Speedometer Is Not Working
 

I have a 95 Accord in which the speedometer does not work.
It hasn't work regularly for over a year. I never bothered fixing it because I can tell how fast I am going based on my RPM but I figure it's about time I try and fix it.
It occasionially will work but I have yet to see any pattern as to when it does and doesn't work. At first it seemed as though it didn't like cold weather, but now it seems as though it works more frequently in the cold so I've ruled out weather as a contributing factor.
However the last few times it has worked I have noticed something very interesting. The lights on my climate control knobs don't work regularly either, however when my speedometer is functioning, those lights are also functioning. It's kind of hard to explain this so I've included links with pictures to show my dash. The two pictures are of the same thing, the first shows the dash, the second shows what it looks like when the speedometer and knob lights are not working. I don't have picture of what it looks like when its functioning but if you imagine what your car looks like in the evening you should be able to envision it.

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http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/334/56275068.jpg

I am no expert when it comes to cars and electronics by any means, but to me it seems almost as if there is a loose wire(s) somewhere. I'm not convined that by replacing the instrument panel that I will fix the problem so I want to try all other reasonable repairs prior to doing that.
Does anyone know what my problem might be?

I assume the odometer also doesn't work when the speedometer isn't working? The speedometer/odometer breaking is fairly common in 94-97 Accords but I haven't heard of dash lights going with it.

There are four screws on the back that hold the speedometer in place that are also part of the circuit board. People have had luck resoldering these connections and fixing the problem. While others opt to just replace the cluster.

Maybe someone else can chime in on the lights not working with it.

You are correct. The odometer also has the same problems as the speedometer.
I read that a lot of them fail and was thinking about changing the whole cluster but after noticing the issue with the lights I`m not convinced that will fix things.

When someone's speedometer fails on one of these vechicles, would it not fail completely? Or is it normal for them to sometimes work?

When it's the solders on the back like the common problem of the speedometer breaking it does normally work intermittently.

I have also had this problem with my 96 accord. Not consistent at all, most of the time it will work the first 30 seconds or so of driving, stop, and then start working later on again. Lately some of the bulbs that light the dash are going out also (but not in sync with the speedometer). These are the bulbs that light up the front of the panel, not the blue/greenish backlights. Often i can fix these lights by literally smacking the dash. (this does not work to fix the speedometer though)

I have re-soldered the speedo joints twice, the first time i just "refreshed" all of the solder, the second time i did it properly vacuuming off all of the old joints and replacing it with flux core. The intermittent problems persist.

As a current solution I am using is this: OBD II Hud s 200 Type KM and Mile Speed Battery Voltage Water Temp RPM New | eBay
Their are many like it of varying prices you can find. I have only had it for a month but its working good so far.

Best of luck.

I had a similar problem but with a Nissan. First thing I did was to verify where the problem should be, and I did it my grandpa's way, hitting the top of the dash over the cluster. The speedometer started to work right after the hit.

With this result I found out that I didn't need to replace the speed sensor but that the problem was with the cluster.

Actually it is hard to buy new speedometers or entire clusters for vehicles manufactured in the 90's so the only solution is soldering back connections, it requires patience. Buying a used cluster is also fine, but there is always a risk that you might receive a defective one like yours or that the used cluster will go bad very soon as well.

So I got my speedometer out of the car today. I'm not really 100% sure what I'm looking for.

Here is a link to a picture of the back of my speedometer
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I don't really see anything that looks abnormal but like I said, I'm not really sure what I'm looking for.

Which places should I resolder?

I'm having a friend come by tonight that knows electronics, I'm hopeful he will be able to look at it and say, "there's your problem". But just in case, perhaps someone on here can guide me in the right direction.

If you could repost that picture and maybe highlight the area(s) that should be soldered that would be greatly appreciated

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/22/photo5mx.jpg/