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Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working*FIXED*

127K views 32 replies 20 participants last post by  tprobee 
#1 ·
Hello to Everyone on the forum,
My wife has a 1998 Clio 1.2RN, the newish shaped one (S reg). We went to Wales (from Kent) this weekend and halfway up the M40 the speedo went from reading 70 to 0. After about 5 mins of no reading a warning light came on the dash that looks like one of those life support machine readouts?? Then after another 10 mins the speedo read ok again and the warning light went out. This has happened on and off all weekend with the speedo and warning light (speedo zero, light on and vice versa) coming on and off with anything from 2 mins to an hour between changes. Everything else on the car works perfectly and it drove to Wales and back with this going on/off without a hitch. In Wales I took both front wheels off but couldn't see a sensor or cable or anything that I thought maybe loose or dirty or something. Could anybody suggest what could be up that maybe I could fix myself.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Steve.
 
#5 ·
I have exactly the same problem with my 1998 RXE 1600. I don't get any warning lights when the fault is present One thing that I did note is the fault only manifests itself when I have the heater on, so I presume there is a faulty connection to the speedo head or inside the unit. Mr "Haynes" says that any faulty units are not repairable except by replacement of the complete unit. I would be grateful if anyone can confirm that entry into the unit is impossible, otherwise I will remove the unit and repair any bad solder joint on the internal PCB.
 
#6 ·
renault clio speedo

I have the same problem... I used to work for renault I just asked my mate and he told me the fault is the pickup in the gearbox (this is a very common fault at between 70,000 & 100,000 miles)
The engine warning light comes on if the engine revs go above 3,000rpm for longer than 4mins with no info from the speedo
the pickup is located at the top of the gearbox casing to the right of the exhuast at the righthand corner of the cylinder head..it is a bit hard to spot..it has a little metal clip on shield if you give it a bit of a twist your speedo will start working again for a short period of time.

As yet I have not replaced the speedo pickup because I do tend to try and repair things if poss...if yuo wish to calculate your speed its easy as if you are in 5 gear your speed will be twice your revs i.e. 2000rpm = 40 mph
 
#8 ·
speedo drive replacement

Hi There

Yes you can only get this from Renault, as far as I remember it cost me £40( 2 years ago now) you just have to give it a good hard pull and it will come out, if a garage do it for you dont pay over the odds it is a 10 minuter job. It was impossible to repair.

I have since sold the car and brought a Mitsubushi colt CZ1, soooooooo reliable 60 mpg goes like hell if u want it to and is such fun to drive.....where as the Clio was the most boring car I ever owned
 
#10 ·
the pickup is located at the top of the gearbox casing to the right of the exhuast at the righthand corner of the cylinder head..it is a bit hard to spot..it has a little metal clip on shield if you give it a bit of a twist your speedo may start working again for a short period of time.

To remove it it needs a sharpe hard straight yank
upwards
 
#11 ·
Do a search on the forums, there are instructions and pic's of what the sender looks like ... take care though as the Clio2 has two types of sender, the both look the same but one is a push fit and the other is held in place using a screwed on horseshoe collar .... if its the latter and you just pull it may well break .... use a torch to check it before pulling.

Hope it helps :)
 
#12 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

Just chaged the speedo sensor on the Clio. An easy job with no tools required albeit access tight.
Old one would work intermittantly.
Carefully cut top to open up old one, one moving part and a little printed circuit inside. Inside top was quite oily so perhaps that was affecting the detector on the circuit board picking up a signal from the turning part?
With a good clean and sticking top back on could probably reuse old one but new part was only £21 so didn't break the bank
Peter
 
#13 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

Been thinking a bit more about why sensor was only working intermitantly.
Not a problem with water getting into connection block as was like new.
Heat from exhuast didn't seem to be the issue as heat shield still in place.
Circuit board inside also looks as new
Only thing was that there was a fair bit of black gearbox oil up in top of unit. Perhaps over the years probably gets a bit stickier and doesn't all run back down into gearbox and builds up and affects sensor

If someone has same simptoms may be possible to flush out oil by taking off unit from car, turning it up side down and pouring in some white spirits, spinning around shaft by hand or with a drill and draining off fluid that should have thinned out oil.
Anyone done this or fancy giving it a try?
Here is picture of inside unit

Monocular
 
#14 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

hi! I have the exact same problem, and I did exactly what you said to do with the white spirits and it helps for a littel bit and then the speedo stoped again.
could you please post pictures of the speedo from the top of it so I can see the sensor, and if someone have a better idea please let me know before I buy a new one.
also if someone finds that speedo on ebay please send me the link cause I didn't find it there
thanks
hagash.
 
#16 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

hi! I have the exact same problem, and I did exactly what you said to do with the white spirits and it helps for a littel bit and then the speedo stoped again.
could you please post pictures of the speedo from the top of it so I can see the sensor, and if someone have a better idea please let me know before I buy a new one.
also if someone finds that speedo on ebay please send me the link cause I didn't find it there
thanks
hagash.
The long stem that turns has a metal or graphite ring set into the top, This ring is magnetic.There is a sensor on the little circuit board and the spinning magnet must generate a voltage that by the magic of electronics gives a speed in proprtion to the spinning. Or I could be completely wrong!
Camera not good enough to take a clear picture.

I bought mine from Euro Parts
 
#15 · (Edited)
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

hi guys,

currently trying to change the speedo sensor on a 1998 clio, and its not happening for me:crazy:

ive tried to push in the 2 securing 'lugs' and pull the sensor at the same time but it wont move at all. doesnt appear to be anything else holding it. ive read the FAQ pages and it appears you dont need to do anything other than pull the sensor? this definetly isnt working for me at the moment.

can anyone advise?

many thanks
stef
 
#17 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

hi guys,

currently trying to change the speedo sensor on a 1998 clio, and its not happening for me:crazy:

ive tried to push in the 2 securing 'lugs' and pull the sensor at the same time but it wont move at all. doesnt appear to be anything else holding it. ive read the FAQ pages and it appears you dont need to do anything other than pull the sensor? this definetly isnt working for me at the moment.

can anyone advise?

many thanks
stef
I can only advise on the 1999 Clio that I changed to sensor on it did indeed just pull out. At first didnt want to yank too hard as wasn't sure if there were any lugs but there weren't and out it came
The only lugs holding it are on the unit but were below opening and just bend in when you pull the sensor out.
Peter
 
#19 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

hi all,

well i had another look at the clio speedo fault tonight, still no further forward really:eek:

i ended up pulling the white wire from the speedo sensor (signal wire?) all the way back to a connector at the side of the main fuse box, from there it goes into the car but in the form of a purple wire... and that purple wire has been hacked into at some point, i removed the remainder of the connecter tonight!:crazy: why would anyone want to tap into this? knowing that might help me with the fault i guess.

now, is there a wire from the speedo back to the ecu? i dont see how else it would be connected
 
#20 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

Im having this problem to on my v reg clio. iv been told it can be expensive to fix. it could need a whole new dash or its a problem in the gear box. take your car to an auto electrician and the will put it on a diagnostic check. it could be a lose wire or a fault pin. which could be cheap to replace. iv been told it can be a host of things.
 
#22 ·
Re: Renault Clio 2 - Speedo Not Working

Hi there,
Once again this site has come up with the answer to my car problems. Had a non working speedo. Today I bought a new speedo sensor from Renault for £23.36 in VAT. I found my old sensor to be v tight in the holder but using a stubby flat end screwdrive, I was able to lever in up and out. Fitted new one with a little grease on the o-rings and connected up the wire. Test drove the car and all is good. Thanks again for the help from this site and it's members.
 
#25 ·
Hi there,
I approached it from the top. Not sure is from below would be better. Also it's hard to see nevermind take a picture of. I just got my right arm down between the ECU/Coolant expansion tank and power steering fluid reservoir. You'll roughly be in up to your elbow! It is tricky to locate.
Hope it helps.
 
#28 ·
Hi, I'm having the similar problem with my Clio II. I found the speedo sensor, but battling to get it off. Will try with a bit more time. Took a video with my phone to see if I could catch a glimps and did (worked well), a photo didn't:d. Being from South Africa I'm not sure how much it would cost me for a new one:eek:, so I will try clean this one thouroughly and let you know how it goes!
 
#29 ·
Hi All,

Got a slightly different problem I think. Missus has a Clio MK2, 51 plate. Keep losing speedo for weeks at a time with abs and all warnings light lit, then comes back again for a few days, etc. The car doesn't have the sensor on the gearbox (although Renault were happy to sell me one, even after supplying the chassis number:mad:) - verified by my mechanic.

I believe the alternative speedo pick-up method is via the passenger side abs sensor and reluctor ring.

My mechanic has attempted a scan of the abs controller and confirms he can not connect to it with his diagnostic software - he has tried on a similar model Clio which works ok so I'm fairly sure his diag software is working ok.

Wondering where to go from here - seems little point in replacing the abs sensor and reluctor ring if it is a problem with the abs controller or wiring.

Any thoughts? Could communication with the abs controller be affected by dodgy wiring going into the tamper proof 'black box' at the back of the engine?

Cheers,
Dave.
 
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