Oh dear!!!

Hi there,

Well been out for a little run in the van today and I am hoping I haven't pushed her too hard!

The engine light is now on and the speedo does not appear to be working.

I am hoping it is just a wiring fault...........

I will try and look tomorrow in the daylight.

Keep your fingers crossed

that is one thing i have been told to watch. due to the small engine size.. not to push them hard. its easy (ish) for me as its my 1st ever 4 wheels owned so i cant compare it to any other cars/vans.. and i cant compare it to my bike! Chalk and cheese come to mind!

The reason the speedo isn't working might be what is causing the engine warning light to be on.

If the VSS (vehical speed sensor) isn't working the ecu might be giving an error code thus giving you the engine management warning light.

The speed sensor might be in the gearbox (the the speedo has no cable and is purely electronic)
Or it has a cable and the sensor is the speedo itself.

Shouldn't be hard to fix. You might be able to put a paperclip in the diagnostic plug and then the engine management light will flash you a code to diagnose the fault. OR you will have to plug in a OBD lead into the socket and get a laptop to read the data. Ebay may get you a lead. Bet the plug is the same as a charade or some other diahatsu wheelie bin.

I'm a bit pissed and can't be trusted in this strate.

I cant find any info on which obd your little love bus is, but if you can find the connector somewhere under the bonnet or your arse in this case, take a photo and i'll try and ttell you which it is.

If its obd1 or 0, then you can possibly use a paperclip or a little bulb/LED to flash at you (in a non sexual way)

If its obd2 then you need a proper reader lead which are about £25 off ebay (this isnt sexual at all)

I have friends (yeah really) with Vdub polos and Audi rep cruisers with persistant engine warning re-apearances. The main dealers charge sums of money to turn off a light which crack dealers would be ashamed of. Only to come back on weekes later, so they go back to their dealer for another bag of skag lights off fix.

Rant over and out

Hi there,

Thanks for your replies.

To help you a little bit with the VAG stuff.

The reason why the engine management light does come on in those nasy boche cars is that when the rear lights blow they are by some fluke or engineered error( to get you to come in the garage), it puts the engine management light on.

I discovered this in my rice burner (I have a diesel dog SEAT CORDOBA 1.9 150BHP).

Always check the rear bulbs before you take it to the dealership.

I have a tame spanner monkey who only charges £20 per hour for labour and will take a look at it this week.

I will keep you posted!

Many thanks

Chazz

Your "Spanner Monkey" hopefully does not fit my steriotyping but 90% of "mechanics" "Automotive technicial" "garage staff" are pretty innept when it comes to electronics, espically engine management. They trust their scanner tool to tell them the fault, not the symptom Half of the time they have their scanner configured incorrectly, and they other half of the time they dont understand really what its telling them! Actually pretty innept all round.

"Auto electricans" alot of the time arn't much better. Maybe I've just worked alongside the bad ones, I have worked at a fair few places and I've learnt that I cant stand the motor repair industry.

Cheers for the VAG tip, I hate european engine management systems, they are truely crap. Badly designed, over complicated, unstable peices of bosch/siemens shite. The latest honda stuff has gone down hill too (and i'm a true honda lover).

I'd say the most common cause for engine warning light appearance is due to exhaust emmisions. Most of the time its just because one of the lambda sensors has told the ecu something it doesn't want to hear. A true sign of wank management, but I think they make them over sensitive nowadays to cash in on the main dealer repair work. Dealers love fixing cars that have nothing wrong with them (e.g. servicing, oil swaps, brake consumables, turning off service lights), but give them something that has an actual fault and its like your giving them herpes.

Looking at some of the posts off another website, I think it is an electrical issue?

The speedo and fuel gauge and odometer are not working.

I am hoping it is a loose connection behind the dash (or better a fuse!), but without an electrical diagram or a manual I do not know where to begin!

Any help?

Thanks

Chazz

Sounds like it might have lost its gnd connection. I doubt its a fuse issue.

Pull the clocks out of the dash and check the multiplug(s) pushed in proper, also check the terminals are all clean.

Next thing is to trace the wiring from the dash, establish how the signals get to the clocks then work out how they source their ground. A multimeter would go along way at this point. You want to first establish the signal is there for the fuel gauge for example, a multimeter will do this for you set on volts.

Good luck, if the obvious doesn't work you can always take a load of photos of the multiplug, the back of the cluster and anything else that might help. Post them up and I might be able to guide you though if your stuck.

Topman!

I will go invest in a multi meter tomorrow.

Not my thing, messing around with wiggly amps, but I will have a try.

I think it is a loose or dirty plug.

I am sure it is something to do with the stereo headunit.

I remember there was a wire which didn't look like it belonged to the radio, so I am going to start there.

I will then look at pulling the clocks out next.

Keep you posted tomorrow.

Thanks again

Chazz

dont know if it will help, there is a wiring diagram in workshop section for download. it is for the hijet but it may give you an idea of where things go.

Hi leopard!

Belive it or not, it is an hijet underneath all that paint!

Hence I joined the forum.

It is only 660cc, so is lots of fun but doesn't go anyway particularly quick.

However I wouldn't know that anyway with the speedo not working

Thanks again

Chazz

if everyone is overtaking you on a duel carriageway.. or you have a several cars queuing behind you on a single lane...your not going over the limit.. lol

Well the dash insert and gauges were easier to access than I thought!

Didn't take gauges out fully but managed to have a look at the back of the panel and made sure the connections were firmly connected.

The fuel gauge seems to be working now anyway.

I take it that the issues with the speedo is to do with the cable?

Has anyone disconnected or changed a speed cable on these before?

I did have a look at where it goes to the engine, nothing loose or snapped apparent.

Chazz

never on a van.. twice on a motorcycle...
here's a tip i use on my bike...
tie a long enough string round one end of the cable,
pull the cable through from the other end leaving the string in the cables place.
tie string to new cable end and pull through.
this way the cable routing stays true. + a heck lot easier to do.

pull the clocks out, undo the speedo cable from the clocks... take it for a test drive and see if the inner spins

Will do tomorrow, if I get chance!

I take it that it is just a locknut attaching it?

Chazz

I've never had my hijet clocks out, but most have some sort of nut or something to turn. Dont panic! Its not rocket science

Hi again,

Well I have had the instrument panel off!!!

Access isn't too bad if you take your time.

I undid and pulled the trim cover off and undone the instrument panel retaining screws.

Basically been told that this was a dash off job!!!

Pull forward the instrument panel and disconnected two of the plugs.

Put the hazards on (mine are on top of the steering column) and pulled the panel forward to get access to the speedo cable and remaining plug.

Simply disconnect and hey presto!

Took it for a spin and the speedo drive was not rotating!

It was at this point, that i noticed a plug attached to the side of the speedo cable block(I think some people call it the combination unit).

It is a twin spade connector (I am guessing that it is positive and negative?) and having a nosey and looking at the panel, I cannot see where it connects.

Did the logical thing and had a look at the length and direction of the cable and I still can't figure it out!!!

This might be the cause of all my problems!

HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

id say maybe its a pick up for some thing?

Most cars with electronic engine management have a VSS (vehical speed sensor) somewhere, this tells the computer how fast the van is going so we know if its cruising or accelerating etc to help gain the correct fueling setup. Some cars have them in the gearbox, and dont have a speedo cable by using a speedo thats 100% electronic. From the sounds of it, your van has the VSS in the dash board attached to the speedo itself, this is a way of updating older cars to electronic engine management without having to redesign the speedo and gearbox.

I would guess you should have some wires to connect to it somewhere, if there is 100% no wires anywhere then it might have had the clocks changed from another van, your original one from the van being one that doesn't have the VSS in the dash.

Not a lot of help!

If the speedo cable has failed, and the VSS is in the dash, you will get engine warning lights coming on as the computer will get all confused due to it thinks the van is doing zero mph, but according to its other sensors its thinks the engine is working really hard. Gets its knickers in a twist!

Chazzman, did you trace the fault?? I bet that replacing your speedo cable would solve some of the problem, have you done this yet?