560 SEL - intermittent speedo...
 

Hi All,

I have mentioned this before, but now I really do want to tackle this. My speedo on our 1989 560SEL is intermittent. It stays on zero, and then all of the sudden jumps to life and works normally. I.e. I start the car, drive around, and ever so often it would just read zero. Then I accelerate, and wham!, it comes to life. Meanwhile the odometer works perfectly, so I know its not the signal from the cable.

Possibly a bad ground for the Speedo itself?

Sounds more like the motor that drives the speedo. INTERNAL fault, most likely requires repair OR replacement.

I guess I have no choice but to send it into one of those shops. I looked at it carefully and soldering joints all look good. I just hate it though not to be able to fix it myself....

OK I just took it apart and redid some solder joints. Put it back into the car, and I know I did not break anything, because it worked. The question now is if it will hold up, since the problem is intermittent.