Honda Car Forum

I ran into something interesting involving the instrument clusters on
the 94 to 96 Accords. These models have a problem where the
speedometer sometimes does not react properly. Sometimes it goes to
around 20 mph no matter what speed you are going and sometimes the
needle flutters and sometimes when you hit the dash, it will work for
a little while. The first place people normally look is at the Vehicle
Speed Sensor. If there is no problem there then the instrument cluster
is suspect. What I have found that has at least fixed the issue on my
Speedometer is this. There are a number of philips head screws that
are accessable on the back of the speedometer. A number of these guys
are plated with what looks like silver. These screws transmit the
signals from the main mother board forward to the Speedometer,
Odometer, Fuel Gage, and Temperature Gage. Since the whole instrument
cluster is made of plastic, an odd thing occurrs with plastic under
tension for long periods. The plastic flows to reduce tension. So when
these screws were put in originally, they were quite snug. After a
time, the screws loosen due to the reduction of tension. What I did
was snug up the screws on the backplane that are accessable on the
back side of the clustert hrough 1/2" diameter holes. You don't have
to take anything apart. Be careful. If you go nuts and overtighten
these screws you will strip out the threaded holes in the various
gages and you are cooked. Once all these screws are snug plus a
little, put the whole thing back together and it will work again. The
only caveat is that I have found this successful on my unit and it has
worked for a couple of months. If you don' have the same success, let
the group know and this can be written off as a one off fix. Since
these clusters cost at least $ 75.00 from a junk yard or $125.00 to be
repaired at a speedo shop, it is at least worth a try.