Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Classic Morgans (pre-CX) Speedometer not working - help please!

Nick,

Thank you. I haven’t had a chance to check all those accessories, but the heater fan is definitely working and, as I said in my original post, the LCD odometer display lights up, but the digits aren’t visible. The speedo needle doesn’t move. However I should get a chance to check all accessories and fuses tomorrow.

The lighting circuit is on a different fuse.

Update

After not using the car during our recent hot and humid spell, I took it out last week and the speedo had resumed full function.

So probably a dry joint?

All was well until I hit a pothole at 54kph and that is where the speedo needle stuck and the odometer disappeared.

Give me strength!

I would agree it sounds like a dry joint.........

Ease the dash forward an see if anything around the speedo needs attention.

The electrical connection between the sensor in the hub and the loom is under the offside wheel arch. It might be worth checking.

The sensor has an 'led' at the end which flashes dimly when it generates a signal. I don't think this is the problem, but if you can spin the front wheel in the dark with the ignition on, you should be able to see the dim flash.

It still might be a fuse with a dodgy connection. The fuse tonthose parts of the speedo is separate from the heater blower and dash button background lighting. Worth a wiggle or three :-)

If this is of any use, my turn indicator was not working altogether with the front screen heater and the hazard lights when putting the heater cable on. Mechanical Heater cable off and all worked fine.

Without further investigation I relaxed the cables behind the dash and the heater cable in an way that it does not touch the wiring any longer when switching on (which means to short its length).
Parts of the wiring harness seemed to be under some tension before.
I managed to do this without dismounting anything, just by using my hands behind the dash where the cables are, reaching from the steering column underneath on a LHD. All is good and reliable now again since half a year.

This is not a failure exploration by cause but sometimes it can be worth just to loosen things a bit. Just an idea because you describe potholes as a cause of mechanical hits.

This may just be a coincidence... But...

A pothole caused my speedometer/odometer to stop working (2012 4/4). Turns out that part of the dash loom shares a fuse with the seatbelt 'tell-tale' wiring which runs alongside the seat runners to the seatbelt sockets. When the seat jolts on the runners (pothole) it slices the wiring and shorts...

I have the same problem - it must be that time of year! Took my 2001 4/4 Zetec for a run earlier this afternoon and all seemed Ok. Stopped for some juice and when I started up again, no odometer and then when I moved off no speedo. I've since checked that all other electrics are working fine (including the tacho) and the fuses are all OK.

I've had a problem before where the speedo was OK but the odometer display intermittently went blank. In the end it went back to the factory just under two years ago and all has been OK since then until today.

Now it is both speedo and odometer.

Before I take it back again, I'd like to be sure it is the speedo itself. My car doesn't have seat belt pretensioners so there aren't any cables under the seat and that rules out at least one of the causes discussed above. I've also checked the wiring (as far as possible) behind the dash.

My understanding is that the sensor is on the gearbox. If this was faulty, the speedo wouldn't work but that wouldn't affect the odometer display - am I right?

My speedo/ odometer has just packed in as well. I did have warning light issues from new and my rev counter sits at 2,000rpm sometimes, even when it is switched off. I have had a catalogue of issues on my 2017 4/4! I am quite au fait with the colour of my engine management light. Last time there was nothing to worry about. My oil pressure gauge had a mind of its own. I wonder if it is like the Peugeots of the 1980's that had a STOP light which always went on and anyone who ever owned one just ignored it! I was needing the dealer to send me a new wiper blade as they don't seem to last particularly long either but now it looks like I will have to drive 90miles to pay them a visit! What with wearing leather, flimsy hood and cracked dashboard lacquer Morgan quality is questionable to say the least! I was told it was "bulletproof" as well! Maybe that was said tongue in cheek.

On occasions the odometer on my ‘97 +4 flickers off and on....... irrespective of whether I have the total mileage or the trip mileage function on. The first time it happened, it stayed blank for a few trips (only local), so I mentioned it to Keith at BHM, & he said that, if necessary, they would fit a spare unit and send mine away for repair - but not at that moment, as their spare was in another car whilst their speedo unit was away for repair too. Keith suggested the “hair-dryer under the dash” option, which seemed feasible, but I have a couple of low wattage greenhouse heaters which I keep on under Morgie in the winter, so I connected one up and put it on a box right under the dash...... Hey presto - next time I went to use the car, the odometer worked! Interestingly, the mileage readings had gone up, so the unit had kept reading the mileage; it was just that the odometer LCD display was on! Now, if it flickers off & not back on, I know to give it a bit of warmth to, presumably, dry it out.