Golf Speedo Issues

fabmorretti

I have an 03 golf mk4. I have noticed that the half height display in the brightness of the instrument display can flicker slightly. I have also noticed that the speedo needle can drop sometimes but only for a second before shooting back up to the actual speed. This happens when accelerating or changing lanes on a motorway, or when driving over rough ground like ramps etc.

I have googled the problem and have seen people say its the cluster itself, the speedometer sensor, a sensor in the gearbox or just a loose connection. Has anyone else here had this problem before? Would it be pricey to fix? I'm hoping its the loose connection.

fabmorretti

Im still having issues with the needle on my speedo dropping. It happens when I take my foot off the accelerator while accelerating. The needle drops for a second or two and then goes back to actual speed. I have also noticed that it drops lower when at higher speeds.

Has anyone any idea what this could be? I took it back to the garage where I got it and they said they didn't find any error messages and that they reset everything. Im gonna take it back again but if anyone has encountered this problem before it would be a great help to know what it is.

T83

If its a bosch cluster then thats probably whats at fault, the kind with half mfa, dodgy connection to the cluster itself. The clusters with the full mfa rarely flicker like this but they were only put in late highlines, GTI's, R32's etc...

You can swap the entire cluster out for one from a breakers or have somebody look at the connection going to your own cluster.

IanVW

i came across this before, if you follow the wiring loom up along from the sender in the box, it goes under the battery box, i found a wire broken here:)

exaisle

T83 wrote: »

If its a bosch cluster then thats probably whats at fault, the kind with half mfa, dodgy connection to the cluster itself. The clusters with the full mfa rarely flicker like this but they were only put in late highlines, GTI's, R32's etc...

You can swap the entire cluster out for one from a breakers or have somebody look at the connection going to your own cluster.

Actually, no, you cant. The instrument cluster in the Mk4 Golf also contains the immobiliser and these are not interchangeable between different cars. You'd need to go to a main dealer as the access codes for these panels are only available direct from VW. In fact, even the technician who does the work doesnt get to see them.

lau1247

This actually happen to me before two years ago. The speedo would drop and rise in a similar manner. It eventually just stopped and since NCT came along, so I had to get it fix.

I believe it's the ECU acting up (Can't fully remember if that's the name of the component, I did remember the VW dealer said they have to remove the dash). This will be quite costly to fix circa 500 eur at the time when I did it.

Good news is that in the mean time you can gauge your speed (in fifth gear) by the rev counter to get you going until you get it fix but it's not the ideal solution.