Speedo Probs

Newbie Joined: Aug 19, 2003 Posts: 9 Location: uk

Hi all im new to the audi scene as I've only just bought my first audi (an s2 coupe) last week.

But already im having a few small probs with the speedo, can anyone help please...

When i got the car the speedo was working fine, it was working fine for a few days and had no problems atall..

I went to work 1 morning and noticed the speedo wasn't working atall..

When i got to work, i turned off the ignition and switched it back on, and noticed the speedo needle twitch slightly, so thought it must be working again..

At the end of the day i jumped into the car and turned ignition on, and speedo twitched slightly, so i thought cool it's fixed itself, however when i got to the road it wasn't working atall..

Whilst going along it sprang into life, but a few mins later I had to stop at petrol station, turned car off, when i came back out, it had stopped working again Sad

since then it has only worked for about 7 miles, which was last weekend when i went on a 30 mile drive, it started working fine then stopped again..

so anyone got anyideas whats wrong with it, and howmuch im looking at to fix ?????

any help would be great

thanx in advance

UltraUser Joined: Jan 21, 2003 Posts: 4228

The speedo has no cable an is controlled electronically, it may be just a case of popping the clocks out and making sure all the multi plugs are connected firmly (unplug then plug back in). Failing that then your speedos sender or the speedo itself is faulty. sorry cant help more. Evil or Very Mad

Newbie Joined: Aug 19, 2003 Posts: 9 Location: uk

cheers for help m8

any idea on price of sensor (and location of it ) and price of speedo...

is sensor the same on all audi's or different for each model ?

Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2003 11:23 pm

I just bought my first S2 also and had similar problem.

Sender is in the front diff just above the left driveshaft. Actually easy to get to. Cleaned mine and away it went

For info, new speedo is £160+vat from Vagparts !!

Newbie Joined: Aug 19, 2003 Posts: 9 Location: uk

any idea on price of the sender m8 ??? if i clean it and it still don't work

Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2003 7:08 pm

This is a common problem on the S2.

There are usually 3 common causes. First one is the instrument cluster itself. Check the condition of the paint on the dial faces. If the car has been in direct sunlight frequently, the paint starts to dry up and crack. This interferes with the needle of the speedo and prevents movement. This can be fixed by scraping off the flaking paint but eventually will probably lead to a new cluster.

Next up is the sender. This is usually caused by moisture getting into the contacts. There is a rubber boot which traps the moisture. Best to remove the sensor from the car and clean the contacts. Turn the boot inside out and dry with a hairdryer. The moisture build up is made worse if the engine has been jet washed or if the undertray is missing.

Lastly and by far the most expensive is an electrical fault on the instrument cluster. This usually results in the IC requiring replacement.

Newbie Joined: Aug 19, 2003 Posts: 9 Location: uk

thanks for the info m8

im pretty sure the paint is fine on the speedo face, it looks very clean and tidy, no craks or lifting anywhere...

the engine deffinately hasn't been jet washed (it needs doing big time) but the undertray is missing, so that is looking most likely atm..

So the sensor is on the front diff or is it on the gearbox ???

How big is it approx and what do they cost to replace if it doesn't work after i clean it up ??? also is this a maindealer part only and is it the same sensor on all audi's or is it specific to the s2 ????

Inexperienced Joined: Feb 20, 2003 Posts: 30 Location: UK

Hi there,

I've had similar problems with my speedo on a CQ 2.2 ( see my post )

Anyway, the price of the sender is approximately £15 and it is a main dealer part only...but you could try VAGparts.

I think it is the same unit that fits your car and mine...but check anyway. If you don't have any joy get in touch as I should have the part number lying around.

Regards

Jitzz

Newbie Joined: Aug 19, 2003 Posts: 9 Location: uk

cheers for the advice m8

it seems to have been a loose wire in the speedo cluster, as i took the dials out today, and just put them back and it all seems to work fine now, so fingers crossed it's sorted Very Happy