Speedo goes to Zero

Jan 28, 2006 7 Replies

Hi.



1990 Focus 45k 16i.

The faults are;


1)The speedo drops to zero when travelling . The car then splutters and the speedo corrects itself. I believe this to be the speed control sensor ?


2)But also occasionaly at the same time the digital mileage readout turns to dashes not figures. ( goes blank ) Is this a different problem or related to the speed control sensor ?



Both problems correct/return at the same time.



Any thoughts welcomed.



Best regards


16 injection. zetec We are in the UK. Cheers

You probably just need to clean the transducer on the tranny, WBMG

A very early example... :-)

Without any doubt, the VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor) has failed. This is causing both faults. It is *very* common on early cars.

Bottom line - 100UKP for a garage to replace it, or 25UKP and a fairly tricky 45minute DIY job.

The replacement will be a modified one, to stop it happening again.

If you decide to have a go, there is plenty of archived info in this group to help. Google here for VSS. Note that the retaining pin generally gets mangled during removal so make sure to get one as well. Helpfully, dealers don't normally keep them in stock!

Post again if you need further help.

Chris.

This just happened to me too. Speedo died and all lights came on the dash and odometer went to "----"

Ford replaced the car's computer - this didn't fix it. Then they replaced the instrument cluster and some other computer associated with it.

Glad it was under warranty as it took them 3 days to figure out and fix.

Good luck.

MK

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