i bourght this punto 3 weeks and up till now i have been very happy but this afternoon i was driving along the motorway with my 2 babies in the back and all of a sudden i lost my speedo!! i was doing 70mph and for about a 3 mins the speedo said i was doing 0mph. longets 3 mins ever!! needless to say i was scared to death!! every thing went back to normal and i was able to reach my mothers. i decided to drive the car abit before putting my kids back in it, i got 15 miles before it happened again, and again lasted a minute or 2 before going back to normal, will be staying down my mothers tonight and taking car to garage round the corner in the morning before i put my babies back in this car but i would really like some general ideas of what this maybe before i got the garage. i have had a bad experience with a bad mechanic before!! please help (punto is y reg 1.2)
Technical speedo stops working every now and then!!! please help!!
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Technical speedo stops working every now and then!!! please help!!
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1 of 3 things i'd blame
1 - the speed sensor (VSS btw vehicle Speed Sensor)
2 - a dickey connection, to the rear of the cluster, or to the actual speed sensor itself
3 - The actual dash has failed
tbh, the punto's dash's dont usually fail
the dickey connection can happen on any car
the VSS, to be sounds like the culprit, but i wouldnt wanna blame it without testing when the dash isn't reading correctly
Ziggy
1 - the speed sensor (VSS btw vehicle Speed Sensor)
2 - a dickey connection, to the rear of the cluster, or to the actual speed sensor itself
3 - The actual dash has failed
tbh, the punto's dash's dont usually fail
the dickey connection can happen on any car
the VSS, to be sounds like the culprit, but i wouldnt wanna blame it without testing when the dash isn't reading correctly
Ziggy
Thank you so much for your reply, turns out theres nothing worse than walking in to a garage not having a clue at all! Bit worried now that all sounds very expensive!! when i take it to a garage in the morning will they be able to find the problem cos the problem seems to be every now and then its not all the time but i cant really wait for it to happen again and hope it is happening by the time i get to a garage! If you get what i mean Im scared to drive this car dont want to be driving it round!!!
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The actual problem with not having a working speedo is
A - risk of speeding tickets, how fast are you going?
B - its an MOT failure item, so its not actually legal to drive
Otherwise i'd stick a speedo app on the phone and drive gently home
The VSS replacement is totally DIY
all you need is a spanner
would take you a matter of minutes todo!
getting the sensor is the hard part, as thats not cheap
Ziggy
When it happens what else happens? Rev and fuel gauge die also? Mileage counter disappear, or just the speedo 
thanks for your reply my millage is digital but it has been going up and it doesn't disappear the rev counter is not affected either, when the speedo does fail the rev counter doesn't. its seems to just be the speedo!! much appreciated for all the help x
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So based on that, if the whole dash isn't failing, i'd me almost inclined to say Speed Sensor or a dodgey connection
Punto dash's hardly fail tbh....
Ziggy
Punto dash's hardly fail tbh....
Ziggy
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when you said a stereo change i nearly cried to see if you have a canbus version or not
luckily you dont (i dont think)
later models Like the 2003 onwards have a canbus controlled stereo, over the much prefered Live and ignition wires
Often fast fitters see 12v on the canbus lines and use them to power the stereo
when infact its 12v data not 12v DC
Ziggy
Um im a complete idiot when it comes to cars, do you mean no it dont matter that i have had it changed lol sorry to be a pain i have still got the one that was taken out would it be worth putting it back in and seeing, before i part with more cash at the garage?? Again thank you so much for your time hun
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im just rambaling,
Stereo removal of the upgraded one and leaving it out would a possibility if it was a canbus car, but im not 100% sure if you are or aren't
The later models got canbus, not all of them are (X reg wasn't for example)
Ziggy
If that doesn't do it, prime candidate is the connector to the speed sensor. Costs nada to clean it up inside and apply a little vaseline.
