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Speedo No Go

Silver Creek Sunbeam

Gold Level Sponsor
This is an update and addendum to a thread I revived a couple of weeks ago about my speedo.
To catch up, my previous situation was this:

Fresh OD from Howarth installed - new OD speedo cable installed - OD speedo from whereabouts unknown installed.

Speedo did nothing and then discovered brand new OD cable had snapped while working on something else. Bench tested OD - no good.

CURRENT SCENARIO and the one on which I would like input.

NOS, correct Jaeger Speedo purchased and installed (bench tested with drill and works) - another NEW speedo cable installed

TEST DRIVE = no speed registered for the first 100 yards or so then topped out at 20mph, no matter the speed. I only drove around the block, trying not to possibly snap another cable.

Before you ask...BOTH cable installs were done with LONG SWEEPING turns. Lol
I made sure to heed that warning.

The only remaining variable I see is the speedo gear in the transmission.
This was a fresh OD setup from Jeff Howarth purchased by the previous owner 20 years ago but still crated until two months ago.

I’m hoping that I am just missing something that you guys have seen before and can draw my attention to that is NOT the speedo gear.

Any ideas? As always, thanks for any info that you can provide.
 

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
Sure sounds like the Speed O Gear is the culprit. But, is the meter compatible with the OD
 

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
Man - a- live, I'd sure hate to remove the engine and tranny. Is there any way to "inspect" the gear on the tail shaft?
 

beamdream

Gold Level Sponsor
Just wondering if you jack the rear wheels and run with speedo end of cable disconnected, is the cable spinning freely ?

As to accessing the rear shaft drive gear, you can remove the pinion in situ, but impossible (I think) to get to the drive gear without pulling the extension housing, alas almost impossible to remove without pulling the gear box.
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
A few thoughts.... A binding speedo cable seems to be the issue.... But... Ome ive had... That can have 2 solutions...

The sqaure peg that goes into the back of the speedo can have 2 issues.

1. Not far enough out of the cover.. You fit it and the gear doesnt go in far enough to engage the dive in the gauge properly and can disengage with movement of the cable... So see if you have a good bit of length of the metal end sticking out.

2. The drive peg or the socket aren't quite a good fit. Wrap some Teflon plumbing tape around the drive head on the cable to ensure ita a tight fit. Normally this causes a flicking of the needle but can also lead to a lower stuck reading as it cant get purchase and rotate faster than a certain speed before it slips and spins.
 

Silver Creek Sunbeam

Gold Level Sponsor
A few thoughts.... A binding speedo cable seems to be the issue.... But... Ome ive had... That can have 2 solutions...

The sqaure peg that goes into the back of the speedo can have 2 issues.

1. Not far enough out of the cover.. You fit it and the gear doesnt go in far enough to engage the dive in the gauge properly and can disengage with movement of the cable... So see if you have a good bit of length of the metal end sticking out.

2. The drive peg or the socket aren't quite a good fit. Wrap some Teflon plumbing tape around the drive head on the cable to ensure ita a tight fit. Normally this causes a flicking of the needle but can also lead to a lower stuck reading as it cant get purchase and rotate faster than a certain speed before it slips and spins.
I’ll check it out and give it a shot. Thanks!
 

alpine_64

Donation Time
To clarify my poorly written point 2.
If the peg isnt fitting tightly and has some slip due to rounded edges or the socket being too large etc.. It can cause your issue or cause the needle to jump.
Wrapping the peg with the teflon tape will make it a snug fit and stop that issue.
 

Tom H

Platinum Level Sponsor
I don't think it's the cable.

And note that there are no "gears " involved in the speed-indicating portion of the speedo. Gears are only involved in the odometer. But of course, the cable is linked to the odometer gears and if the odometer gears are jammed, then the cable might stop turning and then breaking. Note that there is only a very light, "magnetic" connection between the cable and the the speed indicating needle. If some piece of dirt or paint or a spider were inside the speedo it could keep the needle from moving even though everything else were fine.

Drive the car a half mile or so and see if the odometer moves. If so and it seems about correct, then take the speedo out and see if you can get the needle to move near full rotation by just quickly rotating the speedo housing in your hand. If the needle appears to stick, then take it apart and see what's holding it up.

Tom
 

Silver Creek Sunbeam

Gold Level Sponsor
I don't think it's the cable.

And note that there are no "gears " involved in the speed-indicating portion of the speedo. Gears are only involved in the odometer. But of course, the cable is linked to the odometer gears and if the odometer gears are jammed, then the cable might stop turning and then breaking. Note that there is only a very light, "magnetic" connection between the cable and the the speed indicating needle. If some piece of dirt or paint or a spider were inside the speedo it could keep the needle from moving even though everything else were fine.

Drive the car a half mile or so and see if the odometer moves. If so and it seems about correct, then take the speedo out and see if you can get the needle to move near full rotation by just quickly rotating the speedo housing in your hand. If the needle appears to stick, then take it apart and see what's holding it up.

Tom
I’ll check that out. The odometer and trip meter did seem to work correctly for the short distance that I drove it.
Your suggestion could be the issue with the newly installed speedo.

As I mentioned, with a different speedo in the car, the previous new cable was twisted and snapped at the transmission.
I may have multiple issues.
I did not think to see if the odometer was moving on the previous speedo.
It may have been that speedo was completely locked up completely causing the snap and that the issue I have now is unrelated to the issue I had before.

Thanks for the input,

Tod
 

hartmandm

Moderator
Diamond Level Sponsor
Tod,

In your first post you mentioned:
"Speedo did nothing and then discovered brand new OD cable had snapped while working on something else. Bench tested OD - no good."

Are you saying you couldn't turn the first speedo's input connector counter-clockwise by hand?

Mike
 

Silver Creek Sunbeam

Gold Level Sponsor
Tod,

In your first post you mentioned:
"Speedo did nothing and then discovered brand new OD cable had snapped while working on something else. Bench tested OD - no good."

Are you saying you couldn't turn the first speedo's input connector counter-clockwise by hand?

Mike
I did not try turning it by hand. I did a drill test and the needle didn't move. I didn't notice if the odometer did anything because honestly, I was just focused on the needle, which never left zero.
 

hartmandm

Moderator
Diamond Level Sponsor
If it was me, I'd look a little more closely at that first speedo and even the speedo cable (lubrication?) to try to figure out why the speedo cable snapped.

Mike
 
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