Odometer uses the vss (vehicle speed sensor). The odometer should not be affected at all.

Engine speed sensors are usually around the cam's/timing belt area. Most times they are pretty cheep. Sometimes are a tough to replace and sometimes they are not. Sorry I can't tell you any more details.

 

I've still not taken this in to the stealership, but this morning I did plug in my scangauge II and it does register RPMs. There are no other indications of a bad cluster......no bad pixels or non-functioning indicators that I can tell.
Does the fact that the scangauge II reads RPMs indicate that the engine speed sensor is working?
I'm REALLY hoping this is not a cluster issue......!!

 

damn. your 01 only has 23k miles!? I got more than 100K on u. U got some catchin up to do

 

Ewww, it is starting to sound like a cluster issue or electrical issue. I haven't heard of only the tach stop working though, usually its only the temp and gas gauges. The way to find out for sure is to use a vag-com cable connected to a laptop and use the gauge sweep function.

 

Surprise, the tach started working again! It's been working now for a week or so - both times I've driven it. However, the needle stays on zero until a second or so after the car starts......then it jumps up to the engine speed suddenly. I'd never noticed that before.....is it normal?
Still nothing else in the cluster acts wierd......fingers are crossed.

Yeah, just turned 23,600 mi on the clock. She's a real garage queen. I put all the miles on my 2004 Mazdaspeed Miata which is CHEAP to mod and to drive and repair. The TT is just WAYY classier and refined.

 

The tach delay is NOT normal; however, mine does it maybe once every 50 starts. My cluster is about 18 months old now.

I bet the problem is related to letting the car sit. When my tach doesen't work, it usually after I didn't drive the car for 4-5 days (I took the motorcycle). Keep an eye on your battery voltage. I suspect it may be low after sitting. Prehaps let the car sit for 10 days, read the voltage and then start the car and see if the tach works.

 

Oh yeah, anything under 12.6v means its time for a new battery.

 

Jake, thanks for the tips. Do you mean to check the battery with a voltmeter with car off? 12.6v min?

 

Yes.

The way to correctly test a battery is to let it sit atleast 24 hours without being charged and then measure the voltage. So, test the battery with the car 100% off. If you are not comfortable getting at the battery, you can always measure it though the cig lighter or something like that too. Mechanics replace a battery when the voltage reads less then 12.6.

The tt is known to do some weird things when the battery levels get low- this very likely could be one of them.

 

Although not intuitive, I think I can get at the battery terminals. I'll give it a check!! Tks.