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Technical Brava T Reg 1.2 Dreaded Speedo

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Technical Brava T Reg 1.2 Dreaded Speedo

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NoIdea

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Hi all, hence the name i have no ideas about cars. I bought my Brava a couple of weeks back for a bargain after selling my Toyota MR2 (n) In this time i have had only a few journeys where the speedo has worked how it should.

When driving along sometimes the speedo will drop to 0mph and the mileage digital display goes dimm, (sometimes lit but no numbers displayed) - so you can just make out the numbers and also doesnt increase when driving!!! Therefore i assume this car has done more miles then it says. Sometimes if i pull over and turn the engine off, wait a few mins and restart it rectifies this problem. Sometimes i cant cure it :bang: . Once by turning the lights off the mileage and speedo came back to life! I have read as many posts on 11 pages of this forum in regards to this problem but never actually find someone saying they fixed it!!

It has been mentioned to me about changing the dash as the dash (binacle thing) is the problem. Is this expensive and necassary?? I have sprayed all connectors under the bonnet i could see (and the speedo one) and fuse box with electrical contact cleaner and this helped for a couple of days of speedo driving but now it is as sparadic as can be again.

Please help me out - i would greatly appreciate it (y)
 
NoIdea said:
Hi all, hence the name i have no ideas about cars. I bought my Brava a couple of weeks back for a bargain after selling my Toyota MR2 (n) In this time i have had only a few journeys where the speedo has worked how it should.

When driving along sometimes the speedo will drop to 0mph and the mileage digital display goes dimm, (sometimes lit but no numbers displayed) - so you can just make out the numbers and also doesnt increase when driving!!! Therefore i assume this car has done more miles then it says. Sometimes if i pull over and turn the engine off, wait a few mins and restart it rectifies this problem. Sometimes i cant cure it :bang: . Once by turning the lights off the mileage and speedo came back to life! I have read as many posts on 11 pages of this forum in regards to this problem but never actually find someone saying they fixed it!!

It has been mentioned to me about changing the dash as the dash (binacle thing) is the problem. Is this expensive and necassary?? I have sprayed all connectors under the bonnet i could see (and the speedo one) and fuse box with electrical contact cleaner and this helped for a couple of days of speedo driving but now it is as sparadic as can be again.

Please help me out - i would greatly appreciate it (y)
Click to expand...

my first action considering you have done all the contact cleaning under the bonnet would be to try and clean the connectors on the back of the clocks. remove the dials and remove the connectors and claen them all up with contact cleaner etc, then reconnect. use soemthing like a sandwich bag tie to ensure the connector plugs will stay in place (i have done this btw) and see how it goes. failing that i would have thought it will be a dial replacement
 
Thanks for the reply - last night driving home the speedo went and so did the mileage readout and in temper i hit the top of the dash and it all came back on - but this morning i hit the dash again and it didnt work.

A fiat dealership has said that it would be around £250 for a new binacle dash! Ouch i only paied £450 for the car as it was from my sisters friend. Do you think it would be worth getting a new sender unit that sits in/with the gearbox or is that gonna be a waste of money as its more likely the dash?

Again thanks for you help with this problem. :slayer:
 
a new instrument panel (binacle thing) will only cost £10-20 at a scrapyard, and is very easy to fit, and you can even have the milage adjusted easily by a mobile "milage adjustment" rogue. however i would first check the 2 connectors on the back of your instrument panel. its not uncommon for them to be the problem, although a dry joint inside the instrument panel is more often the cause, and although it can be fixed easily with a soldering iron, finding the dry joint isnt easy unless you're handy with a multimeter and you have a PCB map.
 
Well ive done nothing else to the care - no repairs nothing and the speedo and mileage has worked for 9 miles !!! WooHoo - I have most likely jinxed myself but its gonna go again sooner or later - hmmmm place your bets, lol :p
 
NoIdea said:
I have most likely jinxed myself but its gonna go again sooner or later - hmmmm place your bets, lol :p
Click to expand...

So who had a bet on of as soon as i start the engine the next day? :bang: Local breakers said a binacle would be about £40. Does it tell you how to take the dash apart in the haynes manual??
 
Yes it does - the instrument panel comes out very easily with a few screws. As above, it's a common problem and best to check the connections first before replacing it. If you get one from a scrapyard, ensure it is the same as yours as earlier ones are different - and see if you can get the price down.
 
NoIdea said:
So who had a bet on of as soon as i start the engine the next day? :bang: Local breakers said a binacle would be about £40. Does it tell you how to take the dash apart in the haynes manual??
Click to expand...

when i read the previous thread i though my bet would be 5 minutes :D

£40 is double what you'll pay if you ask around at a few places.

but as Helz said try the connectors on the back first, that often sorts it out.
 
try the connectors first, at least if it works it will save you a few squids

the clocks come out a doddle, 4 or 5 mm allen key, 3 scres along the top, then drop the steering wheel right down and a further 2. take the fuse caver off and look up into the top of the panel, you will see a phillips screw that needs to be removed, this is the screw that holds the trim in place at the air vent. pull trim forward and unplug the light adjusters from each side then get it fully out. 4 more allen keys and the clocks are free. remove connectors and refit, screw in clocks and leave like that for a lil bit once all cleaned and made sure its as should be. this way you will not have to do an entire strip down if you need to remove again

hth mate (y)
 
Andy_sx said:
the clocks come out a doddle, 4 or 5 mm allen key, 3 scres along the top, then drop the steering wheel right down and a further 2.
hth mate (y)
Click to expand...

When you say drop the steering wheel down do you mean with the tilt adjuster handle or actually undo some mouts and drop it to the floor?
 
NoIdea said:
When you say drop the steering wheel down do you mean with the tilt adjuster handle or actually undo some mouts and drop it to the floor?
Click to expand...

just the adjuster mate, if you had to strip the steering wheel off it would be a pain. not too bad but its alot of work, jusst adjust it down as far as poss and the other 2 screws become visable
 
although removing the steering wheel only involves 2 allen bolts and 1 nut so its still easy to do. the only concern is setting the airbag light off if you dont disconnect the battery first.
 
jug said:
although removing the steering wheel only involves 2 allen bolts and 1 nut so its still easy to do. the only concern is setting the airbag light off if you dont disconnect the battery first.
Click to expand...

there is that yes, and the first time you do it, even if competent with a spanner, or is that a competent spanner...., is worrying. but as it doesnt need to be done i wouldnt even consider it, more work than needed
 
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