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Whoops, I did it again! I tried fixing something and broke it further!

A project log for Working on a defective speedometer

A Toyota speedometer is kicking and screaming like a toddler while I try to fix it.

roflhoffROFLhoff 07/13/2023 at 02:020 Comments

So I have some rather bad news to give on this speedometer. It seems that I have broken a fine wire which connects to the PCB that comes out of the speedometer needle windings. It's not visible in this picture, but there are 4 wires that are wrapped around pin headers that were soldered to the PCB. One broke off I assume during the initial removal of the PCB. I did note that at one point, one of those pin headers slid around a significant amount when I used my solder sucker on it. It was the bottom right pin header.

You can also see how that  2-part epoxy mended the parts together.

So now the speedometer does not read correctly, in a different way now! The odometer seems fine though. I broke a little plastic tab when removing the metal can that sits over the speedometer needle windings. luckily it seems that the one remaining tab is good enough to hold it back on. I was able to reach down inside with some fine SMD tweezers and pull the broken wire into free space. Unfortunately I don't think my soldering iron can reach down and tin the wire. I will spend some time finding a replacement speedometer. Stay tuned for an update...

P.S. - If the odometer/trip odometer on your gauge is the only thing with issues, I highly recommend that you do not attempt to remove the PCB. Even if you want to replace the electrolytic capacitors, there is plenty of room to replace those without removing the PCB.

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