As the title says the speedometer on my 1997 3500 has never worked since I got the truck… odometer doesn’t either. Every now and then when I’m driving down the road the speedometer will sortof work and bounce a little almost like it’s not catching or getting traction? Then it goes dead again. Any thoughts? BTW… my steering wheel is 90 degrees sideways…. I’ve disconnected the steering shaft and rotated it and tried to get the wheel straight but the tab will only allow the wheel to mount sideways. The pitman arm is mounted correctly so I’m wondering if at some point the PO may have pulled the steering wheel and mounted it crooked? Would that effect the speedometer? I may have read somewhere it would… Cheers fellas

 

The only thing I can think of where the steering wheel orientation could cause problems is the clockspring - but I don't know how that would affect the speedometer and odometer unless it was somehow through the cruise control, since the CC button wiring goes through the clockspring. Offhand, that seems more like an instrument or wiring problem. Do you have a manual or auto trans, and have you checked the wiring from the vehicle speed sensor? On later model years, apparently the speed signal is taken from the ABS ring in the rear end, but on earlier auto trans trucks the VSS is in the trans (tailshaft housing?) and has to be clocked correctly. If you have an auto trans and had no VSS signal, I think you would be getting a trouble code because the PCM should be interested in vehicle speed for trans shift control and converter lockup.

 

Thanks for the reply. I have a 1997 manual trans. 2WD. My Cruise Control doesn’t work and I have a Air Bag light on. No brake lights or ABS lights on.

 

does the horn work?

 

Yes sir the horn works. The stereo doesn’t though ha