Felicia Speedo Repair Thread

[juan27]

My stepson's blue 1.3L has an inoperative odometer and no amount of jiggling of the trip button sorted it out. I found a new speedo (but not fitted yet)

 

(edit 30/12/2013)

 

So just to be clear this thread relates to a working speedometer where the odometer (aka mileometer) has stopped recording. This appears a fairly common fault.

 

Obviously if the speedometer is completely inoperative the drive from the gearbox or the cable could be at fault, or you might just find (as I did a couple of years ago after buying our first Felicia) the cable is not connected at the back of the speedo.  

 

I have identified the probable cause of the odometer issue, but not a tried and tested solution. 

[adurer]

When the reset trip button is pushed, aside of zeroing all wheels the trip meter is mechanically disengaged from speedometer/odometer mechanism. You can keep the button pushed as long as you want while moving, no gears will be smashed. The dealer probably referred to a driving safety issue, since people reached for the reset button through steering wheel spokes and caught their hand or were not able to steer suddenly.

[juan27]

OK got round to replacing the lad's speedo, he now has a Felicia with 3 miles on the clock!

 

In the interests of science I decided to take a closer look at the old one.  

 

To get to the works you need to remove the card with numbers on. Its attached with two tiny hex or torx head screws.

 

The speedo needle is a tight push fit onto the spindle, best to use the card to pull it evenly and not put a bending pressure on the spindle which is very small  diameter.

 

Time for some pictures:

Speedo with front card and needle removed...the odometer is driven by the worm drive and gear wheel top left.

 

 

Close up of odometer drive.

 

The eagle-eyed my have aready noticed the gear is not meshing correctly on the worm, and hence not driving (see below)

 

 

I was able to push it back into mesh quite easily with a small screwdriver:

 

 

I think the odometer would probably work again but not sure how long for as I don't know if the movement out of mesh is the result of wear or just a random occurrence that might not happen again. 

 

I fitted a new one as I didn't want to take the risk of having to pull the dash apart again soon (as the car "lives" 600 miles away normally) but I'm sure there must be a way of holding the gearwheel in mesh for those more dedicated to repairing than replacing

[TeflonTom]

to access the instrument cluster, the whole plastic trim dashboard trim is removed, the mounting screws are as follows.. the haynes book of lies tells you that the steering wheel needs to be removed, but it is possible to manuever this out without doing so, you just need to unplug the colour coded plugs and the speedo cable as it comes forward

 

 

[juan27]

No pics I'm afraid.

First you remove the dash panel immediately surrounding the clocks...

Its fiddly without taking the steering column shroud off but can be done..just don't force things. 

There are screws behind the centre vents and end sections of the switch banks and the little trapezoidal panel on the right. The instrument cluster is attached to the dash panel at the top with two over centre wire clips (a bit like old Grolsh bottle tops) You have to get enough clearance to loosen these then you can separate the instrument cluster and swing the dash panel up on top of the dash. I didn't need to undo any connections to the switches.

You should now be able to remove the three colour coded connectors and the speedo drive from the back of the cluster and remove the cluster. 

The speedo is held in from the back by four self tappers but you need to take off the front "glass" to take it out. To do this carefully undo the plastic clips that hold it on.

Refitting is pretty much the reverse of removal..just make sure the dash is correctly in place before tightening the screws.

Tried to be accurate but obviously don't blame me if you break something.

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[uma1998]

You can test it with a drill if needed....

[adurer]

I turned on the lights for a better view.

[juan27]

One thing to bear in mind in all of this is that the odometer is not an MOT fail, but some of the warning lights in the dash you could disturb in removing the speedo certainly are.

 

The electrical connectors are good quality and colour coded so should be fine so I don't want to put anyone off, however.... 

 

After flying off in the car yesterday the owner came back to tell me the high beam warning light had stopped working....I believe this is now an MOT fail.

 

Thankfully (as I don't really have time to take it all apart again looking for an electrical gremlin) when I tested myself it transpired he had just forgotten how to turn the headlights on.

[TeflonTom]

After flying off in the car yesterday the owner came back to tell me the high beam warning light had stopped working....I believe this is now an MOT fail.

 

yes cofirm this is true, the full beam light on the dash has to work and so does all of the speedo illumination too. otherwise it would fail an mot.. the speedo itself never used to be part of the mot test but that changed in jan 2012 and is now a testable item, the mileage odometer however is not tested.

[juan27]

Update: had to take the instruments out again as speedo illumination had gone awol. Annoying but worth checking the guages are lit (with lights on) and all the relevant warning lights are working before screwing it all up tight again.

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