Odometer and trip still not working 1993 MGM

[Donal]

Got busy and took everything apart , got the instrument cluster out and apart. Just like the guys that make those replacement gears said, these gears had turned to goo. I replaced them and put the cluster back in and took it for a test drive. Odometer and trip still doesn't work. I figure , maybe I plugged the electrical connectors in backwards/ upside down. Tomorrow I'll take the connectors out and plug them in the opposite way and see if that does the trick. Is there anything else I should look at to resolve this issue?

Thanks,
Don.

[86VickyLX]

Make sure that the gears are not binding up or anything. Make sure they're fully seated where they're supposed to be. I'm assuming it's a different motor that operates the Odometer functions than the speedometer?

[Donal]

Hey 86VickyLX,
Good call! Had that thing apart and together and on and off and apart and together and on, seems like about ten times. Couldn't get it figured , so finally called those guys that make the replacement gears. Actually , I discovered that my odometer was working, I just hadn't driven quite far enough for it to turn over. The trip odometer was the one giving me fits. So anyway , I called the guys that make the gears, and spoke with one of them. As soon as he mentioned leaving a little space at the bottom of the worm gear, I knew that was it. And indeed it was! Guess I just got lucky on the odometer and didn't seat it as firmly as the trip, it seems to be working fine. Was kinda dismayed at how fragile the plastic is on these clusters. Many of the screw holes had cracks and I tried to be very careful, but wound up losing a couple screw holes anyway. They just fell apart when I attempted to put the screw back in. Local boneyard , a couple weeks ago had a cluster for $35 . Might give them a call. Hopefully won't need it but might not hurt to have a spare.

Don.

[sly]

when I lose a screw hole... I fill what's left with plastic welder epoxy and when it dries, I lightly drill the hole back open and use the screw to re-tap the hole. Works pretty good too.

[Donal]

Just took a spin around town. Odometer and trip are working as they should. I did notice the speedo needle no longer moves smoothly. It now has a jerkiness to it when it moves. Almost as if it's sticking a bit. Don't think I banged it or anything. Maybe it'll smooth out.

Don.

[sly]

that is odd... especially considering it's all electric. That makes me think there's a flaky connection from the harness to the back of the cluster. It may also be a loose VSS connection, but check the cluster first since that's what you've been messing with so much lately. If it's the same as my 93 vic, it should have a separate motor/actuator/whatever for the speedometer needle and the odometer. If it's not like that and all of it is driven by a single motor... there's some gear teeth not meshing quite right (too tight) and causing a brief binding issue.

[Donal]

That's a handy idea for redoing the holes. The speedo and each odometer has it's own power source. I think the speedo needle is likely binding somehow. If it doesn't straighten out soon, I'll prolly take it apart again and check it out. Too tired to mess with it now.

Don.

[86VickyLX]

How much did it cost for those gears mang? I wanna replace the gears in my parent's '94 Vic.

[Donal]

The cost of the four gears was $89.

Don.

[86VickyLX]

Holy fuck! And that's why the '94 is getting a tripminder!

[sly]

I went to an RC hobby store and got a 20-tooth gear for the odometer planetary (the one gear that crapped on my vic) and ground it down to the correct thickness and filled in the center hole with axle rod trimmed to length. All told, I think I spend about $10 after taxes. now holding the gear gently with some pliers and getting the axle rod to stay put... that was a trick. The epoxy I used didn't really work, but it worked well enough to get everything together. The odometer has a twitch to it (the gear isn't the same tooth style so there's a very slight bind that causes the twitch on each tooth), but it's been working fine for the last 20K miles.

If I EVER had that cluster out again (and remember to do it...) I'll take pics of the kludge.

[Donal]

I noticed my speedometer had like a jerkiness to it during acceleration or slowing down. Then I noticed my trip odometer had a jerkiness or twitch to it. I did use a pair of needle nose pliers on the worm gear to lift it up a bit to give bottom clearance, but I gripped it near the bottom, where I figured the other gear wouldn't be making contact with it. Don't know if that has anything to do with the twitch or not.

Don.

[Donal]

Oh, BTW, it does seem to be accurate, even with the twitch.

Don.

[sly]

that's good. my 93 reads +2 or +4 on any given day. Haven't figured out why either. Odo seems to be spot on though. *shrugs*

[Donal]

When I took my dash and stuff apart, I sorta remember putting a little clip off to the side. Well, everything is back together and this little clip was still sitting off to the side. I can't remember where it goes or what it's for. Does it look familiar to anybody? I'll try to upload a couple pics.