Odometer Is Not Working – Causes and Fixes

The Odometer and speedometer are critical parts of your automobile because they tell you how fast you travel and how far you’ve gone while driving. The Odometer, which keeps track of your vehicle’s mileage, is one of the most crucial indicators on your instrument cluster. You must confirm that your car’s mileage and Odometer are operating correctly. If your Odometer stops working, you might wonder what to do if your Odometer is not working anymore. Well, we’ve got you covered. Fortunately, the following article summarises the steps you may take to repair the digital Odometer properly.

What is An Odometer of a Vehicle?

An odometer measures the distance traveled by any automobile or other vehicle. The name “odometer” derives from the Greek phrase “way and measure.” It may be mechanical or digital and get found on the vehicle’s dashboard.

Most odometers function by keeping track of the wheel’s rotation in terms of time, such as cycles per minute or secs. The distance traveled is computed by dividing the tire circumference by the wheel revolution. Look for the little rectangle on the dashboard, which often has five or six digits, to read an odometer. Consequently, an odometer gets usually placed next to the speedometer. As a result, it is also known as an odograph.

Odometer Is Not Working – Common Reasons

There is a possibility that an odometer will break or cease to function. You may ask the most common causes of why the Odometer is not working. We will discuss the explanations depending on the type of Odometer you own.

You should know how mechanical or analog odometers function if you drive an older vehicle with one. These mechanical odometers essentially rely on gears and cables to link the output shaft in your car’s gearbox to the input gear in the instrument panel.

When the tires roll, the output shaft causes the cable to rotate, which is then picked up by the input shaft, allowing the various gears on the Odometer to move according to how they were calibrated based on the size of the car’s tires. As you can see, a mechanical odometer comprises various parts, including cables and gears, that enable the device to function.

Thus, it is simple to demonstrate how such a mechanical odometer might malfunction from there. Given that the Odometer and the speedometer depend on the exact mechanism, it is evident that the cable connecting the input gear to the output gear fails when both instruments perform poorly.

If only the Odometer is malfunctioning. However, it must be because some gears that allow the Odometer’s digits to move have worn out. In either situation, the system or mechanism that supports the operation of the Odometer and other instruments can be directly linked to the reason for the Odometer not breaking.

Using a wrong size fuse might occasionally be the primary cause of your Odometer not working. You risk having problems if you accelerate while using the incorrect size fuse.

How To Fix Your Odometer?

When your digital Odometer stops working, it causes worry and inconvenience. As a result, it is crucial to resolve the problem right away.

• Clean

Both a microfibre wipe and an air compressor got needed for the procedure. First, locate the cluster and take it out of the way. Blow away all of the dust with an air compressor. Locate the translucent plastic, then use the microfiber cloth to wipe it gently.

Consider installing extra LEDs and ensuring they operate properly to improve the illumination in the car’s cluster. In that manner, your vehicle will fail long before the Odometer becomes a problem for you again. As a result, the heater in your automobile can also be fixed or replaced, and your car will endure longer before developing new issues.

• Replace

You’ll need a screwdriver at this point. When you access a car’s cluster, you can find various plastic fasteners. Using your screwdriver, remove each of the screws fastening the engine in place. After emptying the petrol tank into a bucket, remove the engine. Find the black gear with your flathead screwdriver while positioned underneath.

Check the equipment’s condition by removing it and closely inspecting it. Occasionally, you notice cracks in the plastic clip and broken black gear. All components must first get removed before replacing the black gear, and the procedure stops the new equipment from jamming and performing improperly. Avoid overtightening the black gear when fastening it to prevent the breaking of other parts, such as thin plastic.

• Examine the Malfunction

The ECU acts as the car’s computer’s brain, regulating and examining several motor operations, including RPM. You should restart the ECU if it is the cause of the problem if it is. The ignition switch rotates in the “Auxiliary” position once the gadget has gotten installed. 

Every vehicle requires routine inspection after a specific amount of mileage. After a predetermined time, specific vehicle systems and procedures that need to be serviced or used for a longer amount of time must get replaced with new ones. It also requires that you closely monitor the Odometer. If the mileage is reasonable, it will indicate when the car needs to get serviced.

• Check the Back of the Dashboard

Lastly, for Odometer is not working, check the dashboard connector’s back at the rear of the panel to ensure that it was inserted correctly and passed the visual inspection. To obtain precise results, repeat the procedure.

Final Thought

Older autos have a lot of problems with the Odometer. As addressed above, there are several potential reasons for the odometer problems. Dirt in the odometer system, defective wires, the wrong fuse length, and broken gears are examples of such issues. These problems prevent the Odometer from spinning, which gives the driver an unpleasant sense.