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speedo problem


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#1 MINIon

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Posted 29 November 2004 - 04:49 PM

my speedo is well out!! when my speedo says im doing 35mph the little smile face speed trap thing in my village says im doing 25mph

my speedo also remdomly decides to stop working

tryed tightening the cable to the back of the engine but no different!!

i thinking of adding a rev counter to my car as well going from 2 dial the 3 dial

would it be worth changing the speedo dial?? i would loose the original milage!!??

my speedo is a 0-90mph clock, what clock would i go for, and where can i get a rev counter kit from???

#2 TimS

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Posted 29 November 2004 - 04:56 PM

mine was out when i got the car, i ended up taking the clock out, stripping it to see how it worked and then ben the spring back, using a little trial and error iv got it spot on all the way up to 90mph! well this acording to the parents honda civic which could be out a little

#3 dklawson

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Posted 29 November 2004 - 05:38 PM

When people talk about 2-clock, 3-clock, etc. I get lost and confused. Regardless of what type of speedo you have there is a rather fun solution you can implement.

Do a Google search for Sigma, Speedometer, and Motorcycle. You'll find lots of information on the use of Sigma bicycle speedometers on vehicles other than pedal bikes. I mounted one in my Mini. You need to mount a magnet to one of the driveshafts, make some form of mounting bracket for the pickup, and splice a length of wire to the sensor so you can mount the speedo inside the car. They can be programmed down to the mm of tire circumference and they are wonderfully simple to use. Some models have programmable odometers so you can keep track of your "real" mileage while your Smiths speedometer gets further and further behind. The only drawback to Sigma computers is they have no provisions for lighting. The beauty if this is you program the tire diameter into the computer and that's it. There is no issue with what tire size or final drive you have on your car.

#4 Guess-Works.com

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Posted 29 November 2004 - 06:43 PM

When we say 2 clock / 3 clock its the difference between the later mini without a tacho ( rev counter ) and one with, hence 2 and 3...

Nothing to do with the older style center console.

but back to the thread, there is a possibility, that when or if the gearbox has been changed the wrong speedo ratio's have been used or the diff has been altered..

also do you have standard wheel/tyres ?

the plus side is, your going slower than you think you are, which means that you're onlikely to be on mr snappy camera !!!

PS... I suggest a new speedo cable to start with...

#5 Purple Tom

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Posted 29 November 2004 - 10:53 PM

indeed, try a new cable. When I put the 1275 in, on the way down to Showdown I was very disappointed with performance, it was revving its nuts off in top and doing 55. Turns out I was actually doing nearer 95. I got home and shortly after that the cable snapped. I believe it was snagging in its outer, causing the speedo to read a lot lower than I was actually going. Although yours is the other way round I would still replace it as the first port of call anyway!

#6 iceman

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Posted 29 November 2004 - 11:51 PM

check out the speedo holder at the engine side they tend to round off,they should be square shaped like the cable tip!

#7 MINIon

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Posted 30 November 2004 - 08:23 PM

check out the speedo holder at the engine side they tend to round off,they should be square shaped like the cable tip!

yeah i just had the cable off as i just hand the engine out and rebuilt!!! the end is ment to be square???????? it had a flat side of it!! looked like the cable had just be squeezed with plyers

think ill be changing the cable!! going to be a pain in the arse!! think i might wait as im going to change the dash and the dials as well

what are the best dials to get???

smith
tim

what would you all say???

#8 Purple Tom

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Posted 30 November 2004 - 11:27 PM

no the cables aren't actually square, they do look like a bit like they've been pinched with pliers, and they should engage nicely in the square drive on the gearbox at a 45 deg angle to the square, if you know what I mean.

I'd go for smiths dials any day really, just think they look better in a classic car.

#9 Guess-Works.com

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Posted 30 November 2004 - 11:36 PM

Depends if you want the custom or classic look...

Classic, Smiths possible Jeager

More sporty.... VDO

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custom... some of these ??

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#10 Dan

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Posted 01 December 2004 - 01:06 PM

Classic Instruments (American Hot Rod gauges)
These are very very cool, especially the speedo/tacho twin gauge. Expensive though.

And the speedo/tacho/pressure/volt quad gauge at the bottom of the front page is really nice too.

#11 dklawson

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Posted 01 December 2004 - 01:34 PM

I love instrumentation and I am one of VDO's biggest proponents. My only complaint about these aftermarket speedometers is their size. There were some large 5" [125mm] gauges on eBay (in the U.K.) last year, but the common size for most of these replacement speedometers is 3-3/8" [85mm]. I think that is just a little small. If size doesn't matter... (Mini drivers aren't compensating for anything are they?) then I can highly endorse the VDO speedos with the LCD odometer window. They are very easy to install and calibrate. You can either buy a "proper" sending unit that screws onto the gearbox where the speedo cable use to be, or you can use an industrial inductive proximity switch to monitor rotations of a front axle. Cool stuff.




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