An odometer is a device that is required in your car so you can have access to how much has your car traveled. The distance that your car or any vehicle has traveled is measured by an odometer. If the odometer in your car goes wrong then you may lose control over the distance you are traveling by your car. But the plastic gears that turn an analog odometer have a tendency to break, which causes the odometer to stop spinning. There are many more cases such as this one, we will cover all the possible causes in the article down below.
In this article you will read what causes your odometer not working and what can you do in order to fix this. So, let’s dive into this article and understand the topic.
Table of Contents
What Is An Odometer How Does This Differ With Speedometer?
An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or a car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two.
A speedometer measures the speed of a vehicle in motion. It records the speed in km/hr. A speedometer helps you to keep a check on your speed and drive safely. It also helps you to approximately calculate the time you will take to reach your destination if you know the distance traveled by the vehicle.
The odometer records the distance traveled by the vehicle. Cars have two odometers, one records the total distance traveled, and the other (optional). Can be adjusted to record the distance the car is traveling. Odometer is also used by people who construct roads and survey lands. It is a single-wheeled device. The outer circumference of the wheel is exactly one meter (100cm).
Diagnosing The Problem
To diagnose where the problem is, inspect your odometer and speedometer. The issue can be there with your speed sensors if both your odometer and speedometer are not functioning well. But if only the odometer is showcasing the problems then it is the gears that drive your odometer that is causing the problem, as we have discussed that those gears are made up of plastic and are not very durable. Therefore they have a high propensity to break and after a point of time, they wear out and the odometer fails to work.
How To Repair An Odometer?
These are the following steps you can follow to repair an odometer.
- First, you need to disconnect the negative cable from your car’s battery.
- Take a flat head screwdriver and employing that level head screwdriver, delicately pry the gasket around the edge of the confront of your speedometer gage absent from the sprint and remove the gasket. Drag the complete speedometer gage out of the sprint; use caution not to detach the interfacing electrical wires when doing this. Once you’ll be able to reach behind the gage, note how the wire interfaces to it, and after that detach it by getting a handle on it close the association, and pulling it free.
- Lay the gauge confront down on your work surface and expel the screws from the back of the case with a regular-size Phillips head screwdriver. Once the screws are expelled, lift the gage out of its casing and turn it confront up on your work surface.
- Get a handle on the post that’s utilized to reset the trip odometer and delicately drag it from the gauge. Do this slowly; in the event that you’re feeling any resistance as you’re pulling, put a finger beneath the dial of the gage and press upward where the post passes through and interfaces into the engine casing. The engine casing will see like a little dark plastic box joined to the inverted side of the dial and will be partitioned from the metal lodging of the gauge in which the speedometer is contained.
- Expel the speedometer needle by squeezing the circular base of the needle and turning the needle clockwise until it stops, at that point drag up gradually and delicately whereas shaking the needle back and forward somewhat. It is exceptionally simple to twist the needle and it is fundamental that you simply take your time doing this step and don’t constrain the needle off.
- Unscrew and expel the two screws within the confront of the gage utilizing one of the scaled-down Phillips head screwdrivers from your computer repair unit. Once the screws are expelled, drag the engine casing for the odometer out from the dial.
- Drag the adapt case off the best of the engine casing. The equip case is joined to the “top” of the casing and will come off as such. Pry the odometer planetary adapt from the equip case employing a scaled-down level head screwdriver from your computer repair unit. Press your substitution to adapt into position and reassemble the gage by switching the steps you took to expel it.
Average Cost Of Repairing The Odometer
Some people are not very comfortable in repairing things by themselves or some time you really can not figure out whether the device is in the state that it can be repaired or it is bound to be replaced in such a case calling a mechanic to do that work for you is the best option. The cost of repairing can run as high as $200 – $500 if you visit a mechanic, and you must make a decision about whether this is the right option for you or not.
Conclusion
Now we know, what causes your odometer to fail and how do you repair that without calling a mechanic. If you still want to replace the odometer the cost is also mentioned above. An odometer is a really important device that does the work of measuring distance and you cannot drive with the odometer being still. So you must repair the device and never ignore that it is not working.
If you are still in some doubts you can ask them down in the comment section below. We will be happy to answer your queries.