Speedometer Dead - I am losing it..

[EricMB]

Ordered a user VSS from Tillery for $35 shipped.. we'll see how it goes. If it doesn't work I'm trading the LR in.

[EricMB]

It wasn't the VSS.. buh-bye Disco. I'm done with this one. I'm picking up a Disco II this week. =)

[p76rangie]

Originally Posted by EricMB

It wasn't the VSS.. buh-bye Disco. I'm done with this one. I'm picking up a Disco II this week. =)

did you check that it was working before you put it in.

[brian4d]

Are there other issues? You're going to trade it in because a guage isn't working?

[Swivelball]

I think he's only had this Disco for a couple months. He's fixed a bunch of little issues. Sounds frustrated.

For $2K I think this is not atypical. Hell, for any Disco this is not atypical. There are always issues of some sort, that's part of the ownership "experience". We all bitch about them, fix them, then love them again.

If 2 months has worn the gent down, he probably ought to look at a Camry.

[TerryS]

Swivelball is probably right. If replacing a $35 part doesn't cure a problem, so you get rid of the truck likely means the poor guy wouldn't have the fortitude to deal with all the other issues an old D1 throws at him.
Since the speedo head is nothing more than a meter, measuring a voltage, my first guess would have been the VSS also. The curveball is that the guy didn't mention whether the other issues related to a bad VSS were also present, i.e. bad idle speed issues. The VSS, when it detects motion also tells the ECU to close the IACV, and let the throttle body control engine air.
The average guy won't always have a scope to diagnose electrical issues, but had he had one available, measuring the VSS is simply looking for a sawtooth pattern in a DC 15 volt range. The used VSS could have also been bad, but when the first replacement made no changes, I would have looked for corroded contacts in the chassis harness plug, and equally common issue with the lousy English version of a Molex plug. I keep driving these trucks because the fixes are often easier than buying and selling cars. Better the devil you know than the one you don't

[EricMB]

Hi guys, thank you for all of the help. You're right, I've been fixing a number of small issues since I bought the truck and getting progressively more annoyed. The major pain point for me was that none of the problems were mechanical in nature but instead were electrical. I was following electrical problems around the truck, fixing one thing and then breaking another. While I appreciate the experience of a Land Rover the electrical gremlins were getting the best of me. While troubleshooting the VSS the entire HVAC instrument panel lost illumination. I just threw in the towel at that point.. I only have so much time in my life with two kids under the age of three. Mechanical issues I don't mind and generally enjoy fixing. Chasing the electrical gremlins around and around was just pissing me off.

As a quick note -- I wasn't experiencing any of the issues that usually follow a bad VSS around (stuttering, engine problems, etc)/

So, while I appreciate the suggestion that I should get a Camery I wasn't quite ready to take that turn.. My first Land Rover (2001) never had these problems so I figure I'll take my lumps with this one and move on. I traded in this Disco towards a 2004 Disco II that so far (48 hours and counting) has been delightful.. for the time being.

Understand I appreciate this board and the mechanics on here. I just ran out of time and patience on this one.

[Swivelball]

Hey, good luck with the new Rover, Eric. My "Camry" comment was tongue in cheek, but expect issues with any Disco. It's an adventure for sure. Glad you're going to stay on to give it another shot. I think you may already be an addict, though.