I know there's a few other posts about this, but I seem to still be having trouble... so any advice is much appreciated!

I've got a 2003 focus with speedo issues, replaced it when I got the car about 3 years ago and had no speedo problems after that... until a couple of months ago. Same symptoms, and so I replaced the speedo again, except this time, the speedo still drops to zero and stalls out when I slow down to take corners etc. (I don't know if they preplaced it with a generic one, or if that makes a difference).

Not sure if this is related, but just in case... the other issues are that occasionally I will feel the engine stutter like it's about to misfire but then it will go back to normal. I replaced the alternator a while ago and it got better, but still happens a little.

When the speedo fails, everything else on the dash is fine. The trip counter freezes, but I've never seen the ----- display, the number just doesn't increase. I thought it might be something to do with wet weather, but it happened today in after a few warm days.

I've replaced a few other things along the way (alternator, ignition coils, plugs), but my mechanic seems to think my instrument cluster now needs replacing, but nothing else is happening with the dash (and I'm starting to wonder if they'd just rather replace things that *might* be a problem, rather than diagnosing and fixing the problem).

It's probably time to get a new mechanic, but before I do...

Could the new speed sensor be faulty? A problem with the wiring? Something else? If it is the dash, can connections be resoldered etc or am I looking at a new one?

If anyone has ideas, or suggestions to help a diagnosis, that'd be awesome. :-)

Thanks!