Rev counter over-counting

SR55

Member
Does anyone know what’s going wrong in the pic attached? ... rev counter has a mind of its own when I start the engine (approx 1 in 10 starts). It’s the just the dial not the actual engine revs.

non-costly replies only please.
Have a good weekend.
 

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Looks more like under reading rather than over reading. Hopefully Tom will say it is something like a bad earth or loose connection. Have you seen the needle move. Does it go all the way round or drop below zero?
 
Looks more like under reading rather than over reading. Hopefully Tom will say it is something like a bad earth or loose connection. Have you seen the needle move. Does it go all the way round or drop below zero?
Sorry @audifan I should have mentioned that too ... idle is at zero sometimes too.
 
Certainly worth having a full VCDS scan done to see if any other issues are there specifically in the "instruments" section or if an engine sensor is intermittent. Again though does the needle rotate all the way round or drop down past zero when giving this reading?
 
Ooo, I do enjoy solving an instrument cluster fault. I can't say I immediately recognise this one.

A few questions...
- Does the needle always point to zero when the car is switched off?
- When the needle sits across the face of the clock, as shown in one of the photos above, how does it get there? Does it drop to that position by travelling anti-clockwise, or by going up the scale? (This is the same question that @audifan has asked, just phrased differently)
- On the occasions when this happens, what happens after start-up? Does the rev counter work as normal, but just massively out of position?

non-costly replies only please.
One way or another, I'll be able to diagnose the fault. I may be able to repair it, but if I find that the issue is terminal, I can replace the entire cluster. Of course, without knowing exactly what's wrong, I can't put a price on the job, but I aim to be better than the Audi dealerships and cheaper than your local garage. :)

Cheers,

Tom
 
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There is also the ability to perform a needle sweep in VCDS. Out of curiosity how does the needle behave from this false reading when you rev the engine. Does it correct itself, some other reading or stay where it was??
 
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