1997 Jetta Speedmotoer and Tachometer Repair

I recently had problems with my Speedometer and Tachometer not working. The fule guage. temp gauge, odometer, and clock still worked. The tach would not move at all and the speedo "twitched".

I read a lot of posts on various sites about fixing it. Many of the people suggested cleaning all of your ground points on your engine to fix the problem. I did this and there was no change.

Another suggestion was to remove the instrument cluster (very easy to do, just four screws) and check the wiring harness on the back of the cluster, "jiggle" it around and see if there is a bad wire. I did this and there was no change.

At this point, all of the web posts suggested that the instrument cluster was bad and should be replaced. One guy on e-bay said that he will fix your cluster for $150. Still a lot cheaper than the $300-$400 that a new one would cost.

Before you buy a new cluster or send yours off the get repaired, try this:

Remove the cluster from the car. Take the instrument cluster apart (remove the white plastic rear cover). Manually move the speedo needles and the tach needles back and forth several times. Spray the entire circuit board down, especially the speedo and tach motors, with an electronics cleaner (can be bought at Autozone). Let the board dry completely before re-installing.

It worked on my car. When I moved the speedo needle, I felt a little resistance the first time that I moved it. After that It moved much more freely. Once I put it all back togetther it worked like a charm.

For what its worth...

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Boomer
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