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speedometer

8K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  rob the elder 
#1 ·
While driving my '07 GXP I passes a nieghborhood speed informer. It read 26 mph but my speedo was at 19. This is quite a difference, and had it been a policeman with a IR gun I would have gotten a speeding ticket.

Do I need to replace my gauge cluster? My bud said the "stepper" went bad.
Any input or a How-To? Anyone know what a calibration is?
 
#2 ·
I doubt that it is your car, there is a bit of variance but those radars have to be calibrated from time to time and they usually aren't. The city will usually just move them from place to place that are considered a trouble spot, but when normal radars are recommended to be calibrated once a day and those go months or years without. What I recommend you do if you have a smart phone just download a GPS app and see what it says.
 
#3 ·
:agree: or borrow a GPS unit (if you don't already have one) and cross check the mph on that.

Our cars get the speed reading off the transmission which is converted to an electrical signal via the ECM and sent to the speedo. Extremely unlikely it's the cluster, if there is an error.
 
#4 ·
The speedo on my 1st 1K Solstice reads 3 to 5 MPH slower than actual at all speeds, as measured by two different GPS devices as well as using the old method of a stopwatch and mile markers on the highway.

Current speedos do not have a "stepper", but are driven electronically.

.
 
#5 ·
Today I replaced the speed sensor, but did not fix, as I can just "feel" I am going much faster than the gauge reads. one bolt and a two wire connector. Nice clean fluid. I put a couple drops of trans fluid & a light film of petroleum jelly on the O-ring.

I need to do some thing as wife occasionly borrows her ( my Lil Girl) GXP.
My town is loaded with government cameras. We get ticket$$, in the mail.
 
#7 ·
Hey....no fair!! I was going to ask that question! :agree:

If not rims, what about tires? Do you have the original sized tires on it? Not that that would make a 6mph difference at 25....

If you can't figure it out, just wear a blue wig everytime you drive and then fight the ticket when you get it in the mail!! :lol:
 
#8 ·
Bills86e : Today I replaced the speed sensor, but did not fix, as I can just "feel" I am going much faster than the gauge reads. ......
You are kidding, right ?

Have you seen the same reading on the "speed informer" several times, including when you have been the only one on the road ? Those things, as has been pointed out, are notoriously inaccurate, and can deliver false readings due to other cars or trucks within their range.

Are you passing everything else on the road when your speedometer indicates that you are travelling at the speed limit ?

Your seat-of-the-pants speedometer is essentially worthless, and I certainly wouldn't replace parts based on it.

Get a GPS and compare your speed to it. Get a friend to pace you and compare speedometers. Go out on a highway and use a stopwatch between mile posts.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Ahhhh... now it's starting to make sense. If your needles are below zero when your car is stopped with engine running, then I'll bet someone has had the needles off and not put them back on properly. You're gonna hafta get into the dash (pull the gauge tunnels) and take the clear cover off the gauges and pull/replace the needles to reset them at zeros. There's a trick - I wrote up the how-to for when replacing the gauge faces. Here:

--------------------
There's a real trick to getting the needles back on and aligned at zero (not as easy as you might think). This is my step-by-step guide. Follow it exactly and you'll be fine. (Whatever you do, don't replace the gauge window/dash etc, until you've driven the car and made sure your needles are aligned correctly!)

1. Start with the front clear screen (still) off (wiring connector plugged into the back off the cluster if you removed it), ignition off.
2. VERY lightly place at least one needle(s) on shaft(s) at roughly the 0 position. DO NOT PRESS DOWN (you will need to adjust placement later). This will allow you to see what's happening in the next step.
3. Turn on ignition and then off again, wait ~20 secs for the needles to settle to their 'negative' position (below 0's).
4. Turn on ignition and fake start the car by turning key to the start postion with foot off the clutch (if you have an autobox, I guess you can start the car and turn it off again). Needles will do the test sweep and return to zero.
5. Turn off ignition. During the 15secs or so while all needle shafts are at their zero positions, gently remove and replace needles to point exactly at zeros and push the needles down on shafts - but no more than halfway. NOTE: be careful, it's easy to knock/turn the stepper motor shafts round while doing this and you'll have to repeat. If you run out of time just do one or two of the needles at once.
6. Repeat steps from 3. above to verify that needles are set correctly. If not remove/repeat. If they are correct, then push down all the way. Then test again!
7. Clip clear screen back on and put everything back together.

(Doesn't matter how much gas you have, gas gauge will read 0 at step 5.)
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#12 ·
Tomato-

Is this just a " slipped needle " ? Would blue or red Loctite help? Should I make a 90*
pry tool to lift the needle? Any more "care" info to not lose the four rubber legs on tunnel bottom you had mentioned ? This makes me a bit hesitant, as to when tunnels are pulled.

Could I achieve the same results by starting engine, pulling off the needle and reposition it & press it down?

You are a gem to the forum members, I Thank You and I wish you a Joyous Holiday!

Bills86e
 
#14 ·
Tomato-

Is this just a " slipped needle " ? Would blue or red Loctite help? Should I make a 90*
pry tool to lift the needle? Any more "care" info to not lose the four rubber legs on tunnel bottom you had mentioned ? This makes me a bit hesitant, as to when tunnels are pulled.
Well, I don't know how the needle got shifted, but I doubt it would shift in normal use, it's a pretty tight fit. I doubt that loctite would do any better.

No, you won't need a pry bar to remove the needles, just follow the directions in that first video that RtE posted... twist them off anti-clockwise, while pulling up. One thing to add to that video, though, is if you are doing this from the front (i.e. just removing the tunnels, but not the whole cluster) you can just remove the clear lens from the front/top (you can see the 7 clips in that video at the 15sec mark and on - 3 at top 2 at bottom, 2 at sides) by prying gently at the clips with a small screwdriver or your fingernails.

As for the rubber bumpers on the tunnels, you can pull the tunnels out halfway from the dash (again they are just clipped in with barbed moldings). Once halfway out, you can reach in and just pull each of the four rubber caps off the posts, then set them aside and pull the tunnels out the rest of the way. I actually just get a finger over each cap to hold it in place when I pull the tunnels out in the second stage - the caps only get scraped off as they come out past the circular cutout in the dash (at the end of the pull).

Could I achieve the same results by starting engine, pulling off the needle and reposition it & press it down?
If only the speedo needle needs to be replaced, then I guess the answer is yes. Start the car and while parked (obviously :)) replace the needle. I think you can still shift the stepper motor if not careful, so I'd still only push on halfway and go through the stop-ignition off-wait-restart cycle to confirm you have it correct, before you reseat all the way.
 
#15 ·
I like that, remember the clearance to faceplate BEFORE removeing needle, so as to not push too far down!
Is there enough room after pulling tubes out to reach under and unsnap? I have big glove-like hands. And enough to get the plastic cover shield out? It looked perty big in the video.

A BIG THANKS
 
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