Drew Gibson Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Hello, Imagine my excitement as my speedo was about to turn from 19999 miles to 20000 miles. Sadly it didn't, as it got jammed at 19999 and a half. I'm assuming its the speedo cable thats broken at one end, but before I order a new one I thought I'd ask if any one else had a similar problem. Its a 1600 VX engined car. Thanks, Drew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGaval Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 My speedo failed after just 582 miles. Speedo and Odometer stopped working. I replaced just the quill that goes into the angle drive and that resovled the problem. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgrigsby Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 What age car? if it's an older one (not sure how old but certainly up to mid 90's) it'll b either the cable, angle drive or the quill in the angle drive. The angle drives are notorious for breaking. Rob G www.SpeedySeven.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 Sevens Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Mine has just gone past 19000 miles but I'll only be able to report back when the sun comes out. (Mine is a 2000 vx) If you are lucky the cable has just unwound itself from the angle drive, mine did that over a bumpy level crossing. Good luck recieving the correct replacement cable if its broken, I got sent three before getting the correct one. Hopefully its now indexed correctly on Caterham's system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt B Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Mine has just jammed itself at 9999, bu the speedo still works? Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannylt Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 It can't be a coincidence that it's broken at 9999 or 19999 - it's the speedo itself that's jammed. This was common on TVR's using the caerbont instruments - are they the same? I can't remember how to fix them though, but it might have involved opening it up to nudge it over the thousand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Gibson Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Mines a 1999 car, any help? My speedo kept working for a while after the mileometre failed to turn over but has also not failed, not before a comedy moment where the seedo flung itself around the gauge and registred 100mph in traffic! I jacked the car up and wizzed the wheels round with the cable off the back of the speedo and it wasn't turning, so its some thing between the wheels and the back of the speedo. Excuse my ignorance, Is an angle drive the bit at the gearbox end? Whats a quill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Gibson Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 Sorry, that should have been now failed instead of 'not' failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomGaval Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Quill, here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 Sevens Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 The cable runs from the back of the speedo towards the gearbox. The cable then goes into the angle drive that helps to turn it 90deg into the gearbox. The Quill as listed above goes from the angle drive into the gearbox. When I first had mine I didn't have an angle drive which is why the cable kept broken (it went straight into the box at a silly angle). So you may have a broken Quill, a broken cable, a stuck speedo or perhaps the cable or quill is no longer seated correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan and Daisy Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Mine stopped at 29999 but suddenly started again, but it needed the head gasket to blow to do it, since I had the new haead gasket it just started again. I am not saying you should do anything so drastic but perhaps they just stick at 9999. Alan 😶🌫️ Mature enthusiast Black with Silver stripe 1.8K super sport. Missing my seven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme Smith Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 I've had speedo pack up at 9999 and 19999 on my Seven... I guess it's TADTS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Ford Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 It's a moving part that only moves once every 10,000 miles - not really surprising it tends to stick I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarchHare2008 Posted November 27, 2008 Share Posted November 27, 2008 Caterham's version of the millennium bug I reckon. Just be grateful they don't build aircraft or nuclear power stations......... ....or maybe it's just something that happens with a lotus seven along the lines of "my car design has reached 1959 but seems to have got stuck there........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grubbster Posted November 28, 2008 Share Posted November 28, 2008 There is also a possibility that the gear that drives the quill end is spinning on the shaft (another common occurrence) that requires gearbox out to fix - although in your case I would doubt this being the cause as it would be too much of a coincidence for it to go at that exact mileage. Please support Roger in his Indian Ocean rowing race! 4350 miles in about 100 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Heseltine Posted November 30, 2008 Share Posted November 30, 2008 Mine did the same thing. Speedo works but not mileometer. Carefully prise the bevel off and remove the glass. Undo screws to remove the unit from case. Manually rotate the number wheels to get past the stiff point. Make up a square drive to fit in electric drill and then drive speedo to check if works. If not move the number wheels again and try again. This worked on mine and its been fine since. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil A Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Good for limited milage insurance policy though Fellas, smoke me a kipper, I'll be blatting for breakfast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Gibson Posted December 2, 2008 Author Share Posted December 2, 2008 Hmmm, sounds like I need to take a look at the gearbox end....Graeme, when your speedo jammed, had any thing broken or did it just need the numbers rolling over manually? The fact that the speedo cable no longer turns on mine when its jacked up and in gear would suggest some thing has probably broken on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Gibson Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Hi, Happy New Year all. So my car is now in Durham for a bit of winter TLC. After further investigation it seems the speedo jammed for a number of reasons, the main one been that the speedo mileometre jammed when it got stuck on 19999. This has now been wound on, how ever the gearbox is still not turning the cable. Its not the cable, angle drive, or quill, which are all working so some thing is broken in the gearbox. Can you remove the drive from the gearbox? I've removed the circlip but can still not pull the drive out the gearbox casing? Is there some thing else to undo to release it? Surely its not an engine/gearbox out job......Any advice much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Drew, Sounds to me as though the plastic speedo drive in the gearbox tailshaft might be at fault. If so, you'll have to remove the gearbox to get at it. But it's worth doing a couple of checks first. So, jack up the rear of the car. With the angle drive removed, check that the quill is correctly seated in the speedo drive. The quill should be free to move in and out quite easily, but should not turn when everything else is at rest. Then rotate the propshaft. Does the quill rotate? If so, the problem lies further up (angle drive, cable, speedo). If not, it's likely that the plastic speedo drive itself is damaged. Once the box is out, it's straightforward enough to extract. Remove the circular housing cover on the opposite side of the gearbox tailshaft, then slide the plastic drive out. It's a Ford part, I think, but no doubt CC sell them too. JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Gibson Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 Thanks John, the car is now at my Dad's. A rallying mate showed him how to make a tool to extract the speedo drive with out removing the box, (which is handy to say the least!) so he is now replacing the drive, so hopefully that will fix it. Thanks, Drew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I wish your Dad luck as it's keyhole surgery with the box installed! Presumably the other checks I suggested confirmed that the plastic drive was the culprit? JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Gibson Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 Yep John, the drive was the culprit - how it broke when the quill is such a small and seemingly weak part I have no idea, but its back counting the miles now! Many thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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