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Odometer trouble

R

RedBeardedDevil

CEG'er
Joined
Sep 7, 2004
Messages
36
Location
Pensacola, FL USA
Another problem comes to mind with my 95 Mystique. The speedo, tach works fine but the odometer and trip meter only work occasionally. Seems like sometimes when I reset the trip it will work for a bit or sometimes just by its self. Where should I look to begin getting it functional again and how do I roll forward the numbers to more accurately reflect the actual miles? I see there are 2 variations on the 95, cable or electronic. Can anyone give a bit of a trouble shooting guide? The net seems to be failing me on this one.
 
http://contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=43472

The worm drive wears out over time. Thats most likely your problem due to the age of your car. Heres a how-to for it http://home.comcast.net/~10485/CEG/Contour_odometer_replacement.pdf. Check out your connections first make sure they're secure before buying anything.

Also if your speedometer is cable driven, the last number all the way to the right in your odometer will be yellow. It would be white if its electronic. There may be a difference, but I do not know for certain.
 
Well, I opened my cluster panel and realized my worm gear wasn't broken. It just slipped to the tip of the motor shaft. I meshed the gear and glued it back and test drove the car with still no result.

I opened it up again. I can use a screw driver to spin the gears and I can see main and trip odometer is rolling as I spin the gears manually. So I know the gear box is working.

Whatelse could be the reason? Is there an easy way to check the electric motor? There is 6 wires coming out of it!!!!
 
Double check connections. Also, make sure you didn't mash the gear too hard on the motor or it might not be spinning freely. I replaced my motor along with the worm gear, you might try that if you can't resolve the problem.
 
Kerry,

Did you pull the motor from another cluster and how did you install the new worm gear? Did you just push it in and let it use the friction to hold on; Or did you use any adhesive?

My motor might be shot but it is very unlikely that both wom gear and the motor failed at the same time.
 
A CEGer sold me a motor with the worm gear on it. When I tried to remove my original worm gear, it seemed like it was glued on to the shaft of the motor but it could have just been that it shrunk over time. The how-to I linked does not mention any glue, so I wouldn't use any.
 
Motor is Good!..

Motor is Good!..

Okay, I was able to confirm that the motor is working just fine. I have been thinking about how to test the motor and came up with this idea. I installed everything but left the motor dangling from the right side of the odometer visible to driver. I drove the car with the cluster barely attached to the car(with one screw only) and watched the motor gear at the same time (Not a recommended thing to do to drive and watch the gear at the same time unless you are sure you are driving on a safe road with none to minimal traffic...)
Anyways, motor is spining and it spins faster as I go faster. So I now know that my problem is gear meshing. I will remesh, clean everything and test it again.
The worst, I will buy a worm gear for $25 plus S&H. Geez, I can almost buy a whole cluster set for that amount...
Will report back...
 
Fixed!..

Fixed!..

Just an update. Everything is working just fine now. Last night, I cleaned the gear grooves and added some more lubrication(grease) and this morning, my odometer started working after a very long(I mean years long) winter sleep.
And I didn't even need to buy a worm gear; just repaired the original.
Let's see how long it will last.

Thanks to this forum again. Another small but important issue has been fixed. Many more on the way...
 
Awesome, this odometer worm gear replacement tutorial! I have exactly the same problem with my 96 Contour SE, the odometer doesn't always count on, but the remaining meters works fine. I searched the forums and found this excellent PDF. This weekend I'll take a look if the worm gear is indeed to be fixed.

Really great, the knowledge at those forums :)
 
I am debating whether or not to bother fixing it until I rebuild/replace my engine. The mileage won't legally count anymore. Then again when trying to track down my A/C-Heater problem I have to take the dash apart so I might as well fix it. Geez, I wish I could pay someone else to do it lol. Back in my 20's I used to wonder why anyone wouldn't do the work themselves. Now after many years, marriage, and kids I "know". Sorry for the slight rant.
 
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