Stuck Odometer

[Zach Maggio]

OK, forgive me if you've heard this one before, but any advice on
how to remedy a stuck odometer? Bought the car, odometer worked fine. Reset the trip odometer once, and it all froze up. Everything but the odometer and the trip odometer seem normal. As wonderful a fantasy as it is to be driving a car that apparently never puts on miles, I don't think it's entirely legal.

Thanks,

Zach
92 300CE

[psfred]

Zach:

Did you reset the odometer while moving? I've busted more than one doing this, although I think they were already going! There appears to be a problem with the gears binding while you are resetting them, and that causes the zinc drive gear to start slipping on the steel drive shaft. Probably a safty feature so you don't damage the rest of the speedo head.

The drive gear for the odometer is slipping, or the little star gear that flips the next plastic wheel is missing a tooth -- both are common failures.

VDO does repairs for about $100 -- take odometer out and send in, takes about a week.

There are also other places -- PaloAlto Speedometer advertizes in Hemmings Motor News, for instance (fun publication if you've not seen it!).

If it were a W115 or W123 I'd tell you how to fix it yourself, but I've not taken one from a W124 apart yet (the 300TE trip odo is broken, main odo works still), so I've not got any specific advice.

It's legal to drive the car with no odometer as long as you don't attempt to sell the car while stating the milage is actual -- you must sign an affidavit that the odometer reading is not accurate (this is on the title in Indiana, probably in other states as well).

Lots of these VDO odometers die around 200,000 miles.

You might try punching the reset button a couple times while the car is sitting still, too -- the trip odometer on the Volvo sticks once in a while when reset and won't register until I push the button again.

Peter

[loubapache]

In Michigan, they do not require odometer reading for cars older than 10 years.

I just transferred the title of my 1987 300TD and they put zeros on the title. I asked and that was what they told me.

[can-do]

Greetings Zach,

Remove the cluster to find the real problem with the non moving odometer. I found mine in one of my Benz's with a broken end piece where the steel pin slides through the assembly numbers. A dab of JB weld on the end and it operates like new now. Generally the trip odometer can cause you havic if that's the pin piece that is stuck and then has broken. Take a look at the back of the speedo with it removed and you'll soon see the problem. If you aren't comfortable with removing this component than I suggest you send it to VDO to do the repair. Personally I like to keep as much of my hard earned green in my own pocket.

Charles

[Ron Johnstone]

Palo Alto Speedometer, 323-0243 (650) does great work. www.paspeedo.com Also try the yellow pages under "speedometer" for a local place that will do all the work for you, including removal and replacement.

[dieseldaddy]

My '81 300TD has an electronic speedo/odo and was a snap to fix!
I took it out and examined the gears. (which were VERY visible!)
The small gear and the first main (larger)gear had about as many teeth on them as a 90 year old Tennesee woman (no offense to any 90 year old Tennesee women).

I went to the local auto salvage yard and purchased a new entire instrument cluster for $40...that included the housing and all gauges. Removed the gears from the junk yard one, and swapped out the bad gears for good. First I made sure that no extra teeth were floating around! I could have just swapped out the entire assembly, but call me a purist...

Now it works like new! Best $40 I have ever spent.