Bouncy speedo

[lcfmonkey]

Morning
My speedo reading is jumping all over the place at low speed. Once the bus reaches about 50 it sorts itself out and gives a steady reading. It's had a new cable put in so I'm not sure what the problem could be. Has anyone experienced this before and did you manage to get it sorted?

Cheers
Monkey

 

[dubscum]

My old bus was the same unless you was on the motor way it would bounce 30 mph. This was before I snapped the cable, I just got the cheapest sat nav and used it as a speedo

 

[john the horse]

yeah i have the sameish problem its on the to do list its just loose on mine as if i slam on the brakes or go over a bump its fine again, i use the rev counter as a guide anyway.

john the horse

 

[Trikky2]

The first thing to do is unscrew the cable from the speedo. Put some drops of oil on the speedo cable and let gravity draw the oil down into the cable. Then with your finger you can also get a touch of lubricant on the speedo where the cable connects to. Re fit the cable and it should now work without "bounce".

If after doing this it still has the same problem then replace the speedo cable.

 

[Reborn bay man]

Mine bounces when you blip the throttle in neutral!

 

[the_troupster]

Mine does this too. Must be a feature! :lol:

Mine seems to be on bumpy roads though, will try the oil down the cable trick next time i'm under the dash.

Cheers,
Jim

 

[Klaus]

The first thing to do is unscrew the cable from the speedo. Put some drops of oil on the speedo cable and let gravity draw the oil down into the cable. Then with your finger you can also get a touch of lubricant on the speedo where the cable connects to. Re fit the cable and it should now work without "bounce".

If after doing this it still has the same problem then replace the speedo cable.

My tin top is doing the same... Gonna give this a go... Thanks Trikky

 

[lcfmonkey]

Cheers I shall be giving the oil a try this weekend!

 

[antoine]

same problem. i just put up with it since i very much doubt im speeding anyway :lol:

 

[Trikky2]

Hmm, there seem to be a few out there suffering with this problem so just to clarify:-

The reason you get speedo bounce - normally more so at lower speeds - is because of cable "wind up". If you hold a speedo cable at one end and twist the other it will twist quite a long way, like a very long thin torsion bar or spring. When there is resistance to rotation at the speedo end of the cable it will stick, wind up until there is sufficient force to overcome the resistance/friction and then release in a burst of rotation. This is what causes the needle to fluctuate.

The resistance can be either in the speedo itself or simply in the upper part of the cable.

Obviously the first thing to check is that the cable is routed correctly since an over sharp curve will cause too much friction even in a perfectly good cable.

With age, the lubrication can dry up over the years, hence lubricating the two will more often than not cure the problem.

If they are run dry for too long then wear occurs. If the wear becomes excessive then lubrication will help but not entirely cure the problem and new parts may be the only solution.

If the problem is left for long enough the speedo cable will eventually break.

Hope this explanation will be of help

 

[antoine]

With age, the lubrication can dry up over the years,

:msn4:

 

[the_troupster]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Jim

 

[lcfmonkey]

Now that makes perfect sense, I like a bit of science me!

 

[the_troupster]

Thought I'd bring this up again to serve as a reminder for peeps...

I never got around to lubbing mine and now its snapped

So wheres best to get a new cable? :msn4:

Jim

 

[Nugsy]

Just had similar issues to the above. My old cable snapped after bottoming out the beam. I fitted a new cable and it seemed to run freely when disconnected. then hooked it up to the speedo. First mile or so i got no reading, then all off a sudden it shot up to 60 :shock: then on to 90. Then it seemed to stay there even when stopped. Took all the dash apart and basically the little copper wire coil that acts as a spring for the needle had wound its self up and the needle was no longer returning. It looks like its held in with a simple pin at either end but have no idea how you would go about replacing it - Any help appreciated

p.s deffo gunna run some oil down the cable before i screw another speedo up

 

[Trikky2]

When replacing a speedo cable, connect the new cable to the speedo and then, before you re-fit the grease cap that locates onto the end of the speedo cable - use your fingers to spin the end of the cable. It should turn fairly easily and should not spring back when released.

 

[pottinger]

cant wait for the inevitable question a pullovers gona get,

"can you tel me how fast you where going sir ?"
"yes officer, 32, 61, 48, 39 all at once, go me go me"

:msn4: :roll:

 

[Trikky2]

cant wait for the inevitable question a pullovers gona get,

"can you tel me how fast you where going sir ?"
"yes officer, 32, 61, 48, 39 all at once, go me go me"

:msn4: :roll:

Wow - didnt know you could talk to pullovers - gonna go to my cupoard now and give it a try - does it work on cardigans too?

 

[pottinger]

cant wait for the inevitable question a pullovers gona get,

"can you tel me how fast you where going sir ?"
"yes officer, 32, 61, 48, 39 all at once, go me go me"

:msn4: :roll:

Wow - didnt know you could talk to pullovers - gonna go to my cupoard now and give it a try - does it work on cardigans too?

:lol: very good, but were the hell is a "cupoard" ?

 

[ground hugger]

Put a tie wrap on the cable near the top if you can before removing/unscrewing or fitting one.
This stops the screw on part sliding down the cable and disappearing down the front panel :evil:
Mine slid down and i had a right job of getting to it ...Mine vibrates on the front panel when it gets to about 50mph..very annoying...Dave