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mortII
Samba Member
Joined: December 27, 2006
Posts: 65
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 Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 6:50 am Post subject: Odometer not working..help |
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| I have an 87 Vanagon and the odometer stopped working. We pulled the wheel and the cable is turning that runs from the wheel to the odometer box. But the cable is not spinning where it plugs into the odometer at the cluster. Where should I start? Replace the cable to the odometer cluster? What about the box that the cable(s) run in and out of? Is that even available? Thanks for any help you can provide. Need to repair so I can get the van inspected. |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17155
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 7:28 am Post subject: |
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Hello, you say the odometer stopped working. Can we assume the speedo needle stopped working as well? Based on your diagnosis, I would say that the speedo is completely inoperable. It is a common failure for the odometer drive gear to fail yet the speedometer works properly.
If you have the two cable setup, you will need to determine what failed. It could also be the wheel bearing cap that drives the cable. You can replace the two cable and oxs box setup with a single long cable.
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16505
Location: Brookeville, MD
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Thebeas
Samba Member
Joined: February 27, 2015
Posts: 159
Location: Mississippi
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:05 am Post subject: |
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this is an issue I need to tackle soon. My speedo is fine, but odometer has been stuck ever since I've owned mine.
I haven't done any diagnosis yet...simply marking my spot here so I can come back!
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1983 2WD 1.9 Digijet |
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dobryan
Samba Member
Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16505
Location: Brookeville, MD
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:07 am Post subject: |
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| Thebeas wrote: |
this is an issue I need to tackle soon. My speedo is fine, but odometer has been stuck ever since I've owned mine.
I haven't done any diagnosis yet...simply marking my spot here so I can come back! |
If your speedo works but the odometer does not you likely don't have a problem with the cable (otherwise you'd have no speedo either). You may have a broken gear(s) or they shifted in the odometer part. There are threads on this. You'll need to pull the cluster and look at the gears on the odo to see if you can fix it yourself.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794 |
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Thebeas
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Joined: February 27, 2015
Posts: 159
Location: Mississippi
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| Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 10:05 am Post subject: |
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yeah, I've done a little reading about it. I do believe its the gears that are broken. My trip reset button seems permanently pushed in, and read thats the main cause....people pushing it in while the vehicle is in motion.
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SyncroPedro
Samba Member
Joined: June 08, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 9:41 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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Same problem here: speedo works perfectly but neither the odometer nor trip are rotating. I just had 4 brand new tires mounted/balanced and then a 4-wheel alignment (Syncro).
My odometer is stuck at about 100 miles more than the reading at the shop when they checked the van in for the tires/alignment. Do you think they're related or coincidence?
The trip was NOT pushed while driving (by me at least) so I doubt that's the culprit. Sounds like I need to pull the cluster to see if I can align the gears and get the unit working. Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Pedro
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1990 Syncro Westy
1986 2WD Westy (Shasta) - sold |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16505
Location: Brookeville, MD
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davideric9
Samba Member
Joined: January 21, 2009
Posts: 1002
Location: Oakland CA
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| Posted: Thu May 05, 2016 10:50 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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| SyncroPedro wrote: |
Same problem here: speedo works perfectly but neither the odometer nor trip are rotating. I just had 4 brand new tires mounted/balanced and then a 4-wheel alignment (Syncro).
My odometer is stuck at about 100 miles more than the reading at the shop when they checked the van in for the tires/alignment. Do you think they're related or coincidence?
The trip was NOT pushed while driving (by me at least) so I doubt that's the culprit. Sounds like I need to pull the cluster to see if I can align the gears and get the unit working. Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Pedro |
Pedro, on the syncro the odometer is NOT connected to the wheel like the 2wd vanagon, the cable is connected to the front differential, so NO, not likely that the tire shop messed this up.
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1987 Syncro Westfalia, stock (bought 1994)
1986 Syncro Westfalia SVX, 3 knob (bought 2008)
1987 Westfalia (bought 2010)
1988 Wolfsburg GL (bought 2012) |
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
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Location: Brookeville, MD
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bluebus86
Banned
Joined: September 02, 2010
Posts: 11075
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| Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 10:08 am Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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if the rest button is stuck in, you may be able to free it by pushing it witha thin stick, maybe aball point pen tip, and wiggle it around to free it up while applying i ward pressure. some tie the button gets pushed to far in and then hangs up on the clear face plate it passes thru. a little,wiggle while pressing with a stick can often free it.
good luck
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SyncroPedro
Samba Member
Joined: June 08, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 9:22 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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Thanks Dave, will review!
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1990 Syncro Westy
1986 2WD Westy (Shasta) - sold |
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SyncroPedro
Samba Member
Joined: June 08, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 9:24 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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| bluebus86 wrote: |
if the rest button is stuck in, you may be able to free it by pushing it witha thin stick, maybe aball point pen tip, and wiggle it around to free it up while applying i ward pressure. some tie the button gets pushed to far in and then hangs up on the clear face plate it passes thru. a little,wiggle while pressing with a stick can often free it.
good luck |
I'll check the reset (trip) button as well, although as I mentioned, I rarely even use it and never while in motion. Thx!
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1990 Syncro Westy
1986 2WD Westy (Shasta) - sold |
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SyncroPedro
Samba Member
Joined: June 08, 2013
Posts: 61
Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Fri May 06, 2016 9:27 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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| davideric9 wrote: |
| SyncroPedro wrote: |
Same problem here: speedo works perfectly but neither the odometer nor trip are rotating. I just had 4 brand new tires mounted/balanced and then a 4-wheel alignment (Syncro).
My odometer is stuck at about 100 miles more than the reading at the shop when they checked the van in for the tires/alignment. Do you think they're related or coincidence?
The trip was NOT pushed while driving (by me at least) so I doubt that's the culprit. Sounds like I need to pull the cluster to see if I can align the gears and get the unit working. Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Pedro |
Pedro, on the syncro the odometer is NOT connected to the wheel like the 2wd vanagon, the cable is connected to the front differential, so NO, not likely that the tire shop messed this up. |
Thanks David, I'll dig around in the Bentley to see if I can get a picture for where/how it connects.
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1990 Syncro Westy
1986 2WD Westy (Shasta) - sold |
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85jacamper
Samba Member
Joined: August 14, 2005
Posts: 65
Location: sf bay area
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| Posted: Sat May 07, 2016 1:39 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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| If you don't want to fix it yourself, you can send it to Van Cafe. They charge $58 plus shipping. |
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defisher
Samba Member
Joined: February 22, 2008
Posts: 2
Location: Bainbridge Island, WA
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| Posted: Thu Aug 05, 2021 5:22 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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| I give many thanks to all who have posted how to fix my odometer. I just completed the job. What I had seen was that the small plastic gear that is driven by the worm gear was pushed out to the left. The metal gear on the right end of that shaft was (of course) moved left also and out of its saddle in the plastic case. I tried to move it...see if it was at all loose on the shaft and it seemed tight. I couldn't budge it. So, I just shoved the shaft and gears back to the right where they should be and installed a piece of metal to hold the plastic gear into place. I'll report back If this fails. Thanks again to all. |
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campism
Samba Member
Joined: September 07, 2007
Posts: 4492
Location: Richmond VA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:13 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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| defisher wrote: |
| I give many thanks to all who have posted how to fix my odometer. I just completed the job. What I had seen was that the small plastic gear that is driven by the worm gear was pushed out to the left. The metal gear on the right end of that shaft was (of course) moved left also and out of its saddle in the plastic case. I tried to move it...see if it was at all loose on the shaft and it seemed tight. I couldn't budge it. So, I just shoved the shaft and gears back to the right where they should be and installed a piece of metal to hold the plastic gear into place. I'll report back If this fails. Thanks again to all. |
Welcome! I had to fix mine a couple of times but it's been doing fine for thousands of miles now.
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'87 Westy in Wolfram Grey Metallic |
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SyncroHead 
Samba Member
Joined: May 23, 2005
Posts: 1145
Location: Northern Nevada
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| Posted: Fri Aug 06, 2021 3:34 pm Post subject: Re: Odometer not working..help |
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Pushing it back into place may help temporarily, but it got out of place because the axle was able to slip through the gear. The axle should be permanently affixed to the gear with no slippage. That's the part that needs to be remedied.
More information on the operation and repair of odometers here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=292298&start=140
Jim Davis
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| sphet wrote: |
| I have *no* idea what the previous owner carried in his Westy... angry donkeys? |
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