got a 95 ranger 5spd, 300+ miles on it. i have been through 2 clusters and just replaced the actual trip/odometer gauge on the speedo cluster out of a newer cluster and its still intermitenly working not working. so im thinking it has to be either the abs/speed sensor on the rear diff. or the speed sensor on the tranny. just not sure which one sends the signal for the odometer/trip, which i know reads off the speedo gauge. preciate the help!!!

 

i think its the one on the tranny...hopefully bob will chime in

 

For 95~97, it's the VSS Signal Generator - 2WD is on the right side of the transmission, 4WD is on the transfer case. The SG is driven and calibrated by small interchangeable gears similar to the way a speedometer cable is driven. So, besides the cluster, there are the gears, the wires and the SG itself to consider.

 

as always thanks bob!! I'll START there and see what that does. I think that sensor is only around $26 or so. The speedometer still works fine just for some reason its not getting the signal that operates the trip.odometer.

 

If the speedometer is working but the odo is not, then I'd say that the fault lies in the speedometer assembly and no where else. The motor in the speedo that moves the needle also drives the odometer via gears that eventually wear out and fail.

I have no explanation as to why replacing the cluster did not fix the problem except that the gears may have also failed in the replacements.

 

yeah thats what i was thinking too bob. i will say that the first cluster was gear failure due to the plastic shavings that came out when i inspected it. the second cluster had 228k on it and it worked fine for a good while then started doing the same thing. recently when i replaced the odometer/trip gauge with a 01+ odometer/trip gauge and kept the same speedo gauge its still doin the same thing. so i know the gears and little drive motor is good on the latest swap so i was tring to narrow down this prob. Its not that big of a deal but it drives me nuts when something isnt functioning the way its supposed too..lol bad thing about OCD!!!

 

downloaded a GPS speedometer/tripmeter on my phone today and drove down the interstate. The speedometer is spot on the money the tripmeter is about 3-4 tenths of a mile off slower. meaning that the trip on my truck turns slower than it should WHEN its working!??????

 

Over what mile interval are you seeing this 3-4 tenths difference? Your speedometer can be off by just a hair. I'm sure your GPS just shows whole number speed, unless you are doing under 10 mph. Since the gauge in your truck is analog you could think your gauge is showing right at 60 mph but it could actually be 59.5 mph. But you would still think your gauge is right on your speedometer. Plus the GPS rounds its speed. This would be the reason for the small difference in the tripmeter.

 

i see your point but you can actually see the tripmeter slow down even at keeping a steady speed of 70mph on speedometer then the tripmeter will just stop working all together then start back when it feel good and ready...lol

 

could anyone throw me a bone as to why my speedometer works all the time but my trip/odometer doesn't? and i know its not the gears in the cluster.

 

If the speedometer works, then the VSS Signal Generator, its transmission drive gear and the wires between the SG and the cluster must all be OK. I know that you don't want to hear it but it would seem that the problem must be unrelated to the speedometer.

The way I see it, there's nothing left except the gear drive from the odometer motor or the motor itself.

Replacement worm gears are available from several sources but they are not cheap. I don't know that anyone sells the odometer motor separately.

http://www.speedometergears.com/ford-odometer-gears

http://www.odometergears.com/product...nger+95-03/111

 

LOL!! no i dont mind hearing that bob.......but im one of the ones that believe theres a rhyme and reason to most everything too. there has to be a reason why its doin whats its doin even if it is something simple or complicated that hasnt been seen often or at all, which is usually my luck!! i have replaced worm gears and motor, but im still having same results. It MAY be something in wireing or and connector even though that doesnt make sense because the speedo is working.

 

OK, then how about reinstalling the other cluster with the new odo motor and gears? That should eliminate any electrical problems within the cluster.

 

the org. cluster i had had no tach...the odo/trip completely quit working...(due to worm gear) installed 01+ cluster but tach and temp gauge were off...same result though on odo/trip...then i installed 95 cluster with tach worked great for awhile then it started doing same thing...so i removed odo/trip with motor...worked good for about an hr then started same thing again...lol