21 replies to this topic

[Austin1987]

I have had a smiths speedo in my mini for about a year and the needle used to bounce, after replacing the cable as it was damaged the gauge now woks smoothly but the needle rests at 10 mph and is 10mph to fast when driving. How do I get the needle back to sit on the stop. Please help. 😡 love my mini but some little jobs just run you down.

[Spider]

If it's reasonably accurate but a fairly constant 10 mph out at every speed then sounds light the needle has shifted on the shaft, possibly for the bouncing.

 

It would be possible to remove the speedo and carefully re-set the needle, easy job, but need to be careful as the speedo innards can be easily damaged.

[Austin1987]

Thanks, I can remove the speed no problem as it is not properly fox'd in place until I know it is all working as it should. Is it just a case of twisting the needle counter clockwise slightly or is it more in depth?

[dklawson]

No.  Do not twist the needle.

 

First look at your odometer, not the speedometer.  Drive a known distance and see if the odometer is accurate.  If it is, then the gauge is correct for your car and you only need to adjust the calibration of the analog speedometer.  If the odometer is wrong you need a different speedometer or preferably a professional gauge cleaning and calibration.

 

Is yours a center mounted gauge cluster or one that is positioned in front of the driver? 

Is the error the same at all speeds (i.e. Is the speedometer off exactly the same amount regardless of how fast you are driving?)

[Austin1987]

It is a centre cluster. I will check the Accuracy of the odometer on my way home tonight and let you know. Thank you for your help so far, really appreciate it.

[KernowCooper]

If you unscrew the drive cable does the needle stay at 10mph?

[Austin1987]

I will check and let you know.

[Austin1987]

Just detached the cable and the needle stays at 10 mph.

[dklawson]

I will provide some step-by-step information on how to reposition the needle once you have had a chance to confirm the accuracy of the odometer.

[GraemeC]

If the odometer is wrong you need a different speedometer or preferably a professional gauge cleaning and calibration.

Or just swap out the speedo drive gears for a pair of a ratio better suited to your wheel, final drive and speedo combination.

[Austin1987]

The odometer is out only slightly out as far as I could tell with the could gauge and a free sat nav app. I'm not sure of any other way to test is unless I find a piece of road with reference points that are a mile apart.

[Austin1987]

Where would I get the drive gear from?

[dklawson]

For drive gears you would contact GuessWorks.   However, you said your odometer appears to be accurate so you do not need the drive gears.

 

To move the needle on the speedometer do the following.

1. Disconnect the speedometer cable, fuel gauge, and other bits and remove the speedometer from the car.
2. Flip the speedometer over on a towel so you are looking at the back side.
3. Locate the three or four places where the back side of the chrome bezel has been crimped in to hold it to the gauge case.
4. Use needle nose pliers to gently pull those crimps back out so the bezel can be removed, then remove the bezel.
5. On the back of the gauge you will find two slotted screws.  Remove those screws and carefully remove the gauge movement from the case.
6. The outer ring of the gauge face is likely to "flop" around as the case normally holds it in place.
7. Flip the gauge over on its front so you are looking at the back then hold it over your face.  While watching the face, turn the needle up to some arbitrary point like 60 MPH and hold it there.
8. On the back of the gauge you will see a shallow aluminum cup.  Use a permanent marker to make an alignment mark between the aluminum cup and the gauge's die cast frame.  Now release the needle.
9. Place pieces of thin cardboard on the gauge face and use a kitchen fork under the needle to gently pry it off the spindle.
10. Place the needle back on the spindle but just gently so it is barely held in place and can be turned.
11. Flip the gauge back over so you are looking at the aluminum cup.  Turn the cup until the permanent marker lines align with each other again.  Hold the cup in that position.
12. Orient the gauge so you can look at its face.  While holding the cup still, orient the needle "lower" by the 10 MPH error you noticed.  (Remember I suggested making the alignment mark while the needle was at 60 MPH so you would turn the needle to about 50 MPH with the permanent marker lines aligned).
13. Press the needle a little harder onto the spindle so it cannot move.
14. Now reverse the steps to assemble the parts again.  Refit temporarily to the cable and take the car for a test drive.  If you are happy with the results, complete the reassembly and  re-installation.  If the results are not good enough, take the bezel off again and tweak the calibration a bit more.

[GraemeC]

That's good and comprehensive Doug!  I would advise having a little preload on return spring for the needle though - around 5 mph maybe.  That will help reduce bounce at lower speeds, help it drop back to the stop properly and not pick up to quickly/easily from the magnetic induction.

 

I must admit, when I've done it in the past I've never gone through that whole procedure.  I remove the needle, make sure the spindle is in the rest position (which it will be due to the spring) and then replace the needle just the wrong side of the stop.  Finally carefully lift the needle over the stop thereby introducing a little pre-load.

[Austin1987]

Thank you both I will try this in the morning and let you know the Result.