Ford Repair: speedometer, printed circuit board, electronic issue

Question
Hello;
      I have a question which i hope you can help me with regadring an electrical/electronic issue on my 1998 Contour 2.0 motor. Recently my speedometer/odometer quit working I used to have that problem occasionaly but a good tap on top of the dash would fix that, now no tap or strike cures the problem.I dont think that these new cars have a transmission cable as did the older vehicles which would eliminate that problem.I dont think that its the cluster connection for the temp. gas and other idiot lights work fine,I also dont get a check engine light ,so what could it be?

                       Thank You
                         Tom

Answer
It could be a connection problem at the speedo head. That has a printed circuit board-type system on the back of the cluster, there could be a crack in the circuit for the speedo. Could be the speedo has failed. Probably not sensor related since you could affect it by tapping on the dash. A code check will tell you if there is a speed sensor code however.

With a scanner a tech could watch the speed sensor output to make sure that part of the system is working.