Don Jordan Posted July 18, 2010 Report Posted July 18, 2010 I was out for a drive and my speedometer started making a loud buzzing noise. While I was driving I reached under the dash and just wiggled the cable and the noise stopped and the needle appeared to be working. After a few miles it began again so I just disconnected it. Today I hooked up a drill to the cable and it make noise and shook. So I took the speedo out. Silly me. Now what do I do? It appears that the needle is just sitting there - not being held on by anything. I don't know what to do. Do they still have speedometer shops? Would they work on something like this? I'm leaving on a trip to Sacramento (about 400 miles) Wednesday and I'm trying to get all the bugs out. If I can't figure it out I'll just swap the one out of my other car until I get back. There are wires inside. They don't appear tightly wound to anything. I'll try to take some pictures. I thought everything was going to be so perfect. buggers Quote
55 Fargo Posted July 18, 2010 Report Posted July 18, 2010 Did you oil the speedo drive on the back of the speedo itself? Did you pll the speedo cable out of it's sheath and lube the cable? Is the speedo now on the bench? Yes there are still speedo places that can and will work on the vintage type speedo, hopefully someone will chime in and suggest some outfit near your location. Maybe you can clean and oil it and re-install, hopefully someone like Tim Adams can walk you through this.....Fred Quote
Don Jordan Posted July 18, 2010 Author Report Posted July 18, 2010 Look at the wire that seems unraveled. Some how that does not look right. It has been oiled, babied, taken care of. I don't know if it's possible to rewire the speedo. I'm hoping someone will know. I have a feeling I'm probably SOL. Quote
TodFitch Posted July 18, 2010 Report Posted July 18, 2010 Look at the wire that seems unraveled. Some how that does not look right.It has been oiled, babied, taken care of. I don't know if it's possible to rewire the speedo. I'm hoping someone will know. I have a feeling I'm probably SOL. Speedometers are quite simple in operation: A magnet is rotated by the cable. The magnet is set inside an aluminum cup that is attached to the needle. The spinning magnet generates eddy currents in the aluminum which acts to rotate the cup and needle. A spring resists the rotation and returns the needle to 0. Generally the problem is too much resistance (needs lubrication) or the magnet has become weak with age. However it looks like much worse has happened inside your speedometer. That wire in your photo looks like a mangled up return spring. Find a local speedometer repair place. It looks like you need more than a simple lubrication and cleaning. Last I had to do that, about 10 years ago, there were still a few listed in the yellow pages. And of course there is Google... Quote
BobT-47P15 Posted July 18, 2010 Report Posted July 18, 2010 Ooohhh.....doesn't look so good. What Tod said. If you're lucky, there will be some place around you to work on it. A couple shops I called in the past only worked on new style speedos. Have you looked in Hemmings Motor News.......? They are on line or you can buy the magazine at a news stand or book store. Quote
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