# Ranger speedometer issue

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/ranger-speedometer-issue/34854>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** speedometer, ford, ranger\
**Created:** [August 10, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ranger-speedometer-issue/34854 "2009-08-10T18:45:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ftrueba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc79bd/32.png) [@ftrueba](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ftrueba)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ranger-speedometer-issue/34854/1 "2009-08-10T18:45:47Z")

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Hi all,  
  
 I’ve got a '98 Ford Ranger XL with somewhat more than 100k on. I can’t be sure because for several months, my speedometer/odometer will stop functioning in mid-travel. That is, the speedometer will simply die in the middle of a drive. Occasionally, if I see it happen, it seems to dance a bit before going to zero and very occasionally, it will re-activate before the end of the trip. There does not seems to be an particular trigger that I can discern (certain speed, temp, etc). No other dials are affected, including speed control, and my local mechanic has searched for causes but can’t find any (BTW, it is usually functioning find when I bring it in). Any ideas?

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**Author:** ![Tester](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tester/32/15976_2.png) [@Tester](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Tester)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ranger-speedometer-issue/34854/2 "2009-08-10T18:50:31Z")

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The speedometer head electrical connector should be checked for a poor connection by unplugging it and plugging it back in. If that doesn’t fix the problem, then it could mean the speedometer head is malfuctioning.

Tester

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**Author:** ![ftrueba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc79bd/32.png) [@ftrueba](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ftrueba)\
**Post date:** [August 10, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ranger-speedometer-issue/34854/3 "2009-08-10T22:26:40Z")

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As numbskull in things automotive, I appreciate your quick response. Given I’ve had my mechanic look for the problem more than once–yet, as I said, since it’s always been functioning correctly when I bring it in he hasn’t be able to find the problem, I wonder is this something a mechanic may have looked at but if it is working properly would not be detectable yet could still fail at a later time. Thank you so much for your time on this.