Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting re-zero gauge needles

If you are going to do it on jackstands, there is one thing you need to watch out for. When your speedo reads say 30mph, your tires will be spinning at 60mph. If you bring it up to 60mph, those tires will be spinning at 120!

There is no way (and need) to adjust the needle - the circuit turns it (tries to) a given angle corresponding to your speed. So if it was at zero when you started, it'll read correct.

What usually the problem is that when you put back the needle, you might've pushed the needle to the pin too strongly (very easy to do) and too much effort is needed to turn it (i.e. sticks)
Try disassemble it and put it back gently.

Typical symptom of this problem is that the needle is 'jumping': doesn't move gradually, but it stays let's say at 20 and when you increase speed suddenly jumps to 30 or so.

Tiv

my needle doesn't jump whatsoever.....

in fact - there is plenty of room for the needle to move.

i went for a ride with a friend and as he was going 65mph - in order for me to stay level with him, I had to get to 70mph.

I am 5 mph off from the get go.
all the way from 20 mph to 90mph....I'm 5 off.

however, i do notice that it doesn't sit on the odo trip "pushy thingy" That could be my discrepency.

I will fix it on Sunday.

Thanks all.

i had the same problem when i changed my speedometer color from green to blue...it was off big time cuz i had to take off the needles...i fixed it by taking the needle off and moving the small pin it goes onto a lil bit at a time w/a needle nose pliers till it rolled back to zero...it takes a lil playing with but you can get it to work...mine is right on now

I did this to zero the speedometer. Pull the needle off. Turn on the ignition. The speedometer mechanism will move to zero. Push the needle onto the speedometer slightly, with the point about 1/2 inch below the peg (10 mph mark) in the dial face. That should be about where zero should be. Don't push the needle too far down, because the needle won't be able to pass over the peg. Turn off the ignition and rotate the needle pass the peg. Push the needle down to where it normally rests. Let go. The needle should rest of the peg. When the car gets rolling, the needle will start moving at about 10 mph. It may take a try or two it absolutely spot on. I went through this process when I replaced the elctronic guts of my speedometer. I got the needle pretty close on the second try. I'm only about 1-2 miles off. I used a tach reading of 2750 in fifth gear (MTX) to check the amount of error. 2750 rpm is about 65 on the highway.

Dude it could just be your tires & wheels... Since you have 17" wheels your speedo could be off....Do a search on google for tire calculator or something like that....Not sure if it will add up to 5 mph but could be close?

If you really want to know how fast you're going without resorting to a radar gun, try buying a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit. It will tell you exactly how fast you are going every second and it's pretty accurate. It's good for up to 1000mph so it even works on airplanes. Also gives you altitude.

That's how I figured out that my speedo is actually off by about 5mph on the low side! All this time I thought I was doing 65 I was actually doing 70.

I typically just use mind for hiking. Basic units are between $100-$150 which is all you'll need to determine your current speed.

Have a buddy drive at 65. Drive next to him and look at your speed. Stop your car and make the adjustments to the gauge, not the needle.

LMAO :p