Speedometer Stuck


Joehand1

Joehand1

Tungsten GT Owner
Sep 20, 2007
602
Hattiesburg, MS, USA
After 17 years and keeping car on a tender I have had my first gauge failure, the speedometer is stuck at 20 mph, will go up as I go faster and not go down as I slow down, but drop back to 20 mph when I stop. Is this most likely a speed sensor issue or a total speedometer failure?
 
Does your odometer still record miles correctly? If so, it's not the speed sensor. Been there, done that!
 
GTGuy has a fix. Contact Rich.
 
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Did you replace the battery within 2 years???

Gauge failures are hard stops...
 
It sure sounds like a mechanical/movement sticking...like a dustball or dirt/corrosion, since it moves (accurately???) above 20 mph.
 
twobjshelbys said:
Did you replace the battery within 2 years???
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More misinformation...

A low battery will effect the Gauge Control Module and could cause the inability of one or more gauges to properly "check in" (aka, get assigned an address so the GCM can communicate with the gauge throughout that start session.) When this occurs, one or more gauges will remain lifeless throughout an entire run session since the GCM neve attempts to re-establish communication. Typically, if you turn off the car and then re-start, there's enough voltage to get the GCM to do its job properly and operation of the gauges is restored. If this symptom occasionally occurs with your GT, the most common cause is a battery that is under-performing and needs to be replaced. In our experience, typical good service life of the correct Group 24 Optima battery is at least 5 years when it is sitting on a tender.

The problem described above is independent of an actual gauge failure. When a gauge failure occurs, it sometimes starts out as a "sticky" needle that gets progressively worse and then it eventually fails.

If you experience an inoperative gauge, try turning off the car and re-starting. If the gauge starts to work again, you should think about replacing your battery. If after several start cycles the SAME gauge continues to be inoperative, then it is most likely the gauge that has failed. You should NEVER purchase the smaller gauges through Ford as you will just receive another "Version 1" gauge that is prone to failure. Instead, these gauges should be purchased from AutoMeter directly. To the best of my knowledge, a "Version 2" gauge has never failed. As for replacing the Speedo or Tach, the only "new" choice is directly from Ford. Some of you know that we used to offer a repair service for these gauges but the issue was that the (well known) vendor providing the internal parts was way too unreliable/unresponsive/disinterested when it came to supporting their parts so we stopped this service. There's no joy for anyone when the gauge panel needs to be removed multiple times to repair failed parts.

Note: The circular-shaped PLASTIC piece that serves as the hood for the gauge cluster (and which can be easily scratched when removing the gauge panel) now lists for more than $3200. I think it is the most $/lb part that I am aware of on the GT.
 
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I have a version 2 vacuum / boost gauge that failed...

Kansas broke my Autometer vacuum gauge

I'm thinking my car is cursed... Speedhut speedometer died years ago (2010) and I replaced the Speedhut's with a full set of the replacement Autometer gauges, stock speedometer and tach. This last weekend on a trip to a car show in Liberal KS, the vacuum gauge started reading close to 30 inch...
www.fordgtforum.com www.fordgtforum.com
 
Joe Dozzo said:
I have a version 2 vacuum / boost gauge that failed...

Kansas broke my Autometer vacuum gauge

I'm thinking my car is cursed... Speedhut speedometer died years ago (2010) and I replaced the Speedhut's with a full set of the replacement Autometer gauges, stock speedometer and tach. This last weekend on a trip to a car show in Liberal KS, the vacuum gauge started reading close to 30 inch...
www.fordgtforum.com www.fordgtforum.com
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Version 2 from Autometer?
 
Joe Dozzo said:
I have a version 2 vacuum / boost gauge that failed...

Kansas broke my Autometer vacuum gauge

I'm thinking my car is cursed... Speedhut speedometer died years ago (2010) and I replaced the Speedhut's with a full set of the replacement Autometer gauges, stock speedometer and tach. This last weekend on a trip to a car show in Liberal KS, the vacuum gauge started reading close to 30 inch...
www.fordgtforum.com www.fordgtforum.com
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Are you putting 30#s to it?
 
So the plastic binnacle around the gauge panel is $3200??? That's absurd, and a good example of a part that can be 3D printed for a fraction of that price.
 
Yes, definitely a Version 2 and no, no way I'm putting out 30lbs of boost from a pulley / tune car. The vacuum / boost gauge behavior is completely chaotic and never reads the same range from run to run to run. It's very annoying but not enough to pull the instrument cluster again.

And no, I do not believe the gauge... Car runs - as always - stellar!
 
Because of its "hoop" shape, I think it would be an absolute bitch to 3D print....
 
Joe Dozzo said:
The vacuum / boost gauge behavior is completely chaotic and never reads the same range from run to run to run.
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Is the needle acting "sticky"? Does it behave "normally" under vacuum conditions and act up once under boost or is it just erratic all the time?
 
It behaves "normally" in that once I start the car, the needle moves smoothly between two points. Those two points, however, change every time I start the car.

And apologies - I didn't mean to hijack the original purpose of the thread.
 
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Tomcat said:
It sure sounds like a mechanical/movement sticking...like a dustball or dirt/corrosion, since it moves (accurately???) above 20 mph.
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Yes it records correctly above 20 mph but sticks at the highest mph I go until I stop then it drops back to 20 and stays there until I go above 20 again. I’ve been on a tender with new battery in past 3 years, no other gauge is malfunctioning, seems mechanical to me
 
Joehand1 said:
Yes it records correctly above 20 mph but sticks at the highest mph I go until I stop then it drops back to 20 and stays there until I go above 20 again. I’ve been on a tender with new battery in past 3 years, no other gauge is malfunctioning, seems mechanical to me
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Please let us know if changing the battery alleviates the gauge issue!!
 
HNS said:
Please let us know if changing the battery alleviates the gauge issue!!
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For sure, it will not. A bad/low battery prevents proper gauge initialization but will not fix a "sticky" gauge... which is the first symptom of a gauge failing completely.
 
I thin the Speedhut gauges are guaranteed for life.

Ed
 
Yes. And after 8 years and 50,000 miles or so, my Speedhut gauges (whole panel) are all working perfectly.
 
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