove AB for one sec,
etc.

It helps to get some pattern or drum beat in your head LOL (OK I'm a drummer, sorry).

Then turn the key over and watch the light, it should go off after a few seconds.... if not, try this procedure over and over again.... it is hard to get just right, and it took me a long time.

Let me know if this fixes your problem.... and that diagram cost me $30 so be happy.

lol wont just disconnecting the battery and then reconnecting it do the trick? lol thanks for the info but ill see what I can do

 

No it won't, disconnecting the battery will just reset the ECU and everything... not good. Just disconnecting the battery won't do what that diagram says LOL.

 

man wish you lived closer!!! lol
But i dont have the slightest clue on why my air bag light is on cause all we did was solder the joints behind the speedo and then i bought a new one, but the light had already come on with the old one when we put it back to see if soldering the joints on the speedo worked, which it didnt. So im clueless

 

ok i just googled and came across this info

In case anyone isn't familiar with the airbag recall, the Corollas had problems with people using the centre console for a cupholder when they didn't have an armrest (because the dash cupholders are worthless pieces of garbage), and spills would make it down through the bottom of the console and get into the airbag computer, shorting it out and either setting the airbag off or turning the airbag light on (thankfully, it was the latter most of the time). Dealers installed a plastic protective waterproof cover on the airbag computer of affected cars to protect it from further spills, and replaced the airbag computer if necessary

ok more info on the recall
http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/1993-to-1997-toyota-corolla-9.htm
So can i get this done by the dealer for free now?

and more info lol
http://www.automotive.com/1993/49/geo/prizm/recalls/32944.html

 

I don't see how that has anything to do with your problem though! Unless you spilled lots of junk down there at the same time you were messing with the cluster....

 

I don't see how that has anything to do with your problem though! Unless you spilled lots of junk down there at the same time you were messing with the cluster....

of course it does. My light is on, who cares how it came on, whether is was some spillage or just randomly came on but what the recall is doing is it takes care of the light and the dealer takes care of it under the recall. No air bag light = problem solved