Intermittent odometer

[Alex E24 E30]

I've begun to notice, particularly on long drives, that the odometer will simply stop working. I've taken the cluster out before to inspect the gears, and they are in surprisingly good shape. It's gotten pretty bad though, as it'll only work for about the first tenth of a mile that I drive daily, and I'd like to get the problem sorted.

Could this be as simple as reflowing the connections on the board, or am I looking at another issue here?

I've also seen a correlation where the speedometer needle becomes finicky (bounces up and down +-5mph and reads about an average of 10 mph lower than the actual apeed) and the odometer, if functioning, ceases to work. Ain't electricity grand?


Alex

[tlister67]

I doubt this is related but mine only works when it is cold. Like the first few miles in the early morning. I have not had the speedo out to check but am guessing it is a broken gear since mine is all mechanical (E12).

[roycel]

read the fourth post down in the following link:

http://bigcoupe.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8010&highlight=reed

[Layne]

I doubt this is related but mine only works when it is cold. Like the first few miles in the early morning. I have not had the speedo out to check but am guessing it is a broken gear since mine is all mechanical (E12).

It's definitely a gear on your E12. On the mechanical ones a gear will get loose on it's shaft and the cold shrinks the gear so it fits tighter for a bit. The more wheels you turn the more force it takes, so they always end up stopping at the 9 tenths on the trip odo.

The big coupe link is for a speedometer problem, and alex says he's having an odometer problem. I doubt it's the same cause. I'm betting it's still the gears.

[Alex E24 E30]

I'll pull out the cluster again and take another look at it. It's been dying out on long trips since I've owned it, which is why I took the unit out originally. I've been so busy since, though, that it's become a back-burner issue until now. By long trip, I mean in excess of 100 miles. Sometimes it would work fine up to 150, then it would just quit. Other times it wouldn't make it past 40 miles before stopping. Could it be that the trip gear is sliding sideways on the shaft somehow? Just enough to disengage it at times?


Alex