P1800 speedo

[charlski]

On a drive over to Leamington Spa today I noticed that the speedo was stuck on 60mph. This clearly happened on the,way over as,all was fine earlier when I was dropping down for speed cameras. I disconnected the cable from the back of the speedo clock and withdrew the cable which was in tact and not snapped. I then reinserted it and felt the inner cable through the end of the outer speedo cable as I drove off and it was not turning so I'm presuming it's something at tge gearbox drive end. Before I crawl under the car anything obvious I should be looking for at the drive end? I also on the way home discovered digital speedo apps on my phone.... Amazing bits of kit. Almost makes it not worth repairing!!!

[Clan]

Originally Posted by charlski

On a drive over to Leamington Spa today I noticed that the speedo was stuck on 60mph. This clearly happened on the,way over as,all was fine earlier when I was dropping down for speed cameras. I disconnected the cable from the back of the speedo clock and withdrew the cable which was in tact and not snapped. I then reinserted it and felt the inner cable through the end of the outer speedo cable as I drove off and it was not turning so I'm presuming it's something at tge gearbox drive end. Before I crawl under the car anything obvious I should be looking for at the drive end? I also on the way home discovered digital speedo apps on my phone.... Amazing bits of kit. Almost makes it not worth repairing!!!

assuming you pressed the inner cable fully home with a slight turn to seat it ..It seems you have two problems , The speedo stuck on 60 mph and the inner cable not turning .. does the lower end of the cable go straight into the tail housing of the gearbox or is there a 90 degree gear unit on the end ?

[charlski]

Hi yes pushed cable all the way back in and seated it firmly, the needle dropped from 60 to zero by the time I got home, (about 60 miles) I presume then it should have dropped straight away when the cable stopped spinning?? Underneath I have an L shaped connector.

[Ron Kwas]

charlsky;

...that "L shaped connector" is the right angle drive which houses a gearset which if not properly lubed can fail...in the process of repairing Speedo and drive, it wouldn't hurt to remove/disassemble/clean/inspect/reassemble with a high-quality lube (I lice Lubriplate for this).

Cheers

[Clan]

Originally Posted by charlski

Hi yes pushed cable all the way back in and seated it firmly, the needle dropped from 60 to zero by the time I got home, (about 60 miles) I presume then it should have dropped straight away when the cable stopped spinning?? Underneath I have an L shaped connector.

prime suspect is the L drive , can you turn the cable from the speedo end when it is pushed down in towards the gearbox ?
The speedo should go to 0 when the cable stops turning yes .

[charlski]

Hi no once the cable is,seated you cannot twist it either way from the speedo end. My other half now days she heard a squeeking noise Intermittent but regular coming from the dash which sounds like the speedo she didn't mention it before as the cars always making various noises allegedly!! Which sounds like the speedo and also sounds like the reason the needle didn't drop down to zero but stayed on 60!! I have a spare speedo somewhere I can dig out to test, but I'm.guessing it's a combination of that and the L drive otherwise the inner cable would be turning, was to hot to mess about with cars today but will try and clamber underneath next weekend.

[Derek UK]

There is normally a short sacrificial piece that connects the cable to the speedo gear in the gearbox. A good idea to get the correct one for your car before taking off the right angle drive. Possible that the part is the same for all applications but the 1800 is the only one that has the right angle drive.
From Brookhouse part #1212553 @ £4.44 (Found under Instrument speedo cables)

[Uplander]

Hi
The speedo wasn't working on my 1800 when I bought it and it turned out to be the small section in the L shape drive at the gearbox end that had disintegrated.
A common issue apparently. Replaced it with a new piece and it broke again on the first time out. Speedo cable now connects directly to gearbox without the L drive and I've had no problems so far...
Simon

[charlski]

So the short cable in the L drive had snapped, and whilst it fell out of the L drive it's firmly stuck in what looks like a brass piece attached to the gear box, which sits just prior to where the thread starts for tge L drive nut. Is this brass piece a push fit into the gear box as can't see how to remove it to retrieve the other half of the broken short cable???