I posted about a number of lighting issues my 1997 Discovery was having and recently finished getting them all working. Some of it isn't pretty but all of the lights are working enough to get an inspection. That said as I went for my final test drive before going back to the inspection station I noticed that now the speedometer isn't working. When I was testing out the lighting work I did notice one time when I turned the key that it was jumping all over the place. It stopped when I turned the key off and I never saw it happen again. So, before I spend the $100 on the VSS which from the forum posts seems to be the most common reason.. what should I check/trace/follow now? I am so tired of the problems.. what I thought was going to be a fun project of getting this rover up to speed has felt like a wild goose chase.
Thank you for your help.. and my apologies for the down attitude.. I'm just losing it. I was so excited to fix the lights to then see the speedo gone and the prospect of spending more money it just sucked the life out of me for the night.
If your odometer is still working and just the speed indicator not, it will most likely be in the instrument cluster. If none of it is working it will be in the wiring or the tranducer. If you have been playing around with the wiring, I would check the fuses first. Next check that you are getting power to the tranducer (on transfer case behind handbrake drum), unplugged one wiring should have 12 volts with the ignition on. If you have 12 volts, remove the transducer (one small bolt at the top). Connect the plug to it and switch the ignition on. Measure the voltage of the wire that did not have 12 volts when unplugged. As you spin the input into the transducer the voltage on that wire should vary. If it does you transducer should be OK and then start checking the rest of your wiring.
I finally got a chance to pull the plug on the transducer and found that it is getting power. I'm trying to get the damn transducer off now but the screw is so rusted it's making my life difficult. If the transducer is worked correctly am I looking at a problem with the speedometer itself you think? Or is there another link in the puzzle I should be looking for?
I finally got a chance to pull the plug on the transducer and found that it is getting power. I'm trying to get the damn transducer off now but the screw is so rusted it's making my life difficult. If the transducer is worked correctly am I looking at a problem with the speedometer itself you think? Or is there another link in the puzzle I should be looking for?
The middle link is the wiring. Look for damage to it or the plugs.
This is as per the RAVE CD:
The Vehicle Speed Sensor (X190) sends a signal to
the speedometer in the form of voltage pulses. The
pulses are filtered by a Vehicle Speed Sensor Buffer
inside the speedometer. The voltage alternates
between battery voltage and 0 volts 6 times per
wheel revolution. The speed sensor signal is also
sent to the Cruise Control ECU (Z121), Multifunction
Unit (MFU) (Z148) (Persian Gulf States), and the
Engine Control Module (Z132).
So you need to measure the voltage out of the transducer to see if it is pulsing the Voltage. Another check appears to be to see if the cruise control works. If the cruise control works, it is not the tranducer. But if it doesn't, it still does not prove that it is, it simply could be paid wiring, fuse, poor plug connection, etc. It just narrows out the transducer. You can forget what the others are saying about it being a common problem, they are not and prove to be reliable. They are so reliable that when I tried to locate one, just in case it was the issue, there was none in our country and Australia is the largest market for Land Rover. It was going to have to come from the UK. This gives you an indication about their reliability when they don't even bother to carry spares.
Of course his problem could be 99 different things, but 9 times out of 10 it's the VSS. It's very common for these to go bad, and even a quick web search shows this happens in AU, too. LOL.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sideview
P76, according to US stats, you're 98.3% dumbass & 1.7% wanker
I finally got a tool that fit in and could get the bolt out of the transducer. When it came off it basically fell into two pieces and had a ton of rust and debris in it. The seal seams work out as well. All that said, the voltage seems to fluctuate around when I turn it by hand. It doesn't get very high (.7 volts?) and never seems to go to zero unless I hit a lucky spot. I'm not sure if that is normal behavior or not. Also, the cruise control does NOT work.
My wife is pushing me to sell the truck now that this is going on. She thinks it's "unsafe" to drive without a speedo and two kids in the car under 3... imagine that? Do you guys think I should roll the dice and order a new transducer?
I'm not going to say for sure it's your VSS because I've never seen your truck or tested anything. Diagnosing something over the Internet is like telling someone they have high blood pressure even though you have not even hooked up a blood pressure cuff to check.
With that said, I still think it's your VSS. Call Tillery and see if he has a used one for cheap. It would be pretty shitty to buy a used VSS, but if you don't know that this is your problem, and you're short on cash, this could at least help you trouble shoot.
If the used VSS fixes your problem, buy a new one and toss the used one in your spares box. That way you will not be in this position again.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sideview
P76, according to US stats, you're 98.3% dumbass & 1.7% wanker
Thanks, 1hank1, I appreciate the responses. Trust me, I fully understand it's next to impossible to troubleshoot this stuff over the internet. I've spent so much time and money getting this car to pass inspection that having this problem happen is just so frustrating (I feel like I'm following electrical weirdness in circles).
With my luck it won't be the VSS so buying a used one is a great option. I'll give Tillery a call in the AM and see if they have a used one.
I finally got a tool that fit in and could get the bolt out of the transducer. When it came off it basically fell into two pieces and had a ton of rust and debris in it. The seal seams work out as well. All that said, the voltage seems to fluctuate around when I turn it by hand. It doesn't get very high (.7 volts?) and never seems to go to zero unless I hit a lucky spot. I'm not sure if that is normal behavior or not. Also, the cruise control does NOT work.
My wife is pushing me to sell the truck now that this is going on. She thinks it's "unsafe" to drive without a speedo and two kids in the car under 3... imagine that? Do you guys think I should roll the dice and order a new transducer?
Eric
If it is not getting higher than 0.7 volts, I would say that it is stuffed. It also should not have fallen apart. The rust sounds like an issue as well.
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Speedometer Dead - I am losing it..
I've spent so much time and money getting this car to pass inspection that having this problem happen is just so frustrating (I feel like I'm following electrical weirdness in circles). 
Linear Mode
