Ford Focus - Ford Focus Mk1 Speedo not working when it's Hot - maxxoveride

Hi,

I noticed a few months ago that my speedo stopped working. The car drove fine, no loss of power or engine cutting out, it was literally just the speedo and the mileometere.

Havign read through the forums, I settled on the issue being the VSS (Variable Speed Sensor), and despite all the horror stories, I managed to replace it myself for £25 in about 15 minutes.

This solved the problem and I was very pleased with myself and drove happilly for a few months.

The same thing has happened again, almost. The speedo kept dropping out at times, but only when the weather was hot. The temp reading on the dash was normal, coolant levels normal, oil level normal, and again, no loss of power or engine management light, just the speedo and mileometer. So, I replaced the VSS again, this time the part only cost me £12.00 and it came with a lifetime warranty.

Drove the car, worked perfectly, really chuffed with myself again, and safe in the knowledge if this sensor fails I can get it replaced under warranty.

However, the day got hot, car is in direct sunlight, and low and behold the speedo is dancing about all over the place before dying again.

The speedo and the Mielometer are the only things affected. I have no engine management light coming on, there is no loss of power, the engine doesn't cut out, it's a complete mystery.

I am going to thry replaceing the dashboard, i can get a second had one for £15, but before I do I was wondering if anyone else has had similar issues and what they did to fix it.

Just had the idea to maybe get oe of those windscreen reflectors for the inside of the car for when I am parked and see if that helps, if so it is most definitely going to be an issue with the dash.

Ford Focus - Ford Focus Mk1 Speedo not working when it's Hot - Peter.N.

I would think its got to be a bad connection somewhere which is temperature sensitive, if the sensor was faulty I would have thought it would have affected the engine but you could try pulling the connector off and replacing it again, if that has any effect the poor connection could be on the plug.

Ford Focus - Ford Focus Mk1 Speedo not working when it's Hot - MikeTorque

Does the car have a lead acid battery or calcium battery fitted ?
It should be a calcium battery.

Speedos can do crazy things with a lead acid battery fitted.