I read an article in Hemmings, Letters to the Editor, about red numbers in the 1/10th position on an Odometer, The reader thinks this happens on old Mopars (no year mentioned) when the Odometer turns over. The Editor responded and stated that you would see red numerals in the 1/10th position if the Odometer was a replacement. Has anyone ever heard of this - or seen red numerals in the 1/10th position on an older Odometer ?

 

Not that I have seen, the odometer just starts over. A lot of times the numerals don’t align well when it rolls over.

 

X2

 

I have never heard the red dial theory. That's a new one on me.

 

Think about it, for 99,999.9 the 1/10 digit has been black and white. Do you honestly think that by some miracle it magically goes to red?

 

I have seen red 1/10 numerals but cannot remember on what. I've also seen reversed colors- black numerals on white background for miles, white on black for tenths- but again can't remember on what.

At any rate it wouldn't have anything to do with the odometer rolling over, and when that happens the dials still generally line up well.

Sometime in the 60s odometers were re-engineered so that if someone tried to roll back miles on a car, a white strip would appear between the individual dials.

 

being a automobile dealer from the early 70"s for 50 years i remember if you bought a replacement OD from a new car dealer the 1/10 digit was red signifying a OD change. most guys bought used od from junk yard but new car dealers were putting in factory ones because of cost

 

I know that an odometer cannot “magically turn to red.” I did not know that a new car dealer would install a replacement odometer with red 1/10th digits.

 

I recently purchased some NOS odometers in their original AC packaging. The tenths are black on a white wheel like the factory originals.

 

This is not psychically possible.

 

Unless you have ESP.

 

A little red lens on a pawl set to be pushed to the left from behind the bezel over the tenths digit if the speedometer were to be reversed. Make it latch after fully engaged over the number because it would have done it some with the car reversing.

 

Being around the auto industry for most of my life, I've never heard of this. Generally a red or colored 1/10ths digit was found on vehicles with a trip odometer.

 

It’s in the December 2022 Hemming Motor News - Letters to the Editor if anyone wants to read it verbatim. The letter itself, as well as the response from the Editor, both sounded strange to me. That is why I brought the question here - to have a civilized discussion.

 

Misinformation is why I stopped subscribing to the Hemmings publications years ago.