04 My odometer/trip odometer stopped working. How do I fix it?
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This article is from the VW Technical FAQ, by with numerous contributions by Jan Vandenbrande others.
04 My odometer/trip odometer stopped working. How do I fix it?
A: This is an old known problem. The odometer gear which drives the 1/10 mile
splits thus no longer engages the shaft to the 1/10 mile digit wheel. You
can glue it back with epoxy (after you spend some prime time behind your
dash removing the speedometer and opening it up).
Hints on removing: A2's are a lot easier than A1's. The hardest part is
unscrewing the speedo cable. Try taking the lower dash covers off and put
your hand up from the bottom. Also I just remove the steering wheel before
working on the cluster. It makes it a whole lot easier, but be sure your
steering wheel and shaft are marked so you can get them back on the same.
Otherwise your wheel will be crooked when you drive straight.
Reinstalling is harder because you have to be sure the square drive on the
speedo matches up with the cluster. Otherwise the cable will not seat fully
or the speedo nut is hard to start.
Also, be careful to align the wiring connector before trying to insert -
it's polarized.
Other hint: I also twisted some fine wire around the flanges of the gear
(near the shaft) and put glue over the wire and flanges. Make sure to get
the gear back in the proper position under the worm gear.
Other hint: I usually go down to the junk yard and look for damaged
dashboards and speedo's. Usually one has the gear I need -- I just pry it
off -- this is a no cost item if you have a friendly junk yard owner.
Other hint: Another approach I used on my '79 Rabbit was to go to a hobby
shop and find a small pinion gear for those electric race cars. It had the
right number of teeth, and same ID, but was slightly wider and had an Allen
set screw.
I filed off the outer edges to clear the other worm gears and mounted it on
the shaft with the set screw. Looked weird, but worked OK. The gear will
cost about $3 and you need the fine Allen key wrench.
You can also send it to have it fixed at:
VDO (the OEM) in VA, (703) 665-0100
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