My wifes 2002 Neon wouldn't start today, and we determined the battery was failing. After jump starting it and taking it to get a new battery I noticed the speedometer wasn't working. At first I thought maybe I hooked up the battery wrong after checking it, but on closer inspection, I noticed that the needle was beneath the little pin that prevents the speedometer from spinning all the way around. Having not seen it happen, I have no idea how to got behind the pin. It was working prior to me taking out the old battery. Is there any easy way to fix this? Do I have to take apart the dash? I was thinking that maybe I could drill a small hole through the plastic in front of the speedometer and with a bent paper clip, gently lift the needle back over the pin. Would this possibly pop the needle off? What is my recourse?

 

i wouldnt recommend drilling a hole. I would just take the dash apart

 

i had that problem before....but it fixed itself after i drove the hell outta it for a while

 

I'm really not looking forward to taking apart the dash. That sounds like an all day affair. If anyone has a quick way to get inot the speedometer cluster I would like to know.

 

all you need to do is pull off the top of the dash....just pop it up and out....get a long screwdriver and you will be able to get all 4 screws that hold the cluster in..then just pull it out....should only take about 5 minuites to remove the whole cluster

 

Are you talking about the section of dash above the instrument panel? I noticed that there is one or two screws on the driver's side of the dash when you have the door open. Do I need to remove those screws first? Sorry for asking what are probably lame questions, but I'm not much of a mechanic and I don't want to screw up anything. Thanks for your suggestions so far.

 

On my 95' the top of the dash will pull right off, no screws or anything. Once the top is off you can see the 4 screws holding the guage cluster down. Remove the screws and pull out the cluster, then unplug the wiring connecter. The cluster is held together by screws, it should come apart easy. Once the cluster is apart resist the urge to turn back your odometer.