Today, the speedometer is one of the least important parts of a car. While you can easily get by without a tachometer, if you listen to the sound of the engine, it is quite difficult to estimate a specific speed. And so you can not only risk fast and therefore dangerous driving due to a malfunctioning speedometer. You can also risk being measured and subsequently stopped by a police patrol. And this can be connected not only to the fact that you can get a fine. Among other things, it can be linked to the fact that you can also be banned from driving, not to mention a number of other complications. That is also why it is necessary to take a closer look at the malfunctioning of the speedometer itself. And that in connection with advice on how best to repair it.
The first step is to remove the dashboard
Here it usually depends on the type of your car and how the dashboard with alarms is located in the car. If we look at the universal instructions, it is usually necessary to loosen a few screws and then click the dashboard out of its location. Only then can it be removed. You need to be careful with this step as well, as it is necessary to think about the fact that specific wiring is also connected to the instrument panel. Here it is a good idea to take a picture of where each cable was located. Only then is it ideal to disconnect the given contacts and fully remove the board.
If you are not sure, it is a good idea to find the manual of your respective car at home or on the Internet. Not only that, you will find information about where the relevant dashboard screws are located. You will also find information on how to remove it. Only then will you get perfect access to the tachometer as such.
Try its functionality
First you need to find out its functionality itself. You can tell this relatively easily, as you can test whether the hand is spinning or not by the movement itself. If it does, but it's stiff, the problem won't be significantly big. It can often be just a case of clogging of the inner part or insufficient lubrication.
However, if the tachometer is really unresponsive, it can be caused primarily by either the pinion at the pinion being broken, or the pinion itself being faulty. This has a fundamental influence on the subsequent progress of our work. At this moment, we will know whether we will need spare parts, or if the problem is only that the tachometer needs to be cleaned and lubricated.
Need to get into the tachometer gearbox
In both cases, this first step is the same. And that's the effort to get into the specific gearbox of our speedometer. Here we will see with our own eyes what could be the main cause of the problem. It can be an axis, a gear, dirt, as well as it can be the motor itself. You can get to the speedometer gearbox by unscrewing the small screws. We recommend proceeding with extreme caution here. And that's not only so that you don't lose some of the parts of the gearbox, but of course also to avoid possible damage.
Spare parts are easy to find
Now, taking into account the damage, new spare parts need to be purchased. You rarely go to an original service center or other similar stores. And that, of course, for the reason that brand new tachometers are most often sold within the given locations. And not just spare parts. That's why it's a good idea to call the relevant car wreckers, where they will certainly help you. Either they have the parts available, or they will allow you to dismantle them and then buy them for a small fee.
Here we recommend considering the individual prices of the given spare parts. It may happen that the price for a complete speedometer from a junkyard will not be excessive. Exactly opposite. If you compare within the price how much a possible repair associated with significant work could cost you, it is often better to buy a whole new solution to replace. If you're only after a specific piece, continue reading our guide.
Replacement of damaged parts
Now you can focus on replacing those damaged and bad parts. This may consist in the need to glue or drill a new axis. However, it may also be necessary to replace the gear wheel itself. The tachometer as such is not so complicated that you cannot handle it yourself. What you don't forget about when replacing is definitely cleanliness, but also that you should lubricate the replaced part well with high-quality petroleum jelly. Not only will it protect the part, but it will also contribute to the fact that everything works well.
You return the speedometer to its place
Once we have everything done, we can put the tachometer back in its place. First of all, we will not forget to not only correctly, but also thoroughly connect the wiring itself. Once everything is in place, we can place the speedometer back into the dashboard. We will not forget that it is well clicked in the desired place, and logically we will not forget that it is attached with screws. Here, proceed in basically the opposite direction as when you removed the tachometer in the instrument panel. However, this step will be much easier and faster.
The last stage is just testing the functionality itself. And that won't happen any other way than if we drive the car a few kilometers and find out whether the tachometer reacts to acceleration and braking itself. If we want to be sure that it is showing correctly, we can use stationary graphic radars in many cities for an approximate measurement, just as we can ask someone close to us to drive behind us and then tell us how much speed the speedometer showed him. However, be careful about calibration and the necessary deviations that are common with tachometers today. If ours measures approximately correctly, there is definitely no need to worry about any problems.
