VW T4 Speed problem

[Laura]

Hi. i am new and in need of some help! my boyfirend has a VW Transporter 2.5 TD and its speedo and fuel gauge are not working properly. one minute they are fine the next they are on zero. then the speedo just goes up and down endlessly!

You will have to bare with me as i am not very technical but we have spoken to a few different people who said it might be the speedo cable or sensor, however i took it to the local garage this morning for them to take a quick look (and quick it was) and they have said we need a whole new speedo dial box, as it is an electrical fault.

They have said that this will cost over £250 new or we could try getting a second hand one, but then of course there is labour for removing the dash and fixing it all together again.

I suppose what i am asking is if there is a way of knowing if it is just the cable, or would we just have to buy one fit it and if it didnt work go with getting the new speedo box.

i hope that makes sense!

Ta

[abermaster]

Hello There,
The dash panels have been a bit of an issue over the years and i used to remove them strip them down and re solder the faulty boards maybe you know someone who can check the the solderig points usually around the voltage stabilizer for fuel gauge/temp sensor,The dash panels can be removed in 10 mins so i cant see a huge labour cost>Also try and find a used one with similar kind of mileage
PS. How old is your T4

Good Luck

[Laura]

its a 1998. thank you for the info. they seemed to make out that it was quite a big job at the garage. do you think this is something we could do ourselves or should leave to the garage? we are happy to go round the scrapyards to get one, so i suppose we will get a practice run at taking the dash out. its putting all back together that worries me!