The speedo in my 2006 Vintage just started to get noisy and the needle shakes but not at all speeds. It sounds like it is coming from the head unit but it could be the cable. Can this be lubed and what is the procedure ?
Thanks,Joel
The speedo in my 2006 Vintage just started to get noisy and the needle shakes but not at all speeds. It sounds like it is coming from the head unit but it could be the cable. Can this be lubed and what is the procedure ?
Thanks,Joel
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Joel, mine was doing that and my speedo cable broke on the way home from Carlisle 2 years ago. The other end of the speedo cable is attached to the left front hub. Pop off the hubcap and you will see a square shaft poking through the middle with cotter (sp) pin or wire running through it. Unhook that and unscrew it from the back of the speedo and pull out from the passenger compartment side. If it were me, i would just replace it. When I replaced mine, I did use a dry cable lube. I have enough left over to last me through the next 300 lifetimes. If you can wait until Carlisle, I'll bring it with me and you can hang onto it until the next Carlisle. If you decide to just lube it, you could try lubing it from the Speedo side, but, most likely will have to remove it from the car anyway and, chances are, it will break anyway.
If I can fix this, anybody can.
Our speedo cable went US in New Mexico on the Route 66 trip and it was diagnosed and cable replaced for about $65 .
Joel, buy a new cable. Mine broke on my Spyder, the outer vinyl wore away on the tie rod and allowed water in which eventually rusted it in two.
Anyway, carefully route the cable so it has wide curves and no sharp ones, and doesn't rub on anything. Lube it before installation. Sometimes the speedo end is too long for the replica speedo heads and needs to be shortened a bit.
A temporary fix MIGHT be some white lithium grease to lube the cable. My speedo cable on the '69 VDub was making an annoying, intermittent chatter on the way home from Santa Barbara.
One of my pit crew members (Stan), attended to that need and it has quieted down. Granted, it's probably just a matter of time, however, this might just work for you too.
Joel, I re-read my post and just want to clarify. The square end that goes into the speedo head can be long, not the screw-on part. Hope that helps.
I had the squealing and rattling cable issue about 100 miles after delivery. Used compressed air to drive lithium grease down the cable sheath. That has worked for the last 3K miles with no signs that the problem is returning at this point.
Could also be the speedo, mine went south after making a loud screeching noise then the needle stopped but the noise didn't. Sent the speedo in to be repaired, to some outfit in California. They replaced the speedo within a week except for some minor differences worked out ok. The lights are much brighter than before and my old bulbs wouldn't fit the sockets in the new speedo. One way to check speed is to remove it and using a square drive (the kind that comes in a set of star bits) and a variable speed electric drill.
Use a superbeetle cable its longer and squirt some moly lube in the speedo where the cable is attached
the only thing to use is marvel mystery oil (they don't call it that for nothing)
works everytime,even correcting a sticky speedo shaft in the head
I finally got a chance to look at my noisy shaky speedometer cable and it was a quick and easy fix. I pulled the cable out of the sheath to check it and lub it and it was in perfect shape. The problem was that it was loose where it went into the hollow square fitting that is driven by the grease cap. A few squeezes with a crimping pliers and problem solved!
Hope this helps someone.
However my tach just quit -all the elect. connections look tight-guess i will have to pull it out unless someone can give me advice.
Joel
Try "grounding" the case first.... Some times the internal ground opens up causing different problems for different cars.... It's happened to lots of us....
Access to this requires a premium membership.
Supporting members have donated about $4.00 a month ($49.00 US per year) paid annually.
AUTO RENEW: You membership will auto-renew after 12 months. If you prefer not to auto-renew, you can cancel your premium membership at any time and it will remain in effect until the end of the 12 months. To cancel, sign in at SpeedsterOwners.com and navigate to: (Your User Name) > Premium Membership.
PLEASE NOTE: Your credit card will receive a charge from CROWDSTACK PAY, the payment processor, not SpeedsterOwners.com.