Speedometer & Odometer Not Working

[BohemiVan]

Hello everyone.....

I'm hoping someone can help me fix my broken speedometer and odometer as I need to get it through it's MOT ASAP.

They suddenly stopped working at the same time. The speedometer hand no longer moves and the kms haven't changed in a very long time.

If this is something that can be fixed relatively easily then I'd prefer to do it myself.

Anyone any ideas on what needs to be done?

Hannah.

[slowcoach]

Sounds very like there's a problem with the speedometer cable, which is threaded from the front left wheel to the back of the speedometer.

Its a simple job to pull the old one through and out, and re fit a new one. Not expensive either.

If you pull the plastic cover off the top of the dash pod, you can peer down and see the cable joining at the back of the speedometer clock. You can see the other end going right through the back of the front wheel hub and poking out a little hole in the greasecap, under the hubcap if you have hubcaps fitted

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[slowcoach]

PS don't think it'll fail the MOT with this, will it? I didn't have one for most of a year once

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[BohemiVan]

Sounds very like there's a problem with the speedometer cable, which is threaded from the front left wheel to the back of the speedometer.

Its a simple job to pull the old one through and out, and re fit a new one. Not expensive either.

If you pull the plastic cover off the top of the dash pod, you can peer down and see the cable joining at the back of the speedometer clock. You can see the other end going right through the back of the front wheel hub and poking out a little hole in the greasecap, under the hubcap if you have hubcaps fitted

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Great. Will dash out now and take a peek and let you know what I see.

I think it might ring alarm bells as the mileage won't have changed since I last had a test.

[BohemiVan]

Not fixed yet

I took off the dashboard cover and saw a fairly thick cable had become dislodged from the back of the clock. The white plastic end of the cable was broken. I rammed the cable back into the clock and, although it did go back in well and did stay in quite solidly, it didn't fix the dead clock. I took it out, put it back and drove round the block but nothing happened.

I'll superglue the plastic cable end tomorrow and try again. Do you think that will do it? Or should I try spraying some WD40 into the back and on the cable end too, just in case it's seized up?

[multisi]

Better off getting a new cable thats going to click into place as it should, there maybe nothing wrong with the speedo.

[BohemiVan]

There's no way the plastic cable connector will glue back together. It's broken off where it's connected (via a metal ring) to the cable.

Is it possible to buy a new cable with one of these plastic connectors on the end? Are they generic or do I need one specifically for a VW T25?

[slowcoach]

Known as a clip on type Speedo cable, specific to the van, and also to right or left hand drive (i think). You could get one from GSF carparts, might be one near you?

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[BohemiVan]

Known as a clip on type Speedo cable, specific to the van, and also to right or left hand drive (i think). You could get one from GSF carparts, might be one near you?

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Not in Ibiza

How are they attached at the other end? I think I can see the cable go to the back of the wheel. Would I need to take the wheel off to fit the new cable?

It's a bit strange because I taped up the plastic end to the cable very securely and fitted it to the back of the clock. It was all very tightly fitted, but the clock still did nothing when I went for a long drive. Maybe it's the clock.

[multisi]

Dont need to take wheel off, take hub cap off, remove circlip which secures inner cable. The outer sheeth fits through the hub and maybe tight, give it a twist.Look at the wheel cap the cable pokes through, is the hole square like it should be ? If its worn that can cause problems. Fit new cable and make sure the speedo end has located properly, the inner cable is not always lined up for the speedo square hole, make sure it goes in without force . If the inner cable isnt lined up jack up the wheel and rotate to move inner cable then push in and clip into place.

[BohemiVan]

Dont need to take wheel off, take hub cap off, remove circlip which secures inner cable. The outer sheeth fits through the hub and maybe tight, give it a twist.Look at the wheel cap the cable pokes through, is the hole square like it should be ? If its worn that can cause problems. Fit new cable and make sure the speedo end has located properly, the inner cable is not always lined up for the speedo square hole, make sure it goes in without force . If the inner cable isnt lined up jack up the wheel and rotate to move inner cable then push in and clip into place.

Great advice, thank you, and I will give this a go maybe tomorrow. I had put it all back together again having given up but I will see if rotating the square pin makes a difference. I had had to force it in before so this could be it. Perhaps instead of jacking up the wheel (not got a jack), I could free-wheel very slowly in a car park? Will give it a go and report back.

[R0B]

Also make sure the square hole in the grease cap has not rounded.

[CovKid]

If it has yoo can punch it from inside to close the gap, or swap for other cap and make new hole, filed to correct size.

[BohemiVan]

I am delighted to say....I fixed it!!!

I had put the dash cover back on having given up a week or so ago but decided to brave removing the hub cap and smaller cap today. I first drove slowly with the dash cover off and the cable removed from the back of the odometer to check if it was rotating or not. It wasn't, so I knew it must have come out of the hole at the wheel cap. I removed the hub cap and could see the cable through the hole in the small cap. It had been pulled inside and was no longer aligned with the hole. I managed to remove the cap using a plumber's wrench.....not got a claw hammer. It was full of gunk so I cleaned it out. The cable was quite far in but I managed to get hold of it with tweezers. I then pulled it out a bit with small pliers and cleaned it off. I could see the hole that runs through it had wire stuck inside it so I used a nail to push it out....needed to hammer it out. I could see that the cap hole was a bit too big and the cable end had rounded off at the edge. I stood a piece of metal pipe on a metal block and put the cap over the end like a mushroom. I then hammered it around the hole and it eventually shrank and fitted the cable much better. I didn't need to file it. I put it back on and secured the cable using a bent nail as I didn't have any wire. I drove slowly and saw the cable was rotating at the steering wheel end. I put everything back together and set off round the block. Nothing. Who was I kidding thinking I could fix it? Then the speedometer suddenly flicked up! Everything is now working and all for the pricely sum of one nail. Not bad eh?

[multisi]

Well done for getting stuck in to it and sorting out the problem, all you need to do now is save up for a new cable with a proper circlip to hold it in place .