Changed Main Speedo Cable This Afternoon...

lookforjoe

lookforjoe

True Classic
....and ran into a couple of issues...

X19speedoCableEnd.jpg


A. The small cable was cocked due to fractured collar.

B. New cable seems to have longer inner cable, or just the plastic collar in a different spot. I had to use a fair amount to pressure to get the short cable end to seat, and then the trans end wouldn't seat. I ended up fitting the trans end first, then attached the speedo end. Road tested, and it made a horrible clicking noise from the cluster,and the speedo needle didn't come to rest immediately, like a binding cable still spooled momentarily.

C. I used a piece of reinforced large fuel line to brace the broken short cable, keeping it from potentially cocking.

D. I removed about 1/8" from the end of the short cable, to relieve tension on the main inner cable when the short cable is inserted.

After all that, clicking is gone, and speedo needle rises smoothly.
 
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this speedo cable deal (mine is SNAFU'd). You got a standard replacement from Vicks or wherever and used your existing short cable? Is the end pictured above in Bjorn's post the "outboard" end of the short one? I don't get how the replacements can be used with or without the shorty. It appears my short one is gone as I just have a lose end of the main one sitting in wiper bay.
 
Yes, the photo is of the short cable end, the piece I also repaired. I bought an OEM from Bayless. Apparently it is possible to route the cable through the pass compartment & bypass the short cable, instead of back out into the front section & cowl area.



jvandyke said:
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this speedo cable deal (mine is SNAFU'd). You got a standard replacement from Vicks or wherever and used your existing short cable? Is the end pictured above in Bjorn's post the "outboard" end of the short one? I don't get how the replacements can be used with or without the shorty. It appears my short one is gone as I just have a lose end of the main one sitting in wiper bay.
Click to expand...
 
So, the speedo end of the short cable and the "front" end of the long cable are the same? You can connect long cable to speedo too (but it's too short if OEM) If I order one from Vicks is it longer than original to allow the same cable path as OEM or does it need to be routed differently if no short cable is used? Am I making any sense?
Here's Vicks cable. If it helps, I assume the end in the top of the pictures is speedo side, end with thumb screw is gearbox side?
http://www.vickauto.com/cgi-bin/store/07-9308.html
Very confusing if you've never dug into it. I might just tear into to see what there is to see and fix what's broken. Seems to work 90% of the time anyway. That is, only fix the part that failed, not whole assemblies.
 
So, the speedo end of the short cable and the "front" end of the long cable are the same?
Click to expand...
That is the way it is on my '85. The front end of the long cable will snap onto the speedometer, except it is not long enough to reach when routed the factory way. I know different years have used different cable ends, so you probably want to pull your instrument cluster and check the speedometer before ordering parts. The primary benefit of the short / long dual cable setup is that removing the instrument cluster is really easy.
  1. Remove 5 allen head screws around the face of the instrument cluster.
  2. Remove the left side cowl grille (over the wiper bay). Three phillips head screws clearly visible from the top, one hex head screw from the bottom in the left rear corner and one philips head screw under the grille, going straight back towards the cabin (the front edge of the grille has a cutout for a screwdriver to reach this screw).
  3. There is a split grommet around the short cable where it goes through the firewall. Push this grommet into the cabin.
  4. Pull back the retaining sleeve on the connector between short and long speedometer cable and undo the connection.
  5. Push on the short cable to move the cluster an inch or two into the cabin.
  6. From inside the cabin, pull the cluster towards you far enough that you can reach behind and unplug 3 connectors and unclip the short speedometer cable.
  7. Remove cluster. Do not set the cluster face up on the passenger seat, grease from the back of the speedometer will get on the seat (how do I know this?).






 
JDExSquid said:
I just recently had this adventure!

http://xwebforums.com/forum/index.php?threads/7474/
Click to expand...

Yep, I read that thread.
I think my best move is to take a good hard look at things, pull the cluster, and all that and see what I'm up against.
If the long cable can mate with the speedo, and it's just the short one that went bad, it seems you can reroute the long one through the cabin and do without the shorty, I guess. I'm not even sure which part failed on mine. I'll shut up until I've done some exploratory surgery.
 
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I spoke too soon - the clicking is still there :sigh:

Don't recall that being so pronounced with the old cable. Does the speedo head itself generate the noise in others experience? Like to have some pointers before I have to take it all apart....
 
I can't seem to move the cluster out far enough to get at an connectors. Something is keeping in. I'm afraid to force it much. Is it really possible to pull this forward and disconnect? Mine is an '81 with FI, if it matters. There is no shorty cable to found yet, probably hiding behind firewall. With my head on the floor I can look up and see what I believe to be connectors including a screw on that must be the back of the speedometer, so there's a cable there. I think the connection broke and a PO shoved the end that was in the wiper bay behind the firewall and walked away. I might get lucky and reconnect without having to replace.
 
The cluster is not connected to the main cable at all right now. Main cable speedo end is free in wiper box area, no evidence of short cable beside I can see the thumb screw by looking up under the dash. Cluster still won't move, I can reach up under the dash with a long screwdriver and pry on it a bit but it just feels spongy like it is hanging up on something. I wanted to be sure there wasn't a FI wire (30,000 mile warning wire?) that doesn't have enough play to allow extraction while connected.
 
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On mine the wire from speedometer to 30k mile counter box was plenty long enough.

Looking from the wiper bay, do you see the hole for the short cable in the firewall? Nothing plugged, nothing catching here?

How far out can you move the cluster before it gets stuck?
 
Chris St-Louis said:
If the cable is disconnected, theres nothing holding it back. MIght need a little extra umpth, but should leave if the bolts are out.
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Bolts are out, the cluster moves about 2 inches out then stops. I suspect the short cable is hanging up on something back there. If I watch the speedo face while tugging on cluster I can see it "twitching" as I tug, so that tells me something is hanging onto the speedo still.

Got it.
Was able to remove lower steering column shroud, reach up with a finger and spin off retaining nut, lucky it moved with one finger pressure. Then cluster came forward, short cable out end was bent behind a bracket. I extracted it, inspected (looks fine?) reattached to back of speedo, hooked a wire on the exit side to add in fishing it through bulkhead hole. I'm ready to hook it all up a see what happens but I ran out of time. Could be I get super lucky and just have to reattach. Makes one wonder why it was like this in the first place?
 
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Bolted everything back up and speedo works. It's jerky on the low speed end but it works.:) Why the heck was it diconnected and trapped up in there in the first place I'll never know.
For one brief shining moment tonight everything worked. Virtually nothing did when I got the car 6 weeks ago so that's something. Went to gas up and turned off headlights; puff of smoke from light switch and pop ups went weird. No lights, then lights, then won't open, opened manually, then they seemed to work fine. I must take a good hard look at that switch I guess, something must have shorted.....it never ends does it?
 
Sounds like it's time to do the wiring mod for the headlights. Reduces the load on the switch.

You may need to replace the switch anyway, with most things electrical, once you let the smoke out, it's all over :rolleyes2:
 
lookforjoe said:
Sounds like it's time to do the wiring mod for the headlights. Reduces the load on the switch.

You may need to replace the switch anyway, with most things electrical, once you let the smoke out, it's all over :rolleyes2:
Click to expand...

I took a quick look at the switch and a blue/red(?) wire had shorted to a brown. How I do not know. I will inspect/fix/replace. There are some more wires in that area that have been snipped off and not properly covered (little ends hanging out waiting to short) I suspect my mucking about under the dash caused a short with one of these, will investigate, might report, won't be in this thread though. POs are a pain.
 
Chris St-Louis said:
Sweet! Do what I did and get the 2 piece made into a long one. Lots of guyswill poo poo that idea because with a 2 peice its easier to get the cluster out.....Just a little easier, and how often do you need to get in your cluster?
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At the moment it's working so I'll just monitor for a while. It's twitchy below 30mph. Wonder why it was unhooked and not going through the bulkhead. Probably cluster was pulled for something and after reinstall they realized the cable end hadn't made it through the hole so they left it? But they would have had to open up the cowl to disconnect the two...or maybe they just pulled real hard?
 
It's twitchy below 30mph.
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This is usually because the cable is binding somewhere. On mine the forward end of the short cable that was half broken (see start of this thread). Once I fixed that, the twitching went away.

Check the ends of each cable where they meet to make sure they are straight. Also, the cable is supposed to be held in place by a sheet metal hook in the wiper bay, see photo:

DSC09753.JPG
 
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The twitchiness has settled down. I might be good to go for a while. How nice is that? Nothing to buy, 0 hours spent crawling under the car....
Check that off the list....
Next.
 
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