mark VII Digital Odometer error

[Mark VII '84]

I have an "84 Mark VII and the digital odometer sometimes reads error, then returns to giving an actual mileage. If anyone has had this problem and knows of the fix for this, I sure would appreciate it!

Thanks!

 

[mespock]

You can PM Old School I'm sure he's had this problem at one time or another.. At least he'll have some good advice for you..

You can usually find a replacement unit on eBay... They are not hard to remove and install. I did it once on my 85 Mark VII I use to have.

Good Luck and Welcome to :V

 

[OldSchool1]

I have an "84 Mark VII and the digital odometer sometimes reads error, then returns to giving an actual mileage. If anyone has had this problem and knows of the fix for this, I sure would appreciate it!

Thanks!

Thanks Mespock, and welcome Mark VII '84.

I don't have a fix but I can tell you that it's acommonality in our 20 year old cars. The same thing happens with ~my~ 1984.

 

[Awesund]

Yeah, it was basically a lame-ass memory keeper designed for the Mark VII digital units. It's a little box that plugs into the pc board. You can replace it with another one, but it will show the milage of whatever vehicle it came from or... more than likely, it won't work either "error". Easier to just live with it.
You can keep track of basic milage through the trip computer. "Dist" key. Reset whenever you want.

Cheers :Beer

 

[Megaboink]

Maybe If!

It might sound crazy but sometimes if you clean the contacts, My OLD MARK 84/86 i had 2 my windows at one time stop working wouldn't go up, so i cleaned the contacts on the button and it work. My 97 mark when i bought it i check the high power fuse and the contacts where like a brown so i bought some 0000 steal wool and clean each contact on the high end fuse and reg fuses and it . In other words clean the contacts on both end to make a good contact.

 

[woodboy]

same problem also 85 mark vii

I too have the same problem with my 85 mark vii. My mileage returns after sitting a while, or just when ever it feels like it. My car has less than 50k on it, however, I was wondering when your milage returns, is it the actual milage and what keeps track of the mileage of the car should the error message appear?
How can I be sure that my car has 47,900 miles on it? The odometer worked when I bought the car.

I have a multitude of problems with this car. I.E. suspension (air) shocks, sporadic idle, and of course the "error" message on the odometer. The 1st and last mentioned are known problems of many of the mark vii's as I have discovered.

One night I sat and fiddled with the tripmeter etc. and I somehow made it come back to life. I thought somehow that there may be a sequence to reset the error message. However I could have just been luck.

I try to find out as much about something before I tear it apart, so I won't get very many surprises. :O)

I have found LVC to be a great help.

 

[OldSchool1]

I too have the same problem with my 85 mark vii. My mileage returns after sitting a while, or just when ever it feels like it. My car has less than 50k on it, however, I was wondering when your milage returns, is it the actual milage and what keeps track of the mileage of the car should the error message appear?

Welcome.
The answer to that question is actually any body's guess. For a true number, you're going to have to keep logs of each trip and then compare those numbers to your odometer if or when it returns a displayed number.

How can I be sure that my car has 47,900 miles on it? The odometer worked when I bought the car.

See above.

I have a multitude of problems with this car. I.E. suspension (air) shocks,

A quick search here for "air shocks" or air bags" or "air springs" should net results. Come back to this thread and post what you found out.

sporadic idle,

Search for "rough idle" or [1984 EGR] or [1985 EGR].

and of course the "error" message on the odometer. The 1st and last mentioned are known problems of many of the mark vii's as I have discovered.

One night I sat and fiddled with the tripmeter etc. and I somehow made it come back to life. I thought somehow that there may be a sequence to reset the error message. However I could have just been luck.

Just luck or the planets were aligned or democrats agreed with republicans Our Tripminders are a separate circuit from our digital odometers, even though some o the same sensors are where they get their data from.

I try to find out as much about something before I tear it apart, so I won't get very many surprises. :O)

I have found LVC to be a great help.

Cool.
Joey, the forum operator, will appreciate that.

Take advantage of the SEARCH feature here as there are LOTS of answers to LOTS of questions. If you search and find nothing, then start a new thread asking one question at a time and I'm sure someone will be willing to tell you what they know.

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

The digital odometers are notorious for showing the "Error" light in place of the mileage with age. You can attempt to clean the contacts in the panel; this may help, but typically has little affect. It is worth an effort though, as it will only cost you a little time and a can of contact cleaner. After that you can only resort to finding a used one in working condition. No other option is known, although I suspect someone out there with an electronics background could find a small lucrative business in repairing these units.

As for knowing if the mileage is right after a sporatic "Error" message, Mr. Dancy is completely correct. I had my odometer go intermittent, and almost every time it came back to life with the proper mileage on it. The last time I saw it, however, it gave me a mileage of 13,XXX...very wrong. Then I replaced it and have had no issues since. It really is a case by case basis.

 

[woodboy]

Thank You!

Thanks JoshMcMadMac for the tip. I hope it solves the problem or I will have to resort to the second step. Your car is very nice indeed. Did it have a vinyl top before you reconditioned it?

I am almost afraid to remove mine if you now what i mean??

I have started the body work on it and am contemplating removing the vinyl.

 

[JoshMcMadMac]

I did not have a vinyl top. It will be a lot of work to remove it, but it will be worth it. There is no telling what shape things are in under there, and to do all of that work to the car and have the roof cave in would be a shame. Shave, trim, remove, pull, and cut as much as you can off of it. No, wait...that was me.

 

[94m5]

you can use a handheld gps to check you speed and milage. we used one to set the dip switchs on our conversion to the 5 speed. anolog to digatil.