Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again)

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Wed 24 Sep 2003 14:04
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - Ian-B
I had this problem about a year ago - speedo suddenly fluctuates & drops to zero for a time then comes to life again, I took the instrument panel out & checked any obvious connections & it seemed to behave - until now..
to add to the fun the rev counter sometimes joins in briefly on the fluctating bit and this morning the fuel gauge had a quick flutter as well, when they all go it's in sync as if there's a loose connection (earth?) somewhere, although only the speedo actually stops reading & this can last from 5 seconds to a minute or so and then it all seems normal again.

please- any ideas/suggestions welcome as to where to look first, apart from the obvious potential to be over any speed limits I'm concerned as to what's happening in the background electrically.

Thanks

Ian
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Wed 24 Sep 2003 16:16
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - David Horn
Do you get any other electrical problem when this happens? Eg, electric windows not working, headlights flickering etc?
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Wed 24 Sep 2003 16:27
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - Ian-B
Certainly no problems re the lights, I'll check windows & sunroof next time it happens - if it occurs over any noticeable distance I'll try and see if the trip meter stops reading at the same time,
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Thu 25 Sep 2003 09:22
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - Ian-B
Windows & sunroof weren't affected when it happened this morning, but I noticed that when both speedo & rev counter dropped at the same time for a second the trip meter reset to zero - if anyone has any ideas please shout - if I need to go to a garage I will but I'd like to try & track it down myself first,
Thanks
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Mon 13 Oct 2003 13:51
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - steve suter
Hi Ian,guess what?,I have been struggling with the same problem for some time on my 1998 406 1.9 TD.Early on I changed the instrument cluster,based on the thinking that with the 3 instruments involved,it must be due to the power supply on this card.The fault was still there.Further observations are that the fault appears after a period of running,much shorter if the ambient temperature is higher,and disables the speedo but the fuel gauge and rev counter recover.(heat damge to speedo sensor/wiring-near turbo and local heat shield fitted???) In addition,the fault appears to come in when the car goes over a bump,and at times recovers.I was thinking about changing the speedo sensor,and to my surprise was told by the dealer that the kit included the local wiring.So when I get time I'm going to examine this wiring/connections in detail.If you have had any further luck,please let me know.Steves.
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Mon 13 Oct 2003 14:31
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - Altea Ego
This is an intermitant wiring connection failure. Something is loose. When you get multiple failures (ie revs counter, speedo and gauge) then it sounds like an earth connection thats going. or it could be the voltage regulator that feeds the instruments.
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Tue 14 Oct 2003 13:16
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - Ian-B
SteveS - 406 td's seem to feature on this & other forums regarding this fault, mine is a 1.8 16v petrol so I don't know if the speedo works the same way -
Renault Family - I think the earthing may be the cause but because it's intermittent it never does it at a time I can actually do something about it, I'll take the instrument pod out at the weekend & see if there's any obvious connections/earths I can clean up & tighten,
thanks for your advice chaps

Ian
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Tue 4 Oct 2005 09:32
Pug 406 speedo - playing up (again) - steve suter
I had the same problem on a '98 406 1.9d , and eventually traced it to the speedo sensor on the gearbox . The later models have a sensor type which,when failing,intermittently short circuits inside.This affects the voltage on the supply for the other instruments.Replacing the sensor completely cured the fault.You can test for this by disconnecting the sensor at the gearbox end plug.The replacement I used came from a much earlier model so compatability is not a problem.Note that the new replacement is quite expensive.Steve
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