• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!

    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Speedometer

go_inbroke

Senior Member
Offline
The needle is sticking on my speedometer. I took the cable off and lubed/greased it, but no help. Can the speedometer from a TR3A be taken apart and cleaned/greased? Please advise.
 
Thank you!!! This manual is perfect...Lets me know what I need to do.
 
go_inbroke said:
...taken apart and cleaned/greased?...

And therein is the rub. Too clean and it lacks lube and the needle sticks -- too much lube and it drags and the needle sticks.

You may also find that there is fore & aft movement on the central bits -- i.e. you can free a stuck needle by pressing back on the hub of the needle & you can cause the needle to stick by pressing in (say with a thin nail or wire) into the opening for the cable.

If this is the case you may thing you have a free-swinging needle only to find that when you hook up the cable and drive that it presses the central shaft forward and the needle again sticks. Maddening.

There was a post awhile back that suggested an adjustment to remedy this. I didn't save it nor do I recall the specifics, planned to search for it the next time I was servicing the speedo.
 
George - I think it related to new speedo cables.

He discussed how the bushings that keep the inner cable central on new speedo cables was too long and this put pressure towards the front and caused the problem. He had some photos of his old one, the brand new one and what the new one looked like after he had modified it to correct the problem.
 
Yes, the needle jumping and the needle sticking are 2 very different things with different causes.

I don't think a too-long inner cable or lack of cable lube would cause the needle to stick. That condition is caused by something getting the drag cup hung-up inside the speedo head. Excessive internal lubing can cause that as can some mechanical wear.
 
Back
Top