Technical Sticking Speedo

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Technical Sticking Speedo

chas379

72 Year Old teenager
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The speedometer reading on my OH's 500 Dualogic is stuck at 20mph. Could this be a faulty Vehicle Speed Sensor. If this were to be the case are they easy to come by and how easy/difficult are they to replace. Thanks
 
The speedometer reading on my OH's 500 Dualogic is stuck at 20mph. Could this be a faulty Vehicle Speed Sensor. If this were to be the case are they easy to come by and how easy/difficult are they to replace. Thanks
This is stating the obvious, but if it's stuck at 20mph with the ignition off, then it's a mechanical fault. If it jumps to 20mph and stays there when you turn on the ignition, then it's likely to be electrical.
 
This is stating the obvious, but if it's stuck at 20mph with the ignition off, then it's a mechanical fault. If it jumps to 20mph and stays there when you turn on the ignition, then it's likely to be electrical.
The car is just 4 yrs old, no issues to date except for this. the needle is stuck at 20mph when ignition off. My OH said she heard a slight popping noise when ignition switch on/off maybe a coincidence.
 
The car is just 4 yrs old, no issues to date except for this. the needle is stuck at 20mph when ignition off. My OH said she heard a slight popping noise when ignition switch on/off maybe a coincidence.
I'd say it's just a coincidence; various relays will be triggered when the ignition is switched on and it's likely that's what she's hearing.

Assuming this is an electrically driven analogue speedo as used on the early 500's (I'm a bit out of touch with the instrumentation on the latest models), it sounds to me like excessive friction in some component in the analogue part of the speedo. If you're handy with jewellers screwdrivers, tweezers and the like, dismantling the cluster and fettling/lubricating as necessary will likely get this fixed for free.

Finding someone else you can trust to do this may possibly be as painful as giving £500 to shop4parts for a new cluster.

I've had this sort of issue on cars since the 1960's. If you oil the mechanism, the oil attracts dust, thickens, and eventually stops the pointer rotating freely. If you don't oil the mechanism, corrosion eventually stop the pointer rotating freely. Miniscule amounts of powdered dry graphite in just the right place might just provide a longer lasting fix.
 
We tried a local Independent Garage who had the car for half a day and after checking and giving the car a run, would you believe, it was working normally. However they did not want any payment for their time but mentioned if the fault came back they may possibly have to fit a new unit which is expensive, circa £900 but they can get a refurbed one for circa £450.

To date the speedo is working fine 90% of the time, My OH does have an GPS module which monitors her speed as a back up.

This is the longest time my OH has kept a 500, normally changing every 3 yrs. This one is now entering the 5th yr of ownership and to date this is the 1st problem experienced. So with this space, she may be thinking of changing???
 
Ah, the joys of BL speedos, I had to 'clock' my Montego forward by 1 mile when it reached 99,999 because the odometer jammed and caused the speedo to jump around like a frisky rabbit! They obviously never expected it to reach 100,000 miles :rolleyes:

If the car's only 4 years old it should have the tft speedo I'd have thought, might be worth posting a pic to confirm but if it's a colour display with a big digital speed readout it won't be anything mechanical.

Edit: like this:
2016-07-12_150711-jpg.91009
 
Ah, the joys of BL speedos, I had to 'clock' my Montego forward by 1 mile when it reached 99,999 because the odometer jammed and caused the speedo to jump around like a frisky rabbit! They obviously never expected it to reach 100,000 miles :rolleyes:

If the car's only 4 years old it should have the tft speedo I'd have thought, might be worth posting a pic to confirm but if it's a colour display with a big digital speed readout it won't be anything mechanical.

Edit: like this:
2016-07-12_150711-jpg.91009
Not TFT and as you can see it is stuck again.
 

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The speedo issue has now been resolved. In the end we had to revert to the main dealer and have a New unit fitted at circa £700. It was also pointed out that when it's next service is due in Nov this year the car would be 5yrs old and the recommendation would be to have the Cam belt replaced. Prior to this my OH was considering getting a new 500 but her hopes were dashed when she was told: Fiat had decided not to produce anymore 500's with Dialogic transmission from around Sept. last year, so a new Fiat is now out of the question. So mayee having to look elsewhere for other small cars with 'Auto' box. OH cannot do Manual due to Clutch operation causes discomfort, after major surgery, to left knee. So looks like end of an era for her.
 
Very late reply, but my OH managed to source a 12 month old 500 Lounge with only 450 miles on the clock so her affiliation with the 500 continues.
 
After 7 yrs of running around in petrol Tuk Tuks my Avatar has changed showing a new Electric version made by Mahindra in India. Mahindra are prominent in the field of Formula E racing, but alas I can only achieve 40mph max.
 
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