C reg speedo not working

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Lej

Lej

Active Member
Posts
189
Location
Devon
Good afternoon all,


I replaced my speedo cable after it suddenly stopped working, the cable was old and battered so I assumed that it had simply seen it's day,

But the speedo still isn't working, I have bolted to the transfer case and it's all in sat nice and flush with the housing, behind the speedo I pushed the connecting rod (the bit that rotates) all the way and clipped it in nicely, but still nothing.

this is the cable I have used:-


It's a Discovery 1 LT230, probably very early transfer box, and the rest of the Defender or 'Ninety' is 1985.

I'm struggling to find an actual match, but I can't see anything to suggest the cable I bought wouldn't work...

Any suggestions?


Thank you all as always!
 
Def90man said:
Can you drive a bit with the speedo head out and the cable disconnected and watch to see if the cable is rotating?I feel
Click to expand...

Oh dear, I spent too long wondering why it wouldn't work rather than actually looking at the problem... Yes that is of course a very good idea lol, I will try that first!!

Thank you!
 
I've just taken her for a spin, I can confirm after taking the cable out of the cluster the little spindle isn't spinning.

Doriz, when you say plastic insert what would that be? Is it a seperate part from the cable?

Thank you!
 
Alternatively iirc, it’s a bugger to nip up the collar on the trans. Make sure the threads are clean and it is done up all the way. Remove the trans speedo drive to ensure it’s blue as other colours are different gearing. Then you can inspect whether it’s worn out before simply swooping a good part for a newer good part.
 
Brilliant, thank you all- excuse the ignorance, but is it a simple pull out and replace? (if it is worn)
 
Lej said:
Brilliant, thank you all- excuse the ignorance, but is it a simple pull out and replace? (if it is worn)
Click to expand...

Not a simple pull out but it is just a push fit if I remember. A lot of wriggling and tapping with needle nose pliers and screwdrivers. There’s an o-ring that seals it and it can grip quite well
 
I recently had this problem with a cable that I bought from EBay, after trying a few times to find the problem I gave to my trusted Land Rover wizard who determined that nothing was wrong with the speedo or the transmission speedo drive but discovered that the cable I had bought was too narrow to drive the speedo.
 
vitalspark said:
I recently had this problem with a cable that I bought from EBay, after trying a few times to find the problem I gave to my trusted Land Rover wizard who determined that nothing was wrong with the speedo or the transmission speedo drive but discovered that the cable I had bought was too narrow to drive the speedo.
Click to expand...
That would mean you got a later speedo cable for an earlier motor.
The later speedo drive ends are very small
 
Check that the cable is actually fitted into the square housing of the speedo drive on the transfer box. It's hard to see and quite a few times when fitting it I thought mine was in but was actually jammed down the side so I had no speedo. Also do yourself a favour and upgrade to a TD5 instrument cluster, apart from the other benefits the speedo is far superior and much more accurate.
 
Hi all, I appreciate all the help!

I did as suggested above, took the cable off of the binnacle gauge, the square stem wasn't spinning.

I took the cable off at the transmission end and refitted, I used some long nose pliers and a torch to seat it all the way. The retaining clip was slightly bent and because of all the oil and crud I hadn't noticed that someone had put a spacer washer to compensate the bend in the clip.

Bit of fettling and bending, she runs a dream!


Thank you all, always worth spending a bit more time to make sure it all goes together!
 
Lej said:
Hi all, I appreciate all the help!

I did as suggested above, took the cable off of the binnacle gauge, the square stem wasn't spinning.

I took the cable off at the transmission end and refitted, I used some long nose pliers and a torch to seat it all the way. The retaining clip was slightly bent and because of all the oil and crud I hadn't noticed that someone had put a spacer washer to compensate the bend in the clip.

Bit of fettling and bending, she runs a dream!


Thank you all, always worth spending a bit more time to make sure it all goes together!
Click to expand...
It’s usually a bad earth. Chuffed you sorted it. Simple mechanics, usually something simple.
 
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