95 F-150 Speedometer Accuracy

02SilverStroke

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My son has a 1995 F-150 XL SWB 4.9 5-speed that he has had for about 8 years. It has around 165,000 miles on it. He had some bigger tires put on the other day, went from P235/75R15's to P265/75R15's and his speedometer is now approximately 5 miles an hour off (slower). He sent to two different Ford dealers to have the speedometer adjusted and was told that it has been adjusted 5 times before (we don't believe this because of the time he's had the truck, plus my mother in law had it for about a year before him, purchasing it with 25,000 miles). The last dealer (Middlekauff Ford in Plano) said that he could get another electronic unit for about $200 that could fix it because Ford had a limit of 5 adjustments. There are people everywhere that add larger tires and there should be a simpler way to adjust the speedometer. We thought it was simply changing the gear at the end of the cable. The truck really drives and rides much better with the bigger tires. I told him to just make a five mile adjustment while driving (drive 55 in a 60 mile zone, 35 in a 40, etc.). Can someone give me a "simple" answer on this situation?
 

jlayne

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i have a tire/spedo calculators on my site.. i ran your numbers and got about 3.5 miles per hour off (you went from a tire that was 28.8 to 30.5)

to be honest if it was mine i wouldn't mess with it but if you want to fix it i believe that model truck used the color coded (by gearing and tire size) speedo gears on the cable where they bolt into the transmission, just call a dealer that isn't trying to screw you and swap it out with one that has a different number of teeth (a different color)

swaping them out is easy just pull the cable off the sice of the tranny and remove the clip that holds the cog on, replace it with a different color and button it back up

as to what color cog you need... i have no clue you might pull yours and tell the dealer the color/number of teeth and get one larger

oh and if memory serves me corectly your gonna flip when you find out how much for wants for a little colored plastic cog
 

95_stroker

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Here are instructions on how to recalibrate a speedo on the 94-97 PSD , I dont know if the procedure is the same for those year model gassers.

RecalibrateYourSpeedometerAfterChangingTireSize



There is no tire size/code chart because tire size vs. actual tire dimensions are different between manufacturers. Even between the same tire size and same maker there will be a difference in actual size between the different tread designs.

The Ford calibration equation is:
20186 / tire height in inches = some number, then: some number /.6666 = program code

Example:
Start with 20186, divide by actual tire size in inches. Divide again by .6666

You want to use a rolling measurement to get your actual tire height (If you try to measure the tire in the driveway, use conversion charts, or anything else you will end up with an inaccurate reading again). Use your rear tire since the sensor is located there. Mark the ground and your tire and roll forward 3 times marking the ground each time. (I ran over a spot of oil at a local gas station and measured between my tread mark prints), then divide that number by three to get the average length of one revolution (this will protect yourself against a bad reading using just one revolution). You can then divide the length of one revolution by 3.14 to get actual tire height. Be careful in your measurements, a small amount will change the code. EX: 31.69" tire height is code 956, and 31.21" tire height is code 970.



Now, to program it into your truck:

Warning: You can only change the calibration 6 times without replacing the module.

To set the calibration, ground the single wire connector under the glove box it says PSOM (Programable Speedometer Opdometer Module). ”Yes there is only one and it has a spade type plug on the end". I used a wire with clips on both ends to ground the plug to a screw under the dash or try a test light and use the clip end to the PSOM and the other jam in a dooe hinge. Now look at your speedometer on the face of your dash while sitting in the drivers seat and there should be a "reset" button and a "select" button. While holding the reset button in on the trip meter, turn the ignition to 'on' while the wire is still grounded. Let go of the reset button. The speedometer display will sweep once and will show a code of some kind then push in again the "reset" button and the existing code will be displayed with RECAL?, mine said 976 RECAL? Now you enter your new code you came up with by dividing the rolling measurement by PI or 3.14 by pushing the "select" button until it gets to the new calibration code number. You may have to push “select” a whole bunch of times until you get to your code. If you turn off the key at this point the original code will not be changed or any of the 6 lives will not be used. To store your new code press “Reset”. Turn off the key. Unplug the ground wire. To check the new calibration, use the mile markers on the interstate. Run an indicated 60 mph and it should take exactly 60 seconds to go 1 mile.

 

jlayne

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i'm nof familiar with the electonic gear recalibration it may be possible to reprogram them and it sound easier, i have only had experience with changing them around old school with speedo gears

i found a ford calculator where you plug in your gear ration and tire size and some tooth counts and it will tell you how many teeth you need on you speedo drive gear for it to be accurate

then buy the gears TCI offers them for auto trannys, but you get the point, they have some calculators as well
 

Crumm

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95_stroker said:
Here are instructions on how to recalibrate a speedo on the 94-97 PSD , I dont know if the procedure is the same for those year model gassers.
The instructions are also in the WIKI. I am not so sure that the F150 had the same ring gear sensor as the 3/4 and one ton but they might. Take a look at the rear axle and see if there is a sensor on top of the pumpkin. If it does you should be able to recalibrate it unless all six lives have been used. If they have it can be sent in to get reset.
 

BlueMule

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Crumm said:
The instructions are also in the WIKI. I am not so sure that the F150 had the same ring gear sensor as the 3/4 and one ton but they might. Take a look at the rear axle and see if there is a sensor on top of the pumpkin. If it does you should be able to recalibrate it unless all six lives have been used. If they have it can be sent in to get reset.

Yes, the recalibration proceedure for the 94-97 PSD will also work on the gassers of the same vintage. I just did it last month for a coworkers 94 F150 :cool:
 
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