The speedo on my wifes 96 Windstar has started going wacky when she drives at highway speeds. Seems to be OK in town. (Wacky - needle swings to and fro wildly) Would prefer to fix it myself if possible. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks, Matt Grimes

Par for the course, I believe. Our's has done it for about 3 years now. New speedo modules cost around $250-$300. I've been thinking about seeing if a shop can rebuild our existing unit for less, but never get around to it. I can live with the bouncing, it's the whizzing noise it makes that I hate. But my wife is the main driver, and it doesn't seem to bother her. Please be sure to let us know if you find a solution. Mark Salvetti 1996 Windstar 3.0L

Hhmmmmmm.... I was afraid that might be the situation. Where exactly is the speedo module located? And is it difficult to remove? Thanks, Matt

I had the same problem with the wacky speedometer on the wife's 96 Windstar. I was referred to Cape Coral Speedometer Repair (www.ccspeedometer.com). I pulled the speedometer out of the dash, sent the whole thing to them and for $110 they rebuilt the speedometer and sent the unit back to me. I put it all back together and it works fine now. Been back in the van for a year with no problems with the speedometer. It is a pain to pull. I used my Haynes manual to figure out how to pull the dash apart. The hardest part was getting the speedometer cable off. First I had to separate the two halves of the speedo cable under the hood back behind the 3.8 engine. Then I could pull it into the van far enough to disconnect the cable from the speedometer. Most of the dash just snaps apart. Can't remember all the details from last year but will have to look and see if I still have the e-mail another guy sent me on pulling it out. Chuck

hi guys, we're positive it's a cable feed signal? it's not getting the info from a vehicle speed sensor? i thought ford got rid of the cable speedo back in the early 90s. other than that, i was going to suggest checking your abs sensors on the wheels, where i thought the VSS got it's info. there is a tooth'd ring behind the rotor/ brakes with a sensor. the sensor is pointed in towards the ring, possibly some brake dust, or other debris is caught in between a tooth, or in the optic of the sensor. parker

Hi Parker. I'm pretty sure Chuck is right on. A couple of years ago there used to be a guy on this list that worked in a dealership service department, and I remember him saying the units in the dash failed. At the time I also assumed they were electronic, but no, the guy said they were cable-driven. So Chuck's fix sounds right. At least for the 1996 vans. Even after all this time I haven't bothered to fix our's. It's just the speedometer; the odometer works fine. Mark Salvetti 1996 Windstar

I checked the wife's van. It has a cable feed hooked up to the tranny along with the electronic speed sensor. The speed sensor tells the computer the vehicle speed. The cable tells the speedometer the vehicle speed. I have an OBD-II code reader, and used it while driving the van to compare speedometer speed with the computer speed. Both were within 1mph of the other. Chuck 1996 Windstar

Same thing here. The speedometer was wacky, but the odometer was correct. I checked it on the highway. The speedometer said the van was doing over 100 mph even though the tach stayed at 2400(?), same as it said when before the speedometer went wacky at 70 mph. My son was sitting in the back seat and thought we were really flying down the highway. :) Had him fooled for about 30 minutes, until we passed a cop sitting on the side of the raod with his radar gun at us. Chuck

what type of code reader do you have? what features can you obtain through it?

I bought a KAL OBDII System Tester KM 9615. NAPA was offering one of their "Real Deals" (sale book) and had it for under $300 including tax. You can check it out at www.actron.com I like it because it will check all vehicles, not just Fords for the same price. It is a stand-alone unit, so I don't have to go hunt up a laptop computer or anything else. I have used it with the vehicle sitting still and also while driving down the road. Nice unit, works well for me. When I bought it back in the spring, it was the best they had to offer in the $300 range. Chuck