Speedo Cables
Speedo Cables
Anyone changed them (top and bottom) what kind of job is it guys, the haynes manual makes it sound a doddle
cables
Depends how the on eyou are removing was fitted - I had one recently that we could not get the top part out until the whole dash was removed
But normally they are not too bad you just need small hands and a saint like disposition - the key is to get the upper part as far away from the speedo head as you can before bending it 90 degs to bring it into the back of the head.
Cheers
Luke
But normally they are not too bad you just need small hands and a saint like disposition - the key is to get the upper part as far away from the speedo head as you can before bending it 90 degs to bring it into the back of the head.
Cheers
Luke
Please call me Luke 
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
cable
Yes mate defo do them in 2 stages.
The join is inside the engine bay.
You should see the short half come up from the back of the gearbox and the joint is just before the cable passes through th ebulkhead.
You can be lazy depending on where the break in the cable is an djust change the broken part or even just change the inner.
Where has yours broken Tim?
Cheers
Luke
The join is inside the engine bay.
You should see the short half come up from the back of the gearbox and the joint is just before the cable passes through th ebulkhead.
You can be lazy depending on where the break in the cable is an djust change the broken part or even just change the inner.
Where has yours broken Tim?
Cheers
Luke
Please call me Luke
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
cable
Just change the top half then mate.
The problem stems from the BX being a LHD car originally so in that case the speedo cable would run straight from the gearbox upto the speedo head -with the RHD conversion the cable essentially has to go through 2 90 dehree bends and because the clearance behind the speedo is limited the cable tends to strain on itself an dthe speedo head causing the flickering which is usually wear on the cable end or the actual head - that is why you must keep the cable as far back in the dash as possible before bending it 90 degrees to bring it into the speedo head.
Cheers
Luke
The problem stems from the BX being a LHD car originally so in that case the speedo cable would run straight from the gearbox upto the speedo head -with the RHD conversion the cable essentially has to go through 2 90 dehree bends and because the clearance behind the speedo is limited the cable tends to strain on itself an dthe speedo head causing the flickering which is usually wear on the cable end or the actual head - that is why you must keep the cable as far back in the dash as possible before bending it 90 degrees to bring it into the speedo head.
Cheers
Luke
Please call me Luke
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
1989 BX 16valve White 70k almost up to scratch
I used to have a write up on fitting the top section but I think the site it was on is now defunct, but to make life easier on yourself, attch the new cable to the old one using duct tape and pull it through from the glovebox end.
As Luke says, keep it as straight as you can before the first right angle bend at the back of the speedo and as extra security, I attached the cable to a brace that sits in there using a zip tie; if fitted correctly, that should take the strain off that weak looking plastic fitting where it connects to the actual speedo head. Before you totally reassemble, wrap pieces of foam to wherever it passes over anything such as air ducting etc, and attach the foam again using zip ties. Fit through firewall (you'll possibly need to spray the grummet and the cable outer cable with silicone spray to make it go through; tight fit) and last thing is to connect to the bottom half. Be careful not to pull on the cable or you'll place strain on the back of the speedo head which is where they usually snap.
When Bob Smith was out here a few years ago, he called in to see me for a few days and he reckoned that when he did his, he also sprayed the fitting where the inner cable fits on the speedo with silicone spray, worked the part it sits in that rotates a few times with a small driver until it freed up and ended up with a nice stable needle. Mine is reasonably stable mainly I feel because I strapped it down like I did, but it's important that only SILICONE SPRAY and NOT WD40 is used as it doesn't tend to creep into the works and stuff them up.
As a bonus, strapping it down and wrapping in foam also gets rid of 90% of all dash rattles.
Alan S
As Luke says, keep it as straight as you can before the first right angle bend at the back of the speedo and as extra security, I attached the cable to a brace that sits in there using a zip tie; if fitted correctly, that should take the strain off that weak looking plastic fitting where it connects to the actual speedo head. Before you totally reassemble, wrap pieces of foam to wherever it passes over anything such as air ducting etc, and attach the foam again using zip ties. Fit through firewall (you'll possibly need to spray the grummet and the cable outer cable with silicone spray to make it go through; tight fit) and last thing is to connect to the bottom half. Be careful not to pull on the cable or you'll place strain on the back of the speedo head which is where they usually snap.
When Bob Smith was out here a few years ago, he called in to see me for a few days and he reckoned that when he did his, he also sprayed the fitting where the inner cable fits on the speedo with silicone spray, worked the part it sits in that rotates a few times with a small driver until it freed up and ended up with a nice stable needle. Mine is reasonably stable mainly I feel because I strapped it down like I did, but it's important that only SILICONE SPRAY and NOT WD40 is used as it doesn't tend to creep into the works and stuff them up.
As a bonus, strapping it down and wrapping in foam also gets rid of 90% of all dash rattles.
Alan S
Alan is totally right about freeing up the speedo head they can seize quite well! as for cable routing try to get it as far forward to the bulkhead as possible on some cars theres more space than others and it can get a gentler arc fed in at the back of the heater rather than on top like on others.
Some cras speedo wobble cannot be cured tho! it can simply be down to tolerance stack up on wobbly parts.....
Some cras speedo wobble cannot be cured tho! it can simply be down to tolerance stack up on wobbly parts.....
but think about it; if the old cable has/had been pulled a bit taut over the years and the angle from the speedo head to where it goes parralel to the windscreen was a bit acute it will wobble. Once a new cable is fitted that goes straight out from the speedo head and then turns, it loses the stress on the fitting on the back of the speedo and so will be more stable.tim leech wrote:I had a 160000 mile tzd which wobbled terribly, new cable later and it was all sorted!
Years back, some used to get the nozzle off a cartridge of silicone sealant, cut the end off and fit it over the cable end so as to support it and this was also claimed to stabilise the needle.
Alan S