• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Odometer repair

Share this page

G

GaryBeu

Banned
Offline
So my odometer and trip meter quit working. The speedometer works but numbers won't turn. This is VERY important as I need to track mileage for my job. Where should I send this Smiths speedometer for repair? Any ideas will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Gary
ps. Money IS a limiting factor. : )
 
We've tried a number of services over time but always go back to Nisonger .

Not the cheapest, but...
 
Gary -

If you do send it out and need a temporary replacement, I have a couple lying around - let me know, and give me the numbers on the bottom of the dial. I'll see if one of these matches.

Mickey
 
I've got the opposite problem -- my odometer and trip meter seem to work fine, but the speedo part is, um, a bit optimistic. Unless I really was doing 100 miles an hour up the canyon yesterday. And not passing anyone.
grin.gif
 
Check to see if you have the 90 degree gizmo at the trans end of the cable.
 
Thanks for the offer Mickey !! I'll let you know if we send it off.
 
Gary, speedos typically don't just quit - you might want to test it with a drill before you send it off - In my experience speedo issues are almost always cable issues.
 
JP...the speedo works fine but the odometer doesn't. When I try to reset the trip meter it won't align the numbers to zero...seems to get to about 0000.3 and then will work until showing 1.5 miles and quits turning.
 
I see - sounds like a gear issue - here's a thought (BUT DON'T DO IT TILL AT LEAST ONE MORE PERSON CHIMES IN) I don't want you screw it up more - can you take off the glass as shoot some lube in and around the numbers? It may be binding - but, I've never worked on speedometers before so someone should now chime in that it is a dumb idea. On the other hand you might have nothing to loose.
 
Hunt down posts by dklawson here on the forum, Gary. He has posted some excellent photos and info on speedo and instrument repairs. Another member has done so as well. May have been Paul Rego (Brosky) in the Triumph forum.

Don't spritz anything in the thing from the front, too much like usin' a shotgun to kill a mouse, IMO (sorry, JP :wink: ).
 
DrEntropy said:
Hunt down posts by dklawson here on the forum, Gary. He has posted some excellent photos and info on speedo and instrument repairs. Another member has done so as well. May have been Paul Rego (Brosky) in the Triumph forum.

Don't spritz anything in the thing from the front, too much like usin' a shotgun to kill a mouse, IMO (sorry, JP :wink: ).
Click to expand...

no worries boss- I don't know and am always open to learn
 
Thanks JP & Doc...I won't spritz and I will try to locate posts by dklawson.

Gary
 
Doc...I tried hunting posts on this from dklawson, etc. on speedo's. Just too many to search through. Seems to me if the speedo works then the gear in the trans must be working and the internal instrument parts for the odometer/trip meter must be at fault. Does this make sense?? Thanks.

Gary
 
Yup. You likely have an internal issue with the gear driving the odo. I can't find the pages either...

And the 90* adaptor-lookin'-thingie at the trans end of the cable is a gear ratio device. If you use one from a non-OD box on an OD, the reading will be off by some amount... not recalling which way is which. And a "direct" connection will certainly be erroneous.
 
Thanks Doc. My car is non-OD for whatever that's worth. I've emailed Nisonger for a repair estimate...now, if I can only figger out how to get the @#%!& thing out of the dash !!
 
Tiny hands and rubber bones!
 
That's about what I figured ! Nisonger says that with what is happening my speedo is suffering from old age and needs a rebuild. Now to come up with $175.00 plus two-way shipping...
 
So...it's now time to remove my speedometer from the dash. Of course I can't ~see~anything back there and my Bentley manual has no information.

Am I correct that the speedo is held against the dash with a bracket in the back and I need to loosen two thumbscrews and remove the lens and it will come out the front? If so, it seems pretty easy except that I don't know where to find a 2 year old child with small arms and hands who can follow directions !

Thanks for any info on this.

Gary
 
You'll need to remove the bracket that is held on by two thumbscrews. Then the entire unit can be pulled out.

But FIRST, disconnect the battery, just in case. And then disconnect the speedometer cable and the gauge light.

Depending on how much slack there is for the cable and the light, it may be easier to disconnect them once you've pulled the speedometer out a bit. Trial and error here.

Mickey
 
Back
Top