Jumpy Speedo Needle

[kyreb1862]

I noticed this morning as I was driving in the cold weather that my speedo needle was jumping quite a bit. Is this caused by stiff oil in the cable? What can I do to remedy the problem?

Regards John

 

[Nunyas]

You can pull the cable and try lubing it with something. I believe there are several members here that are more in favor of using 'dry' lubes (e.g. that graphite stuff that people use to lube locks) than 'wet' lubes (e.g. oils, greases, etc.). I personally did mine with motor oil, and it's 'jumping' again already (changed the cable this year). If I mess with it later, I think I'll pull the cable out of the sleeve, and apply a coat of lithium grease to the inner cable.

 

[PAUL161]

John, Everyone has their own pet way of lubricating that little cable and I guess most of them work, but here's how I do it, even if the cable is new out of the box. I pull the cable out of the housing, then flush out the housing with mineral spirits and then blowing it dry with an air chuck. Then I clean the cable using the same method. After the cable is dry, I spray it with two coats of spray graphite and let it dry. It doesn't take long. Re-insert the cable back in the (dry) housing and put the whole thing back in the car. Graphite doesn't seem to be affected with temperature changes as much as oil and grease, in fact, hardly at all. I've read, I think on this forum, that you have to be careful with oil as it can creep up the cable and drip out over your leg. Not good on a nice pair of slacks or ladies dress. The last part could mean big trouble!

 

[tdskip]

But what every you do - tend to it. I tried living with mine like that for too long and it snapped.