Skip to main content

3 replies

Wobbly Speedometer Needle

wombatwombat

I have a VDO speedometer that was recently refurbished by Palo Alto Speedometers, who also supplied a matching cable. The needle is steady and moves smoothly when the cable is attached to a variable-speed electric drill. But when installed in the car the needle bounces around. It seems to be effected by road bumps, but even on relatively smooth surfaces it still wanders.

If the speedometer and cable are fine in a bench test, I’m assuming it has to do with how the cable is attached to the wheel. Or maybe not. Any ideas?

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

WOLFGANGWOLFGANG'89 CMC FWB, FL Supporting Member

Are you using OEM front left spindle or aftermarket dropped/disc spindle?  Wonder if the bore where the speedo cable goes thru the spindle center is dirty, rusted or not polished smoothly?   This would cause the cable to bind.  I'd get a gun cleaning brush (22 cal?) and run it through to clean it and then grease the bore.  Also do you have a secure clip on the square end of cable as it exits the wheel bearing cap and is the bearing cap bent or not mounted straight? A tight bend in cable under dash/gas tank might also cause it.

Gordon NicholsGordon NicholsMassachusetts 1993 CMC Supporting Member

It could also mean that your speedo cable is a tad too short, causing a tight radius turn somewhere in its path which makes the cable "flip" inside of the cable cover as it rotates.  That flipping causes the needle to wobble slowly at low speeds, and the wobble speeds up to a vibration as the car speeds up.  The answer to that is a longer cable allowing more gentle turns on the way to the speedo gauge.

Add Reply

Post Content
Remove This Ad

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×

Access to this requires a premium membership.

Supporting Member

Please help keep us running!

Supporting members have donated about $4.00 a month ($49.00 US per year) paid annually.

  • Priority support
  • Removal of inter-page (between thread) advertisements.
  • Access to Build Manuals
  • Access to Knowledge Base
  • Access to Supporting Members events.
  • Access to Leveraged Group Buying from site Merchants.

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.

$49.00 per 12 Months (plus tax if applicable)
×