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Speedo Kaput Again!

Discussion in '206/246' started by Crawler, Jul 29, 2009.

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  1. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #1 Crawler, Jul 29, 2009
    About 4 months ago, my speedometer needle starting to swing wildly back and forth. Thank to some great advice obtained here, I greased the cable and all was well... until now. When driving the car on Monday, I saw that the speedo is not working at all, except for a very occasional slight movement.

    Any ideas? This is getting old.

    Dan
     
  2. jselevan

    jselevan Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,873
    #2 jselevan, Jul 29, 2009
    Dan, the problem, obviously, is either in the cable or the instrument.

    The least costly and easiest to test is the cable. Either the cable has frayed, or has somehow slipped out of the drive or the head. I would replace the cable with a new one. If this does not solve your problem, then you will be sending your speedometer off to one of several shops for a rebuild. You could extract the cable and inspect it, but this will not tell you whether it has slipped from either end.

    Jim S.
     
  3. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #3 Crawler, Aug 8, 2009
    After disconnecting the cable, I tested the speedometer by inserting a small allen wrench in the drive and spinning it, and it seemed to work fine. After I got the cable reconnected, I went for a test drive. At first... "Aw sh*t!" It still didn't work. Then after driving about 4 or 5 miles, I stopped for a red light. When the light changed, I took off and the speedometer was working normally. I subsequently drove about 25 miles and everything was fine, so it appears that it's fixed.

    My guess is that the cable wasn't engaged in the drive for some reason. After I took it apart and put it back together, it still took a little while for the cable to lock into the speedo drive.
     
  4. synchro

    synchro F1 Veteran

    Feb 14, 2005
    9,294
    CHNDLR
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #4 synchro, Aug 9, 2009
    Sounds reasonable.
    When you inserted the cable, did you spin it while pushing in until it engaged and showed resistance to rotating on either the Speedo side or Transaxle side?
    If so, then you may want to see if the knurled fittings on either the Speedo side or Transaxle side will tighten any more. If the cable wasn't properly seated and now is, then I'd guess that there would be slack in the cable sleeve and tightening the knurled end fittings would take up the slack.
     
  5. need4speed

    need4speed Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,616
    Pacific Palisades
    #5 need4speed, Aug 11, 2009
    My speedo started making a clicking sound but otherwise appears to be working fine. After a few minutes, the clicking sound went away. Until the next time I drove the car. It returned for a few minutes and then again went away. What might this be?

    Thanks
     
  6. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #6 Crawler, Aug 11, 2009
    It sounds as though you might need to grease the cable. When mine needed it, it didn't click, but the needle started to jump around wildly. Yours might be clicking until what grease there is in there warms up. Lubricating the cable is not a difficult operation (I did it myself), but it is a bit messy. If left unattended, it could cause the cable to break from the strain.
     
  7. need4speed

    need4speed Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,616
    Pacific Palisades
    #7 need4speed, Aug 11, 2009
    Dinodan,

    Thanks for the reply. Since the clicking is coming from the speedo, I'm assuming it's only that end of the cable that needs greasing? Is there a preferred grease? I've never done this before.

    Thanks again,

    Manny
     
  8. Crawler

    Crawler F1 Veteran

    Jul 2, 2006
    5,018
    #8 Crawler, Aug 11, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 11, 2009
    If the clicking is clearly coming from the speedo, then it's more likely to be something within the instrument itself, I would say. Having said that, the cable snakes its way from the gearbox to the instrument panel within a protective conduit. At the speedo end, it has a square-shaped tip that engages in a similarly-shaped hole in the speedo drive. If the clicking is coming from the cable, it could be transmitted in such a way that it sounds as though it's coming from the instrument. In any case, I don't see a benefit to just greasing the end.

    Since your symptoms are different from mine, you should probably get a second opinion before proceeding. If you do want to go ahead, there's an earlier thread where Jim Selevan, Coop, and I went through the procedure:

    http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=233209&highlight=speedometer

    One thing I'm not sure I mentioned is that I cleaned the old grease and associated crud off the cable with paper towels and WD40 once I had removed it. I then used a multipurpose lithium-based grease that I got from O'Reilly's Auto Parts.
     
  9. need4speed

    need4speed Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,616
    Pacific Palisades
    #9 need4speed, Aug 11, 2009
    Dinodan,

    Thanks again. I'm taking the car out again today so I'll see if the speedo clicks again.
     
  10. TonyL

    TonyL F1 Rookie

    Sep 27, 2007
    4,202
    Norfolk - UK
    Full Name:
    Tony
    #10 TonyL, Aug 11, 2009
    Make sure the speedo outer cable is not kinked in any way. This would cause the inner drive cable drive to stick and rotate with additional unwanted force.

    It is easily done when withrawing the speedo binnacle. Risk areas are were it comes through the bulkhead behind the dash and when it turns from exiting the chassis behind the front wheel arch.
     
  11. need4speed

    need4speed Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,616
    Pacific Palisades
    #11 need4speed, Aug 12, 2009
    TonyL,

    I'll note this as another possibility. I wasn't able to drive the car today. But with all the suggestions, I'm sure to find the cause and a proper solution.

    Thanks all,

    Manny
     

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