Speedo reading 0, miles and trip counter not moving

[mickburkesnr]

So today Paddy the Corolla decides to give me an early christmas present. I'm driving from my moms in Birmingham on the way home and I look down to check my speed and the dial is reading 0. It says I'm not moving, when I'm quite clearly doing 30mph! I pull over and give the cable a tug to see if it's come loose, and it's fairly tight coming from the bulkhead and from the gearbox. The connection in the middle is also good, hasn't broken.

Electrically the dashboard works. Lights come on, fuel gauge is moving down and the temperature is doing it's thing of going up to 90 degrees and down half way and back up - normal for this car at the moment.

What can I do to diagnose the problem?

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Cannot remember what year and CC your rolla is, could you add it to your avatar please.

Assume yours is still an electronic speedo when you say you have checked the cable ?

Found this page on how to check the signal, looks like it might be measurable with a Digital volt meter rather than a scope...?

Its from a 2004 model so the references to the pin numbers unlikey to be the same as your car, but you should get the idea.

Think it would be easy enough to check a signal is coming out of the gearbox and tracking that wire to where it goes into the electronics so you can rule out a sensor or broken cable. 

After that, it looks a little complicated ...

 

[mickburkesnr]

Sorry kept meaning to do that, it's 1998. It isn't electrical unfortunately, it's driven by a speedo cable.

[oldcodger]

1 hour ago, mickburkesnr said:

Sorry kept meaning to do that, it's 1998. It isn't electrical unfortunately, it's driven by a speedo cable.

Well in a way thats a good thing, its got to be a break in the cable drive or the actual speedo head, surely a lot easier to fix that an electronic fault ..

Do not know this place, but clearly you can still get them repaired  http://www.speedycables.com/repairs.html

[mickburkesnr]

I don't think it's the speedo clock itself, rather than the speedo cable. Only thinking this because I reset the clock today and it worked fine, so in my mind the mechanicals of the counter might be working?

Anyone know where - apart from eBay - I can source a speedo cable from? I may try to visit a breakers tomorrow but battling with a broken boiler at the moment so not sure if I will get opportunity.

[mickburkesnr]

Life gets in the way of these things, so I haven't had chance to look around for a cable. I found one - and only one - on eBay and it's only one half of the cable. I was hoping to replace the whole cable just to make sure it's done.

Does anyone know if the speedo cable from another Toyota of the same year (1998) would fit and work in my Corolla? Something like a Starlet?

[oldcodger]

On 24/11/2016 at 11:11 PM, mickburkesnr said:

Only thinking this because I reset the clock today and it worked fine

 

Not sure what you mean there, do you mean you reset the mileometer / trip to zero ?  does it now register the miles covered as you drive along ?

Have you disconnected the cable where it goes into the speedo unit, can you see the inner cable turning  ?

[mickburkesnr]

I meant the trip counter, and it rolled back fine. To me this sort of indicated that, mechanically, the dial itself wasn't at fault.

I haven't disconnected it but I may do over the weekend as I have a friend over who can watch the cable while I drive the car.

[oldcodger]

2 hours ago, mickburkesnr said:

I meant the trip counter, and it rolled back fine. To me this sort of indicated that, mechanically, the dial itself wasn't at fault.

 

I would not have thought so, the trip reset counter is just a set of pawls that physically zero the counter, its if it started to count the miles as you drive along ?

If it clock the miles as you drive then the speedo part must be defective.

If neither work it could be either the cable or the whole speedo /trip head unit.