About 700 miles before I picked up the Breakaway in Denver, the PO advised that the speedometer stopped working. He said he drove for a little and it started again and then stopped again. Occasionally, the needle would jump around, but always go back to '0'. I've asked the shop that is fixing the exhaust manifold to look at it. They report that the sensor set up is a 'double unit', with two wires on one and three on the other. We've concluded that the two wire is the cruise control(which is still working). There was also a broken fuse holder right where all these wires are. They fixed the fuse holder and now when the key is turned on, the needle pegs at 85mph and stays there. They called Spartan who said the head was toast and have ordered a new head. Anyone ever run into this on their Spartan/Breakaway?

Something wrong with this trouble shooting. If the speedometer was doing "something" such as jumping around before "fixing" the fuse holder and then it "pegs" after, it probably isn't the head unit.

Getting the head unit from Spartan will be costly and you could do a lot better elsewhere if it is really the head unit. Also, if it turns out that the new head unit also "pegs" you will wind up spending a lot of money for these guys to trouble shoot and find the root cause.

Electronic speedometers work by receiving pulses from the sending unit while driving. if the speedometer goes full scale after whatever the tech did, it is terribly wrong! He also could have fried the head unit.

They first removed the sending unit and put it on a device that would simulate the transmission going in gear. There were no pulses being transmitted. The people at Spartan told the shop that the way this is supposed to work is that you turn the key on and the needle will go all the way to max and then return to '0', and since it wasn't doing that, Spartan surmised that the head unit was the problem. Like I have said many times before, when you're 'technically challenged' like me, you end up spending a lot of money that others can avoid just because of their expertise. There is something to be said for not getting involved with older motor homes if you really don't know much about mechanics and electricity and don't have a lot of money. Just buy a newer 'stick and staple' and drive it for a few years and get rid of it. That seems to be what a lot of people do.

All electronic speedometers are NOT the same. Mine is approximately the same era as yours, it never goes full scale when first turning on. I don't know of any VDO speedometer made during this time frame that does.

Later years, yes some do but not all. On more modern gauge clusters first turn on is basic calibration so needles go full scale and return to zero. Digital instruments requires this but ours are analog gauges and do not. If the guys at Spartan were not around when these instrument panels and gauges were built, they will not have the correct information to draw a conclusion about the defect based on remote information.

Diagnosis that is made with out proper trouble shooting procedures and by people that only have basic electronic knowledge, will always result in "replacing the most expensive or complex unit first" because that has to be where the trouble would naturally be. NOT!

Hate to say this Jim but I think you have the wrong guys (or inexperienced guys) working on this problem.

You can be technically challenged and still get along but make sure you have experienced people trouble shooting and drilling down to the "root cause" of the problem not just "replacing parts'.

Ed, I'm into it now. Talked to Spartan and the two part #s for the sensor and the head are for digital equipment. I'm now on with a tech guy who is going to help trouble shoot the two pieces of equipment so we order only what is needed. Would you know how to test the sensor?

The Spartan tech people have sent detailed, step by step instructions to the shop on how to test the sending unit and the head of the speedometer. You can do it with the sending unit in or out of the vehicle, as long as it's still connected to the speedometer. The first way involves moving the coach while a volt meter is attached to the back of the speedometer to measure signal rec'd. The second way is to take the sending unit out and move it by hand to achieve the same result. Problem is that you have to turn the key on first. When this is done, the speedo needle turns to '80mph' and stays there. This was not happening when I dropped the Barth off at the shop. They did two things.
1. They took the sending unit out of the coach to see what they could find. I don't know how they might have tested it.
2. They replaced a fuse holder right near the sending unit. I don't know what wires the fuse holder was attached to.
My 'electrically challenged' self says, they must have crossed some wires somewhere. What do you all think?

I recommend you call Speedhut and get their GPS model. They will make the face whatever color and style you want (or have) and it requires only a small antenna that you can put anywhere near a view to the sky and it works flawlessly. Earlier someone on these pages had them make a set with Barth on the face. Eliminates all future issues and wiring. It is an easy DIY installation.

I second the motion. Installed Speedhut speedo and tach in March. Very happy with both.

I got the BARTH name on the faces. They will do the pointers and faces any way you want them.

Mine went batshit crazy recently. The speedo and the odo froze. I was at a dead stop and according to my speedo, I was doing 45mph. I shut the coach down and restarted it. It is acting normally.