TR6 Speedo stopped working

[Gerry M]

The speedo on my 74 TR6 suddenly stopped working and has not fixed itself. What is the quickest/easiest way to determine the source of the problem and the required fix?

 

[TR3driver]

Do you have overdrive? If so, probably the angle drive is broken. if not, likely the cable. Either way though, the root cause is probably the speedo head binding, so you'll also want to disassemble, clean and lube it.

 

[Geo Hahn]

The speedo on my 74 TR6 suddenly stopped working and has not fixed itself...

Yes, that year did not get the 'self-fixing' feature.

You can undo the cable at the back of the speedo head and see if it turns as you drive. If you have hairy legs and are wearing shorts you will want to be careful with end of that spinning cable.

Very likely it does not spin which would indicate one of the breaks Randall mentions and you'll be removing the speedo and possibly delving deeper. This page has lots of useful info worth reading even if you decide to send the unit out for work:

https://home.comcast.net/~rhodes/PDF/speedo.pdf

 

[TR3driver]

If you have hairy legs and are wearing shorts you will want to be careful with end of that spinning cable.

Now that sounds like the voice of experience !

 

[tinman58]

I have a brand new angle drive that lasted about 600 miles. High quality parts! I removed the angle drive and found that the gear shaft was stripped. A little dab of J B weld on the end and so far so good.

 

[RJS]

I had my speedo rebuilt 10 years ago. And nearly 10 years to the day it seized again. Speedo had frozen. Cable was still good but, angle drive snapped once the speedo froze. I pulled the guage out, cracked it open and got only so far before I realized I needed to send it to a specialist before I did more harm than good.
Nissonger to the rescue on the rebuild and Moss for a new angle drive

Bob

 

[Geo Hahn]

Yes, it seems like the angle drive was designed to sacrifice itself to save the cable. I think I was able to repair mine with a short bit from the end of an old cable & JBWeld but as I had already bought a replacement and install it, I have yet to see if the repair holds.