My odometer broke and im planning to buy the gear to replace it. I read the write-up on matthews volvo site and it says check to see if it works by pressing the trip reset button. When mine first broke the trip reset still worked. Does this mean its not the gear?

 

Does the trip work now?

 

they both stopped working at same time but i was able to reset the trip to zero.

 

Sounds like the gear to me, mine did the same about 4 years ago. I replaced the gear and it worked fine.

About 2 weeks ago it stopped working again, so I just ordered the new gear from ipd...

A little tip... be very gentle with the odometer once you get it out, over the years and especially if you are in an area with some HOT summer days the plastic gets very brittle and will crack.

 

sounds good, plan to order it this week, just didnt want to rip it apart if it was something else.

 

LOL. Same trap. If you see Volvos with zeros on the trip-meter, it is a dead-giveaway for broken gear, and owner trying to get it to work. Just a tip when you buy another Volvo...

Yes, after the gear is broken, i.e. odometer no longer works, you can only reset to zeros, once obviously.

Some advice:

1- If you have a turbo gauge -- when you take out the instrument cluster, make sure unscrew the lock-ring on this gauge

2- In order to take out the cluster, I found it easier to remove the dash and prevent breakage of parts, in lieu of lifting it as shown on instructions on Matthew's Volvo site. Taking the entire dash out proved very handy when I had to drive the car in order to affix the needles in the correct spot. This meant stopping on the side of the road, pulling the cluster, adjusting needle position, several times.

3- Pull out the correct mileage from the ECU before you start this repair.

 

I don't think you can get correct milage from the ecu on the '97 models.

What do you mean by "affix the needles"?

 

After putting the needles where they were before (based on photos I took), when I started driving I noticed that the speedometer needle, RPM, and Coolant Temp did not go where they usually go. After driving the car, warming it, I knew where the Coolant Temp needed to be at, same for RPM (850 at idle). The speedometer needle took a little more work, since I used my GPS to get it right.

 

the volvo has been in my family since 99 and a year after i inherited it the odometer stopped just after passing 200k. I now need to get it ready for inspection so its time to fix it up.

 

I did the same thing and my needles are not quite right now. But I think the only one you really need to remove is the Turbo gauge. The others can stay on if I remember correctly.

 

got a gauge cluster from the junkyard for 20 bucks and swapped it in in about 20 minutes. Now I'm all set besides knowing my actual mileage.

New cluster odo at 211k. I think im currently around 220k

EDIT: If you have the key in the on position, does the CEL light light up? if so i have a bad bulb in the new cluster.

 

Yep. It should light up.

 

I recall seeing comments in the instructions that "needles don't need to come out", but I couldn't see how. Turbo gauge I messed up by not unscrewing the lock-ring. I may go back there to fix it.

It took me about 10-15 miles highway runs to get the speedo needle right. Having the entire dash-pad off made that possible.

 

Hopefully the gear from the new/used cluster will last for you. I would have just replaced the gear, especially since you were able to yank the cluster out. I guess you can combine bulbs in one good unit now.

 

Why would you take a cluster from a junk yard? Wouldn't the gear be cheaper and last longer? What is to say that the cluster you installed with 211k on it has a good gear?

 

This is getting strange. I had no idea that the needles on the cluster had to be removed and re-installed risking bad settings.

 

Maybe I did something unnecessary? Wait a minute -- you need to remove the cluster face-plate to get to the back, no? I did not take photos but see photos 21 and 22 on this link ... http://www.matthewsvolvosite.com/200...er-fix-how-to/

 

it was cheap (less than gear cost), easier than replacing the gear, and i had other problems with my other cluster so it all worked out for now.

 

Had mine fixed, but the mechanic did not set the correct mileage... (I had driven a few months before the fix)

 

Whats the best way to find mileage? I do have a usb obd II scanner, is there a software that can? Or is it a dealer thing?