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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Speedo Failure

Posted by: bd1308 May 11 2005, 05:50 PM

I was driving and the speedo was stuck on 60 the whole way home. Stopped at a light and it went to zero and never moved since. The odometer works perfect but the speedo hardly works at all. I took it apart and found grease all over the cup that is connected to the needle...grease all over everything. Is this normal? Should I grab another speedo, or use a bike speedo?

Posted by: ChrisReale May 11 2005, 06:21 PM

did ya check the speedo cable?

Posted by: nebreitling May 11 2005, 06:32 PM

use a bike speedo.

Posted by: bd1308 May 11 2005, 06:41 PM

speedo cable was fine.....the odometer was doing awesome...ticking miles by and by ...where is the angle drive? I wanna see this thing. Already have the car on RaMpS

Posted by: Mueller May 11 2005, 06:44 PM

follow the cable to back of the car...........

Posted by: lapuwali May 11 2005, 06:44 PM

First time I've heard of the speedo failing but the odo working. Usually the other way around. Can't be the cable if the odo works.

You can look for a speedo shop in your area to see if you can get it fixed. Or send it to PA or NH Speedo to have them fix it (expensive). Or buy a VDO electronic speedo that reads off a VW speed sensor adapted to your cable (about the same in price). Or buy a used speedo off Ebay (not so expensive). Or use a bike speedo (Sigma Sport BC800, goes up to 188mph, has both trip and regular odos, switchable between mph and km/h, about $25).

Bad things about bike speedos: they don't have lights in them, so you can't see it in the dark unless you cobble up something; rigging up the magnet and sensor are sometimes a real pain. You'll need to attach the magnet more or less permanently to something (I used superglue when I did this on my Mini), and you'll need to make up a bracket to hold the sensor reasonably still and within 4mm of the magnet. Any wobbling of the sensor mount will throw off the speed reading. They look like a digital watch is stuck to your dash.

Good things about bike speedos: you can calibrate it to within 0.01mi or 0.1mph of being exactly correct if you have the patience; they work even in reverse; no cable to fail.

Posted by: bd1308 May 11 2005, 07:08 PM

QUOTE (lapuwali @ May 11 2005, 06:44 PM)
First time I've heard of the speedo failing but the odo working. Usually the other way around. Can't be the cable if the odo works.

You can look for a speedo shop in your area to see if you can get it fixed. Or send it to PA or NH Speedo to have them fix it (expensive). Or buy a VDO electronic speedo that reads off a VW speed sensor adapted to your cable (about the same in price). Or buy a used speedo off Ebay (not so expensive). Or use a bike speedo (Sigma Sport BC800, goes up to 188mph, has both trip and regular odos, switchable between mph and km/h, about $25).

Bad things about bike speedos: they don't have lights in them, so you can't see it in the dark unless you cobble up something; rigging up the magnet and sensor are sometimes a real pain. You'll need to attach the magnet more or less permanently to something (I used superglue when I did this on my Mini), and you'll need to make up a bracket to hold the sensor reasonably still and within 4mm of the magnet. Any wobbling of the sensor mount will throw off the speed reading. They look like a digital watch is stuck to your dash.

Good things about bike speedos: you can calibrate it to within 0.01mi or 0.1mph of being exactly correct if you have the patience; they work even in reverse; no cable to fail.

bike speedo was a joke.......I'm going to the VW shop to see if the guy has a VW speedo i can use for the time being, or if he actually has a VDO speedo...these damn things look so simple, and it looks.....WAIT a sec. I think i got it.

Posted by: ben1440 May 11 2005, 07:22 PM

not trying to steal the thread or anything, but what is the deal if the speedometor works but not the odometor. Is that the speedo or the cable?

Posted by: bd1308 May 11 2005, 07:26 PM

somebody hold my beer.....™

there is a gearset that advances the odometer, and when the factory made these guages, they didnt score the rod when putting on the gear, so when year 30+ rolls around, they strip and dont work, IE the gear spins but the rod doesnt.

Posted by: Mueller May 11 2005, 07:37 PM

QUOTE (ben1440 @ May 11 2005, 06:22 PM)
not trying to steal the thread or anything, but what is the deal if the speedometor works but not the odometor. Is that the speedo or the cable?

think about it ....no cable, and nothing will work