Broken odometer

[bobby44]

I (knowingly) bought a 2003 4Runner with a broken odometer.

I'm not sure where to start looking for a fix. How is the odometer wired? Does it use the same sensor as the speedometer because that works fine? Is the actual value stored in the instrument cluster or elsewhere? If so, is it possible that the true reading could be retrieved?

Any help before I start tearing things apart would be appreciated.

 

[bobby44]

I just checked and it seems the trip distance is also working correctly. That must use the same sensor, so what could it be that affects only the odometer?

 

[HokieRunner]

I (knowingly) bought a 2003 4Runner with a broken odometer.

I'm not sure where to start looking for a fix. How is the odometer wired? Does it use the same sensor as the speedometer because that works fine? Is the actual value stored in the instrument cluster or elsewhere? If so, is it possible that the true reading could be retrieved?

Any help before I start tearing things apart would be appreciated.

To clarify: In what way is the odometer broken? (i.e. will it not display ANYTHING?, does it display a value but not roll over?, etc)

I've heard that you can swap out a gauge cluster without having to reset/program anything so that would lead me to believe the actual odometer values are stored elsewhere(not in the cluster). So, depending on the exact symptoms, a good place to start would be checking the connections for the gauge cluster and possibly swapping it for a fully functional one (this is assuming that the odometer isn't properly displaying mileage)

 

[JohnsD90]

I have no idea about the swap but the values are stored outside of the cluster and i think its stored in multiple locations.

 

[bobby44]

Thanks for the replies.

The odometer just displays a fixed value.

I have tried taking out the instrument cluster today and checking the connections behind there and everything appears to be ok. Like you say, it would make sense if the cluster itself was "dumb" and just displayed a value sent from elsewhere. Perhaps the ECU calculates and stores the odometer reading and this is then sent as a message to the cluster. The cluster then stores the last value it received. Does that sound plausible?

I can get hold of a another cluster from a working vehicle, but don't want to do that unless I know for sure that it won't screw that cluster up.