Hello, I am new to cars and I got this ford fusion 2010, Zetec Automatic in October 2024.

I recently noticed that the car odometer does not read correctly it stays on 7 when the car is not in motion and then moves towards 1 when the car is on motion. I have tried contacting local mechs around me but none is able to assist as they said it’s a specialist job. Please I would need your help on where it can be fixed or if it’s minor issue I can fix myself. I have a driving test next week and I have no other car as alternative. I concerned that the examiner won’t pick this up as an excuse to cancel the appointment.
Just a bit of background, I live in Ayrshire, Scotland 

Thank you 

@rd457

1 hour ago, Olap said:

I recently noticed that the car odometer does not read correctly it stays on 7

That's the Rev Counter, not the odometer. It just needs the instrument cluster taken apart and the pointer repositioned. As Tom has said above this should be something that @rd457 can help you with.

1 hour ago, unofix said:

That's the Rev Counter, not the odometer. It just needs the instrument cluster taken apart and the pointer repositioned. As Tom has said above this should be something that @rd457 can help you with.

Thank you for your response and enlightening. @rd457, anyway to contact you please? 

17 minutes ago, Olap said:

anyway to contact you please? 

He will be here later today and will read this post because we've tagged him in.

There's no trip reset button on those??

Is it on the end of the indicator? I can't remember

If there is a trip button then you may be able to get rid of that by doing a couple of dial sweeps in engineering mode.

Possibly

You don't require a tachometer to pass your driving test, even less so on an automatic

Since the gauge moves as it should, but is just pointing in the wrong place, fixing it should be very simple. Since these particular models don't suffer from the common cracked solder joint problem I repair, it's probably not really worth sending it to me; if you're capable of getting the instrument cluster out of your vehicle yourself then you're more than capable of fixing this yourself, or otherwise you could go back to a garage and ask that they simply follow my instructions. Since we're heading into the weekend now doing it yourself or having a local garage do it will also help ensure that it's done in time for your test, not that I expect the test examiner would care.

Once the instrument cluster is out of the vehicle (see 5:35 to 7:26 of the video linked below for an example of how to take one out), simply use a flat bladed screwdriver to release the clips holding the front screen on and remove it. Then simply turn the tachometer needle anti-clockwise until the needle is pointing slightly below zero. To improve accuracy plug it back into the car, which will cause the unit to come alive and it'll move the needle slightly up, at which point you want it pointing nicely at zero. If it doesn't point at zero accurately enough to satisfy you, unplug it again, spin it all the way around anti-clockwise again, and then check it again, repeating as many times as necessary until you find just the right spot. Then finally push the front screen back on and refit it properly into the vehicle. Very simple!

The only question then is why on earth it was inaccurate in the first place. The most likely explanation is that someone took this apart for some reason and failed to put it back together properly. Sometimes people take them apart in order to block out one of the warning lights, commonly the airbag or ABS light, to hide a fault from MOT testers or when trying to sell the vehicle. Since all of the other needles seem accurate, there's a strong possibility that the previous owner did just this, pulling off just the tachometer needle, lifting up the guage background, and stuffing a wad of paper or whatever into the hole over one of the warning lights, then didn't know how to put the needle back on properly. If you want to check for this, when the front screen is off, turn the needle anti-clockwise very gently until you feel it hit a point where it won't move any further without forcing it, then force it to turn further while pulling it upwards, and you'll pull the needle off of the motor spindle. Now you'll be able to lift up that side of the gauge background (note that it may be caught under a slight lip in the centre) to try to see if one of the hole over the warning lights is blocked up. Afterwards to refit the needle, just push it down onto the spindle, though not so far that it touches the background, and then adjust the position as previously described.

Edit: Actually I may have misread the initial description. The maximum position the motor can turn it to when the needle is correctly positioned on the motor spindle is pointed straight down. If it's turning clockwise beyond this then what I've just written stands. If it's not moving beyond this then it could be a bad motor or something that's prevented it from moving back downwards properly, in which case as a short term solution you can still do what I've written above to reset it, though you may also be able to reset it via gauge sweep test mode or temporarily unplugging it (or the battery) one or more times.

59 minutes ago, rd457 said:

Since the gauge moves as it should, but is just pointing in the wrong place, fixing it should be very simple. Since these particular models don't suffer from the common cracked solder joint problem I repair, it's probably not really worth sending it to me; if you're capable of getting the instrument cluster out of your vehicle yourself then you're more than capable of fixing this yourself, or otherwise you could go back to a garage and ask that they simply follow my instructions. Since we're heading into the weekend now doing it yourself or having a local garage do it will also help ensure that it's done in time for your test, not that I expect the test examiner would care.

Once the instrument cluster is out of the vehicle (see 5:35 to 7:26 of the video linked below for an example of how to take one out), simply use a flat bladed screwdriver to release the clips holding the front screen on and remove it. Then simply turn the tachometer needle anti-clockwise until the needle is pointing slightly below zero. To improve accuracy plug it back into the car, which will cause the unit to come alive and it'll move the needle slightly up, at which point you want it pointing nicely at zero. If it doesn't point at zero accurately enough to satisfy you, unplug it again, spin it all the way around anti-clockwise again, and then check it again, repeating as many times as necessary until you find just the right spot. Then finally push the front screen back on and refit it properly into the vehicle. Very simple!

The only question then is why on earth it was inaccurate in the first place. The most likely explanation is that someone took this apart for some reason and failed to put it back together properly. Sometimes people take them apart in order to block out one of the warning lights, commonly the airbag or ABS light, to hide a fault from MOT testers or when trying to sell the vehicle. Since all of the other needles seem accurate, there's a strong possibility that the previous owner did just this, pulling off just the tachometer needle, lifting up the guage background, and stuffing a wad of paper or whatever into the hole over one of the warning lights, then didn't know how to put the needle back on properly. If you want to check for this, when the front screen is off, turn the needle anti-clockwise very gently until you feel it hit a point where it won't move any further without forcing it, then force it to turn further while pulling it upwards, and you'll pull the needle off of the motor spindle. Now you'll be able to lift up that side of the gauge background (note that it may be caught under a slight lip in the centre) to try to see if one of the hole over the warning lights is blocked up. Afterwards to refit the needle, just push it down onto the spindle, though not so far that it touches the background, and then adjust the position as previously described.

Edit: Actually I may have misread the initial description. The maximum position the motor can turn it to when the needle is correctly positioned on the motor spindle is pointed straight down. If it's turning clockwise beyond this then what I've just written stands. If it's not moving beyond this then it could be a bad motor or something that's prevented it from moving back downwards properly, in which case as a short term solution you can still do what I've written above to reset it, though you may also be able to reset it via gauge sweep test mode or temporarily unplugging it (or the battery) one or more times.

Thank you very much for this. You really took your time to explain and I do not take it for granted. I have watched the video and the instructions are clear and direct. But I am not confident enough at the moment to touch the wiring connectors 🥲when removing the cluster due to fear of messing it up. If I am able to get your email, I don’t mind bringing it you please. 🙏🏽 

6 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

There's no trip reset button on those??

Is it on the end of the indicator? I can't remember

If there is a trip button then you may be able to get rid of that by doing a couple of dial sweeps in engineering mode.

Possibly

You don't require a tachometer to pass your driving test, even less so on an automatic

This is well noted. Thanks

11 minutes ago, Olap said:

Thank you very much for this. You really took your time to explain and I do not take it for granted. I have watched the video and the instructions are clear and direct. But I am not confident enough at the moment to touch the wiring connectors 🥲when removing the cluster due to fear of messing it up. If I am able to get your email, I don’t mind bringing it you please. 🙏🏽 

Based on the location in your profile you're about 280 miles away from me. That would be one hell of a trek and fuel costs for such a simple thing. Posting would be far cheaper, but you'd need to remove it from the vehicle for that anyway. By far the most efficient option is to just go back to a garage with a print out of what I wrote above and have them do it. The normal soldering repair I do is indeed a specialist job that's outside of the skill set of many mechanics, but what I instructed above is extremely simple and well within their capabilities.

2 hours ago, rd457 said:

Based on the location in your profile you're about 280 miles away from me. That would be one hell of a trek and fuel costs for such a simple thing. Posting would be far cheaper, but you'd need to remove it from the vehicle for that anyway. By far the most efficient option is to just go back to a garage with a print out of what I wrote above and have them do it. The normal soldering repair I do is indeed a specialist job that's outside of the skill set of many mechanics, but what I instructed above is extremely simple and well within their capabilities.

Okay. Thank you very much

2 hours ago, rd457 said:

Based on the location in your profile you're about 280 miles away from me. That would be one hell of a trek and fuel costs for such a simple thing. Posting would be far cheaper, but you'd need to remove it from the vehicle for that anyway. By far the most efficient option is to just go back to a garage with a print out of what I wrote above and have them do it. The normal soldering repair I do is indeed a specialist job that's outside of the skill set of many mechanics, but what I instructed above is extremely simple and well within their capabilities.

Okay. Thank you very much