Wow. All that in one car??

I don't know to which Dave you are referring, but the Dave I know has the test lashup. We worked together on these years ago.

I feel your pain and when something is not well understood, I want to understand it better. That's why I dig for the specifics, and not a general criticism usually directed at VDO.

So far in my experience, the only problems with the speedometer gauge I have found NOT to be directly attributable to repair attempts, are with the 25 tooth gear becoming mushy and the plastic post retaining the service reminder counter spring. I could easily learn to add the carrier gear to this list; it just hasn't been my experience yet.

Although the solder crack defects are exacerbated by handling when attempting to repair the gauges, knowing they are potentially a problem in every old unit, responsible repair procedures should include reflowing them.

Some of the problems WE add are:

1) Not making notes of where the wires go (specifically putting the tach lead on the VSS tab.)

2) Stressing the motor-to-circuit board mounting in removing or especially replacing the odo/speedo board, jamming the rotor.

3) Failing to find each part of a broken gear.

4) Allowing magnetic particles from a work area (we used to call them iron filings) to enter the meter magnet gap.

5) Poor soldering.


Yes, I agree the mushy gear is more likely to quit gearing when the trip reset is pushed, but examining the mechanics, I do not believe the trip reset needs to be avoided after replacing with a NEW (and strong) 25-tooth gear.

We have 5 240s with electronic speedometers, and we use our trip resets. I reset them stopped or moving -- because I can observe the function and see that this is all anecdote centered on a soft gear. One big lesson I learned is there's only more experience to be gained by attempting to repair these without using a newly made gear.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Reading whilst sunbathing makes you well-red.