Speedometer is not reading proper speed

[caesar]

I have a 1999 36 ft. Alpine Coach and I noticed that the speed indicated on the speedometer is not correct. It is off by about 15 mph when traveling around 55. Can anyone offer solutions?

Thanks

Caesar

[caesar]

I have a 1999 36 ft. Alpine Coach and I noticed that the speed indicated on the speedometer is not correct. It is off by about 15 mph when traveling around 55. Can anyone offer solutions?

Thanks

Caesar

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello & Welcome Caesar:

If the speedometer is off you should take the coach to a Cummins Dealer and they can recalibrate the Speedometer so it will read the correct speed. It may be possible that your Alpine may have a defective speedometer head as many of them did including my 2001 FDDS, Alpine it now on its third speedometer head. WRV may still warranty the speedometer head if it is defective. You may want to call them and ask.

Dave

[caesar]

Thanks for the feedback. Do you know if I can get to the speedometer head through the front or do I have to remove the dash?

Caesar

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello Caesar:

I believe that the instrumentation on the 1999 is the same on the 2001. If you remove the screws from the front of the dash board instrumentation cluster, it should pull out and you can reach the screws which hold the speedometer in, loosen them and the speedometer will come out. When mine was replaced it took the technician less than 30 minutes to R&R.

Dave

[quikduk]

I have the same issues with my Spartan chassis MH. I have VDO instruments and the speedo was apparently changed since it is different in appearance. It does a "pre-test" with a double sweep of the needle at start up. When going down the road, it never gets over 13mph.

I will check the connections on the back and see but are there any adjustments for these or could the head unit or speed sensor be bad? I pulled the Weatherpack connectors on the tranny and they are clean and tight. BTW, I believe the one closest to the flywheel is the engine speed sensor for the tach. while the one nearest the tailshaft is the speedo sensor.

Could the speed sensor and "new" speedo be mis- matched? I will try to contact two speedo repair places I know of to see what they think but I'll probably have to get the model #'s off of it first.

BTW, the trim ring is about 1/4" wide and flat, the dial has white mph numbers with orange km/h numbers below and it has a digital window on the bottom center with the trip meter and "possibly" mileage...but it doesn't show up.

[rmmpe]

I put VDO Electronic gauges in my modified Austin-Healey because they could be calibrated at any time. I don't remember off-hand what the process was and the manual went with the car when I sold it.
The digital readout at the bottom has trip and total mileage choices and I found the unit to be quite accurate.
However, if the battery is disconnected, the unit must be reset to operate properly.

I'd suggest you go to an auto parts store that sells VDO and ask if you can look at a manual. You will find the calibration method in it. Actually, you might find the process on the VDO web-site.

I'd bet good money you don't have a problem other than not knowing how to calibrate the Speedometer.

[rmmpe]

Caesar,
I have a copy of the manual and can E-mail it to you if you like. All I need is an E-mail address.

Or you can "Google" it under "VDO electronic speedometer" like I did. Hopefully, you have the newer model Speedo, which is a lot easier to calibrate.

If I can help, let me know.

[quikduk]

I'll root around on the web and see what I can find out. I figured it was a calibration issue and hopefully I can find the procedure. The dealer changed out some of the batteries prior to us purchasing the unit which explains why the odometer had zero mileage on it yet the coach was supposed to have around 78K. I'll have to investigate and see if I can program the head unit for near the correct mileage.

Thanks.

[quikduk]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by rmmpe:
Caesar,
I have a copy of the manual and can E-mail it to you if you like. All I need is an E-mail address.

Or you can "Google" it under "VDO electronic speedometer" like I did. Hopefully, you have the newer model Speedo, which is a lot easier to calibrate.

If I can help, let me know. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I would also greatly appreciate the manual via email if you can send it. My address at work is:

khylin@ae.sbcounty.gov

Thanks.

[rmmpe]

Expect it within the next 5 minutes.

[Gene D]

Caesar:

I just noticed your post concerning the speedometer in your '99 Alpine. My '99 FDS odometer failed, and unable to get a replacement (or help) from Western RV, I replaced the dash speedometer (which contained an odometer) with an off-the-shelf speedometer and tachometer to match, which was made by another manufacturer.Consequently, I have a '99 Alpine Speedometer and tachometer for sale.
Concerning removal of the instruments from the dash---the rear cover of the instrument panel will pry up for access.----Gene

[quikduk]

I think I forgot to post in the correct location re: my "solution" to this problem on my Gulfstream. Thanks to Bob Mahon, I got his copy of the calibration instructions, called Spartan to get the right figures and re-calibrated the speedo myself in about 2 minutes.

It now reads the speed perfectly.

Thanks again Bob!

Ken

[rmmpe]

You are very welcome Ken. Just glad I could be of help.

Safe travels.