New to the board, but I have a feeling I'll be here often.

Picked up a '95 F-150 after it sat for several years. It collected a lot of dirt and tree tar over the years, and asked my daughter and her friend to wash it. After they were done, the speedometer and odometer mysteriously quit working.

I also have a '97 Dodge Neon that was having a similar problem, and I was able to pull the gauge cluster and solder some points to get it working again.

Is that a feasible solution to my current problem?

I checked the fuse, and the one I pulled worked in another slot. I'm sure it's not the fuse. All other gauges are working; or at least the ones that were working are still working.

 

I would check for anything obvious underneath, the wiring, the gear itself, if everything looks good then tear the dash apart and check behind the gauge itself like on the neon

 

There is more than one fuse that can cause this to start with.
If all of the fuses are good then check the plug and its wiring on the top center of the rear end to see if it is plugged in and the wiring is OK. If OK take the VSS sensor out of the rear end and check for filings on it. If you have filings on it you will need to do some rear end work but you can wipe it off for now, put it back in and it may work for a while.
If it still does not work unplug the RABS module and see if it works then.
If still no go jack up the rear end and put a volt meter on the RABS plug under the hood. Run it up to about 30 MPH and see if you get 3+ VAC on the meter.
If you do not get the voltage then unplug the PSOM and try again.
If still no good replace the VSS and chck again.
If still no voltage check the wiring from the dash to the rear end.
If OK take the rear end apart and check the tone ring and carrier bearings.

If you did get the voltage under the hood and the speedometer did not work replace the PSOM.

 

Thanks for the responses. I'm just now able to get around to it.

Just one question: Can the VSS going bad knock out the odometer as well?

I'm not a truck/car guy, so my knowledge on things like this is severely limited. But I'm also a do-it-myself'er. So, I only take it to a shop when I don't have the equipment to get it done.

 

Yes the VSS going bad can and will knock out the odometer as well.

 

Thanks.

I think I'll hit up some salvage yards tomorrow.

 

You could avoid all that testing and stuff. Get a digital speedo gauge from Dakota digital. Calibration is by the measured mile. Just solder in a + and - wire to the two wires coming from the speed sensor. Route them up to the gauge and as Jackie Gleason said " Away we go "

 

does the radio work? i know it doesn't sound related but every few times i take my truck through the car wash my speedometer, odometer, and radio quit.

 

You would still have problems with Speed Control and transmission shifting very hard and at wrong speeds.

This item would be no help at all.

 

Did you check the fuse number 8 and 18 in the dash fuse box for voltage at both sides of the fuse?

Did you check for voltage at the RABS Data Link Connector plug under the hood to see if the voltage increase smoothly and continuously from 0 to approximately 3.5 volts AC as vehicle speed increases from 0 to 30 mph?

Dash Fuse Panel:


The VSS circuit:


The RABS Data Link Connector plug:


/

 

I don't have any way to test voltage.

 

had the same problem, checked for power at the psom (plug) port one had power, and port 3 had none (should be hot with the key on) i had no juice at 3 so i just splices a wire from it to a wire that has juice with the key on only from the ignition switch till the weather gets better and i can go threw the wiring, but you can do this test with a 3$ test light.

 

1st i will pretend that i didnt hear you say you own a neon, 2nd yes a litlte more diag is required here, adding another speedo gauge will not help as the pcm, abs and the trans depend on the psom's outputs to make the truck run and shift correctly. if you do have to replace with a junk yard unit, make sure that you reprogram it for the correct tire/gear size . there is threads on here saying how to. also if your truck is with out a tach, the tach clusters are a direct bolt in , plug n play!

justin

 

Back off of the Neon! I love that little go-kart.

Thanks guys. I'll keep picking away at things until I figure out what I did to screw it up.

 

Not advice to your problem, but related to this issue.

I had my speedometer, odometer, power mirrors, cruise control, and interior lights quit on me, and my tranny began shifting like a special ed four year old learning to drive a stick without a teacher. Engine codes were like morse code without the code. I was figuratively about to drive the truck into the ocean, thinking my computer was shot to hell. After my rage subsided I decided to check the fuses, and low and behold there were two blown fuses to all of these things. Go figure that such a problem cost a buck or two to fix...