Firstfives.org

So my speedometer needle does quite a bit of bouncing around at pretty much all speeds, and has been doing so for a while. Any suggestions on a fix for this?

Tighten the cable connections. You either have a two or a three part speedometer cable. One is on the frame rail under the drivers side. The second is behind the brake pedal and the third is behind the cluster. If all are tight, the cable needs to be replaced. Don't use a used one or you are asking for the same problem. Call Maximillian or Bavarian Auto.

If you went through the effort to remove the cluster, you can always attach a drill to the speedo and run the drill backwards. This will let test the speedometer needles movement. Run the drill BACKWARDS. This will make the speedometer go forwards. Going the other way, may damage the delicate spring inside.

Call me if you need more help.


Jeff with Odometer Gears
757-593-3478

Thanks Jeff, I'll try out all of those suggestions. While I've got your attention, I'm also having odometer issues. For about a month now, at seemingly random intervals, my trip counter will get hung up at 9/10th of mile. It stops turning, along with the odometer, and I have to reset it to get it to start rolling again. It's happening more and more frequently as time goes one. Any idea which gear is creating the problem? My car's production date is 5/79. Thanks!

Keith,

Give me a call and I can go over it with you. I'll also leave it here for others to have the information:

When a mechanical speedometer has it's odometer stopping intermittently, it is one or two things going wrong. The first is the outside gear which I refer to as the "Odometer" gear. This is usually a nylon material that has developed a crack or split. The other is the grey metal gear next to the numbers on the same shaft. This is the "Lead" gear. It will start to slip on the shaft just from wallowing it's self out on the shaft. Both the odo and lead gear need to be tight on the shaft for the numbers to turn. Usually when the cars interior is cold, the numbers will turn. As is warms up and the gears have to turn two dials instead of one, the gears will start to slip. That is what you are getting right now. The bouncing needle is cause by either one of the cable connections being loose or the speedometer cable is just warn out and needs to be replaced.

To order the two gears mentioned above, you will need to open the speedometer and count the number of teeth on the odo gear. There are about 15 different teeth counts for these gears. The lead gear on a BMW is the thin or small size. There are three different thicknesses. MB uses thicker ones while BMW and VW generally use the thin ones.

You can find the gears and videos(soon) on how to install the gears. http://www.odometergears.com

Until the video is done, anyone can call us and we will walk them through the fix.

Jeff Caplan
757-593-3478

Is any ( Speedo needle ) fluctuation within limits ? I.e., mine bounce a tiny bit below five m.p.h., which doesn't make me itch for thirty years old.

Unless it's causing damage to other things.

Tom,

In my book, it's not worth pulling a part to chase down until it gets a lot worse. There is other stuff on my car that I would rather fix.


Jeff