Vs dash trouble

[crabby]

So i picked up the vs sIII ute and on the way home i lost tacho...then speedo....fuel needle always jumps around and now the fuel guage doesnt work at all , found a fault in a plug under the dash and tacho now works but still no speedo and fuel....would it be worth just replacing the dash ofis ther something else i can try?

thanx
crabby

[haMBag]

is there a cable that runs the speedo at the back of the dash? make sure you check it at the dash and trans, also make sure you check the fuses as they can crack, so the fuse looks good but is faulty.

Hope that helps

[pjdm1980]

From VN up they are all digital and require no cables. Have you try giving it a good hard bash on top of the dash cluster?
All VN through to VS are well known for the electric on the back of the dash cracking.

[m62vpute]

Just a idea have a quick look in the engine bay area and see if any earths have come off.

[crabby]

bashed it swore at it but still didnt work lol
ill check the engine bay for earth leads , i wish it was a cable speedo as i can fix that but electrical sux when ya colorblind lol

[crabby]

local wrecker had a cluster in great nic with 159,000 on the clock so i grabed that to try figured $45 was worth a shot and i can always have a spare lol
put it in tonight and nothing changed appart fron loosing 50thou from the odometer....has to be wiring i would think, what are the odds of 2 doing exactly the same BUT that would be just my luck

tested fuses and all came up ok

so stil no fuel reading and speedo or odometer or trip counter
if i test the plug that plugs into the tank , there are 4 wires should i get a reading from all 4 with ignition on ?

i hate elec problems

crabby

[88GreenVN]

Are all 3 dash plugs up the correct way Pink black - top left on C1 & C2 and Orange White on C3 (drivers side)

Speedo signal comes in at C2#2 purple white wire. If no pulse on this wire speed sensor is dead or the wire too it and it wont count k's.

Fuel gauge wire is on C1#5 Tan wire.

[crabby]

pulled the cluster out again and have as followed

left of pic plug has top left green and second in top has pink with black stripe

center plug has top left pink with black stripe

drivers side plug has yellow and black for top left and second in has the orange and white

[IMG][/IMG]

[88GreenVN]

yes - looks correct. So thats not the problem. (if plug #1 is upside down the fuel gauge fails. If plug #3 is upside down the lights fail.)

Test purple white from speed sensor
Tan wire from sender at tank.

[crabby]

sweet will do
if i chuck the multimeter on and turn the ignition on i should get a reading , without starting the car?
thanx for the help

[crabby]

well if i got the tan wire correct it was going from 0.00 to 0.01 but not a consistant beat it was a bit iregular if that makes sence
and the purple with white wire had nothing at all
kinda think im outa my depth here lol

[88GreenVN]

I think the purple white wire comes from the speed sensor on the side of the gearbox and goes to the ECU on it's way to the dash. To test continuity you'll need some lengths of wire and jam it into the connector without damaging it. See if the signal if sent from the speed sensor can get through - same process for the fuel sender and the tan wire.

[crabby]

sweet
will check it out tomorrow , doin my head in tonight lol
thanx

[crabby]

i thought the fuel guage would show how much there is just by turning on the ignition so when i was checking it last night it didnt show it was working at all but driving to work this morning the fuel guage came on woohooo
it was slowly moving up and down slightly so i think the sender may need replacing..ordered a new speed sensor today so i can rule that out as the spedo doesnt show any readings. should get it tomorrow and be able to replace it

next thing is where do i find the speed sensor on a vs?...think ill have to by a workshop manual soon lol

[88GreenVN]

speed sensor should be on the side of the gearbox. When you get the part you will see the round shape and size.

Most fuel gauges start to "play dead" via the voltage regulator having a cracked solder joint or two. The gauge pivot pin is dry and in need or a drop of lube and last the sender unit has worn out and no longer making good contact.

[crabby]

cool , found the sensor and it was a pretty loose fit , will need to cool down before i can get in there to check it out lol
will try screwin it in toght and see how that goes , failing that the new one should be here tomorrow so i can rule that out if it doesnt work
the gauge pivot pin , is that the needle on the dash?
crabby

[88GreenVN]

cool , found the sensor and it was a pretty loose fit , will need to cool down before i can get in there to check it out lol
will try screwin it in toght and see how that goes , failing that the new one should be here tomorrow so i can rule that out if it doesnt work
the gauge pivot pin , is that the needle on the dash?
crabby

If the gauge is sticky, a drop of oil helps it move of empty smoothly.

[vhvaliantcharger]

hey crabby, i have a Vs calais iv just converted it to manual, and i have no speedo at all i have checked every thing and exhausted every resource i can find on this matter and still no good, is your dash stage 3? digital? i have tryed 2 speed censors, 2 ecu's and 2 dash's ive checked all wires in the dash to speedo still cant find anything, im about to burn it lol, also vn auto speed censors are the same as t5 manual speed censor just need to swop the gears over, when you tested the speedo reading did you have the ignition on and to test it you need to remove it from the gear box and turn it by hand or you will NOT get a reading, good luck mate and hope ya work it out also let me no if you get an answer cheers

[88GreenVN]

hey crabby, i have a Vs calais iv just converted it to manual, and i have no speedo at all i have checked every thing and exhausted every resource i can find on this matter and still no good, is your dash stage 3? digital? i have tryed 2 speed censors, 2 ecu's and 2 dash's ive checked all wires in the dash to speedo still cant find anything, im about to burn it lol, also vn auto speed censors are the same as t5 manual speed censor just need to swop the gears over, when you tested the speedo reading did you have the ignition on and to test it you need to remove it from the gear box and turn it by hand or you will NOT get a reading, good luck mate and hope ya work it out also let me no if you get an answer cheers

I think you can get patch looms for the T5 on Ebay. Cheasp too and it fixes the speedo issue.

[crabby]

im lookin for matches now lol
dash is stage 2 , looked at the stage 3 but too much trouble to convert i would imagine

got the new sensor today but its nothing like the one on the car

ordered sensor



what on the car




i looked the numbers up and found one here CoolDrive - VDO HALL EFFECT SPEED SENSOR T/S VN,VP,VR,VS,VG V6 & V8 COMMODORE/LEXCEN VDO# 12172/9A


i traced the wires coming from the sensor and two go up under the cluster and one goes up behind the glove box..the connections looked a bit dodgey and it has been connected with a couple of short wires together to get the distance so decided to cut the plugs off and directly solder them together . i did notice while doing one of the conections it hit the car frame and the speedo jumped like it was earthing out not sure what it means but i did see it move. got excited , finished soldering and went for a drive but no luck again lol

i had speedo driving the car home from buying it but now nothing

crabby

[vhvaliantcharger]

yeah mate you can get them off ebay, thats what i have done still nothing i cant get it to move at all, crabby as for you i think the speed censor they have givin you is a getrag speedo one NOT a t5 one, that back part with the three wires that comes off it, can be unscrewed and a vn auto one can be fitted to the other part with the gear on the end, inside that there is a little plastic rod in there check to see if that has broken or stripped i have heard of it happing befor, good luck mate

[crabby]

sweet , like this one GENUINE VN VG VP VR VS SS V6 V8 T5 5 SPEED SPEEDO DRIVE | eBay

[crabby]

i just asked for a vs speed sensor and thats what i got..my fault for not checking it out first

will see if i can return it and get the vn t5 auto one

[vhvaliantcharger]

yes that is the t5 one thats what you have, if your getting a new one then ask for a t5 speed censor most common in vn, vp & vr, the early vs had the t5 and the later ones had a getrag box, if you want a cheep way out witch is the same part you can get a S/H vn auto speed censor and swop that part in the link about that you posted up, they are both the same apart from the gear its self e.g (auto & manaul gears) heap of old vns around and will save you a lot of cashola id say mate

[crabby]

thanx
ill check out the new price and ring the locam holden wreckers for his as well .