Need help figuring out my tack problem.

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cWs306
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Need help figuring out my tack problem.

Post by cWs306 »

Hey everyone, title says most of it.. my speedo gauge isnt working.. it was working before but sometimes when id say... take a long or hard left turn at a higher speed.. it would cut out, but then when i straightened out or jerked it to the right it would kick back on.. and now it wont come on at all.. been driving with rpms for a week now.. HELP! idunno where to start, dont wanna start tearing into stuff if i dont need to. oh and before it would also do a little fluctuating sometimes. between my speed and 0. thanks for the tips. later
wytbishop
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Re: Need help figuring out my tack problem.

Post by wytbishop »

The most obvious possibilities are a) electrical short somewhere in the circuit, or b) faulty speedo drive.

b) is easy. a) is not.

Go to a junk yard and find a similar MX-3 (RS and GS have different speedo drives) and try replacing the speedo drive that goes into the top of the differential. That will cost $10 and be pretty easy to do.

If that doesn't work you will have to trace the wires in this diagram...

http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/showimg.php ... /Z-058.gif

Use a multimeter to find the short. don't know what year yours is. The wire colors may not be the same but the circuit should not be different from this.
94' RS/GS/MS/CF Monster Turbo...coming soon.
93' GS SE, the Black Beast, the former love of my life...soon to be gutted and crushed.
94' GS, black on black, now in several small pieces...and one large crushed piece.
2007 Mazda3 GT Sport --- super fun
2004 Honda RC51 --- Lost forever to some theavin' bastard
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cWs306
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Joined: May 3rd, 2010, 2:09 am
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Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Re: Need help figuring out my tack problem.

Post by cWs306 »

its a 94. my little tag thinger majiger says it :P
wytbishop
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Joined: August 25th, 2004, 2:01 am
Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Re: Need help figuring out my tack problem.

Post by wytbishop »

Well I imagine that the wire colors on a 94' are probably the same as 95' but they might not be. Either way the circuit itself will not likely have changed. Look at that diagram and you'll see that there are only 4 wires in the speed circuit. 2 from the speedo sensor (on the diff), one main power from the ignition switch and one from the ECU. If it's not the speedo sensor it pretty much has to be a bad wire.

I suppose the speedometer itself could be faulty as well but I would try the others first.
94' RS/GS/MS/CF Monster Turbo...coming soon.
93' GS SE, the Black Beast, the former love of my life...soon to be gutted and crushed.
94' GS, black on black, now in several small pieces...and one large crushed piece.
2007 Mazda3 GT Sport --- super fun
2004 Honda RC51 --- Lost forever to some theavin' bastard
My Worklog
My feedback thread
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
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