Is Odometer Connected To Speedometer? (Explained For Beginners)

Two of the most important instruments on an instrument cluster are the odometer and the speedometer.

They both have their own unique and individual uses for your car but you may be wondering whether or not they work in tandem with one another because of how their functions can be closely related.

Is the odometer connected to the speedometer?

The odometer may or may not be connected to the speedometer. It depends on the type of instrument cluster, as mechanical or some electronic dashboards have odometers and speedometers that are connected. Meanwhile, the odometer isn’t connected to the speedometer in LCD or digital dashboards.

Speedometer Odometer connection

As you can see, different types of instrument clusters actually have different configurations.

In older cars, mechanical odometers are connected to speedometers in one way or another, and the same could be said in electronic cars.

However, as we now have cars with more modern configurations, odometers are probably no longer connected to the speedometer.

With that said, let’s find out more about how odometers are connected to speedometers.

Is odometer connected to the speedometer?

For car enthusiasts out there, you would know that the different instruments on your dashboard are so important for various unique reasons.

After all, they wouldn’t be on the instrument cluster if they weren’t so important at all.

And two of the most important instruments that you can use and rely on for different reasons are the odometer and the speedometer.

The odometer is there to keep track of the distance the car has traveled, find out on this article if your odometer is in miles or kilometers.

This becomes important for maintenance and routine check-ups because you have to look at the distance your car has traveled to know whether or not it needs maintenance.

Meanwhile, the speedometer keeps track of the speed at which the car is going at any given moment.

And because of that, it is important for safety reasons and to make sure that you are complying with the speed limit provided by the law.

While both the odometer and the speedometer have their own unique functions, one could easily think that they are both connected to one another in one way or another.

After all, aside from how the odometer is usually located just below the speedometer, you may think that the odometer keeps track of the distance you have traveled based on the speed at which you are going during certain periods of time.

So, is the odometer connected to the speedometer?

To answer that question, it is important to look at how the traditional odometer works.

When the odometer is keeping track of the distance the car has traveled, it actually bases it on your front tires.

It does so by making calculations based on the circumference of your tires and on the number of revolutions it has made.

In other words, it basically uses a mathematical equation that uses the revolutions the tires have made and the circumference of the tires to come up with the distance traveled by the car.

The traditional odometer is actually a mechanical device that uses a set of gears with a coaxial cable that is connected to the front tires so that the odometer can calculate the distance traveled by the car.

This cable is connected to the output shaft of the transmission, which is connected to the tires.

And you have to know that the same cable that connects the odometer to the front tires is also connected to the speedometer.

This is the same mechanism that is used even in most electrical dashboards that no longer rely on the traditional mechanical system that older cars use.

So, in answering our question, yes, the traditional odometer is connected to the speedometer but not in the sense that the odometer relies on the speedometer.

They are connected to one another through the same coaxial cable that connects the odometer to the front tires as both the odometer and the speedometer rely on a similar mechanism to keep track of the distance traveled by car and its speed respectively.

In short, they rely on the revolutions made by the tires, and that is why they are both connected to one another through the same cable.

On the other hand, some cars that make use of an electronic system may not have odometers and speedometers that are connected to one another.

The reason is that the speedometer may no longer be relying on the revolutions of the tire via the transmission but is actually relying on a speed sensor to track the speed at which the car is going.

But the fact is that such a system still relies on the same data that the odometer is using. Still, the connection between the odometer and the speedometer here is merely circumstantial and is not born out of the need for each other’s data or readings.

Today, most of the newer cars rely on digital technology to calculate the distance traveled by the car.

Computerized cars make use of chips that are powerful and capable enough to calculate the distance traveled by ss on their own.

But you also have to know that even computerized cars rely on the same data that the speedometer uses, which is the tire revolution.

So, in a sense, they are still indirectly connected to one another as they use the same data that is collected by the individual instruments.

Does speedometer affect odometer?

In relation to the above-answered question, you may be wondering if the readings in your speedometer can affect the way the odometer works.

Does the speedometer affect the odometer such that whatever the speedometer collects and reads affects the reading of the odometer as well?

Going back to what we have discussed above, the answer would be no.

Your odometer will not be affected by the readings of the speedometer as they both function independently on their own without relying on each other for their readings and their values.

As we said, the most important indicators that the odometer needs to calculate the distance traveled by your car are the revolutions that your tires make.

Because of that, your odometer does not rely on the speedometer for its values but will actually rely on the tires instead.

Again, the relationship that the odometer and the speedometer have is largely based on how they are both connected to the front tires, which are the major driving forces behind the values that they readout.

They may be connected to one another via the fact that they both rely on the front tires but they are not connected to one another in the sense that they rely on each other for the values they readout.

So, again, the speedometer reading will not in any way affect the reading on your odometer because of the very fact that their relationship is merely born out of the fact that they both rely on the tires.

If my speedometer is off will my odometer be off as well?

Finally, there will be cases where the speedometer is off or broken. In such a case, will it also follow that your odometer won’t be functioning as well?

No, the odometer will still function even if the speedometer is turned off or is broken.

The reason is not only because the odometer functions independently from the speedometer but also because this can lead to discrepancies in the total mileage of the car. 

You can just imagine how big of a discrepancy it would be on the car’s mileage if the speedometer is off or is not functioning well and the odometer follows suit.

The odometer needs to function well enough regardless of whether or not the speedometer is functioning.

And that is the reason why the odometer will still be ticking even if your speedometer may be broken or is simply turned off.

Sources

Prius Chat: Is the speedometer separate from the odometer?

Does the speedometer and odometer work in tandem?

ExplainThaStuff.com: Speedometers

HOW DOES THE ODOMETER WORK?

The relationship between speedometer and odometer