I have recently brought a 05 plate mk1 1.6 petrol focus zetec manual and all has been fine until recently, when i have been driving along the speedo drops to 0 and stays there for awhile or goes to 0 and straight back up to the speed i am going, none of the other dials are affected the miles are still displayed, there is no loss of power or performance everything else is fine it is just the speedo and there doesn't appear to be any pattern as to when it occurs its just random, does anyone have any idea what it could be?

Doesn't the Focus around that year suffer from instrument cluster electrical gremlins ? I'm sure other members will advise or a quick search may help.

http://www.fordownersclub.com/forums/topic/28578-dash-display-problem-fuel-gauge-speedometer/page__p__153918__hl__+instrument%20+cluster__fromsearch__1#entry153918

_{I have done the dashboard trick and have got the following errors}

_{D041 ..........U1041.......... Invalid data for vehicle speed}

_{D123 ..........U1123.......... Invalid data for odometer}

_{all the gauges swept correctley, could this be a problem with the VSS?}

Check the speedo cluster and try WD40 on the back.

If that's no good then i'd recommend changing the VSS.

vehicle speed sensor on the gearbox is the culprit not the cluster though ide advise having ford change it as the pins corrode and can be a sod to get out if its the cluster you would also notice the temp gauge drop at the same time then pick back up

It is possible to do the job yourself but can take ages to get the old one out and a risk of snapping the pin off.

I'd recommend getting the bits needed from eBay and approaching a local garage.

It would be far cheaper than at a dealer as they would probably insist in swapping other things at the same time as they usually do plus they love pushing for diagnostics you don't need.

thanks guys i will get the parts and ask my uncle to do it for me as he is a mechanic

Best option i reckon, make sure you get a VSS and a pin as i guarantee the pin will get mangled removing it.

For some reason most of the original fit pins are hollow and are none too sturdy wheras the new ones are solid and more robust.

Definitely recommend you grease or graphite the new pin though in case you need to remove it again.

New VSS and pin order my uncle will fit it for me when it arrives lets hope this sorts the problem out and its not the cluster

it rarely is the cluster some garages will say it is when its not the vss is the cheapest and simplest option to go for and in 99 percent of cases solves the problem