Impossible to get Odometer working

[BlackbirdM3]

How are you guys pulling the brass sleeve off the e1 gear shaft? It's very easy to break the motor when pulling the brass to go with the plastic-hub gear.

In my case, I clipped it with a set of diagonals, without putting any pressure on the shaft its self. I just cut the brass piece in half.

The odometer worked for 2.3 miles this morning

Will

[Gregs///M]

I too use the diagonals as per Garagistic's suggestion.

Blackbird,
Since you are fairly confident in your gears and their installation, I suggest you at least have your cluster main board reflown with new solder. Microcracks in the solder joints can expand/contract relative to temperature or vibration, which can lead to intermittent operation.

In addition, I would also reflow the solder behind the speedometer assembly.

One common problem that I see is the connector pins for the cluster develop cracked solder joints at the point where the pins meet the cluster main board. This can be from removing the cluster multiple times or accumulation of vibrations from the car's suspension.

[BlackbirdM3]

I too use the diagonals as per Garagistic's suggestion.

Blackbird,
Since you are fairly confident in your gears and their installation, I suggest you at least have your cluster main board reflown with new solder. Microcracks in the solder joints can expand/contract relative to temperature or vibration, which can lead to intermittent operation.

In addition, I would also reflow the solder behind the speedometer assembly.

One common problem that I see is the connector pins for the cluster develop cracked solder joints at the point where the pins meet the cluster main board. This can be from removing the cluster multiple times or accumulation of vibrations from the car's suspension.

Would this only cause the odometer to not work? The speedo is spot on and fine. The old VDO speedo worked great, until one day it quit doing everything. I'd think if I had an issue with the main board, it would affect the speedo, tach, temp and fuel gauges as well, not to mention the oil temp gauge. Its ONLY the odometer that doesn't work. I guess it could be one of the three wires that go to the stepper motor, and its coil. Those would be easy enough to reflow. I just hate taking the cluster out so much. I get the idea that things like that should be left alone as much as possible.

Will

[Gregs///M]

Would this only cause the odometer to not work? The speedo is spot on and fine. The old VDO speedo worked great, until one day it quit doing everything. I'd think if I had an issue with the main board, it would affect the speedo, tach, temp and fuel gauges as well, not to mention the oil temp gauge. Its ONLY the odometer that doesn't work. I guess it could be one of the three wires that go to the stepper motor, and its coil. Those would be easy enough to reflow. I just hate taking the cluster out so much. I get the idea that things like that should be left alone as much as possible.

Will

No, the main cluster board "breaks out" those circuits into individual traces. Therefore a crack in one trace can cause intermittent operation in one of the gauges without affecting the others.

However, the speedo/odo assembly do share power, ground and signal all the way into the assembly itself. But if the speedo/odo circuit board had cracked traces, then only the odo or speedo can be affected.

In order words, the odometer can be affected separate from the speedometer if there were solder cracks on the speedometer/odometer circuit board behind the gauge assembly. But cracks on the main board would affect both at the same time.

[dogsbark26]

BlackbirdM3, I agree with Gregs///M. If the speedometer works consistently but the odometer is intermittent - that is, the odometer works accurately only part of the time, the problem must be an intermittent electrical connection. Here, presumably to the motor that powers the odometer. Inspect and repair the little connection pins and solder traces where necessary.
If you have switched speedometers in your cluster and it still does it, then logically the problem is in the cluster board or connection pins (for the speedo, not the cluster).

[mrgraphics]

It could be traces, but my experience says that it's the odometer stepping motor itself as burned up. I had to go through 6 different speedometer/odometers until I found one that worked. I never had to reflow any traces on the main cluster board.

I did check all traces on the back of the speedometer itself on the 5 that didn't work . . . they all were good.