Speedometer freaking out - Odometer not working at all

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Chantpa@gmail.com - 22 Jan 2007 00:46 GMT

What is going on?

I have a 1987 Volvo 240 wagon. And I love it. But, the car's got some
issues that are starting to p*ss me off.

My speedometer works in the morning, just fine. I drive it to work, and
in the afternoon when I drive home - nothing. It doesn't move. Then,
after driving for about 15-30 minutes, it will bounce up to whatever
speed i'm going. It's scary.

My Odometer has not been working at all.

Can this be fixed (easily and affodably)? Could I do it myself?

Help, please.

I'd like to know how fast I'm driving. The odometer's not AS important,
but I'm guessing since they failed at the same time, the problem might
be related.

Cheers.

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Michael Pardee - 22 Jan 2007 22:50 GMT

> What is going on?
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Cheers.

My guess is a bad (cracked) solder connection in the speedometer. If you are
handy with a soldering iron it is a simple job to resolder the connections;
the solder where the speedometer electrical connector attaches to the board
is a big suspect.

Mike

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Chantpa@gmail.com - 23 Jan 2007 06:40 GMT

Mike...I think you are right. When I jiggle my (broken) odometer reset
button, the speedometer jumps up to show my current speed. Weird, eh?
Sound like the issue you suspected?

Sadly, I'm not good with a solder....well, I've never attempted to
solder anything, but I'm guessing it's not my strongest talent.

I'm guessing if I were to bring it in and have someone do this for me,
they'd charge me an arm and a leg.

What d'ya reckon?

> > What is going on?
> >
[quoted text clipped - 24 lines]
>
> Mike

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James Sweet - 23 Jan 2007 08:12 GMT

> Mike...I think you are right. When I jiggle my (broken) odometer reset
> button, the speedometer jumps up to show my current speed. Weird, eh?
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> What d'ya reckon?

Call up a TV shop and tell them you have an electronic speedometer with
some cracked solder joints and ask if they'll fix it. Otherwise are
there any techie kids in your area? I fix a lot of stuff but I'm not
sure how many others like me are out there.

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carterbear1@gmail.com - 23 Jan 2007 00:31 GMT

Here's what I did to handle my broken odometer:

http://www.hyperocity.com/volvo240/volvoodometer.htm

Once you get into it you will likely find the little gear has become
mush, and is affecting the whole thing. You can call Jeff Caplan at
Odometergears.com and he can help as well. Best, Carter

> What is going on?
>
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Cheers.

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Perry Noid - 23 Jan 2007 14:26 GMT

just went thru similar problems with my '89 240... the odometer problem is
well-known: a tiny gear in the mechanism has lost one or more of the teeth,
and a replacement gear is about $25... check the other addresses for where
to buy the gear online...

as for the speedometer. It could be a bad solder joint or a cracked board.
In my case, it was one of the two electrolytic capacitors on the speedo
board. I simply replaced them with similar ones from my junk box and the
speedometer works fine again.

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