Curious click behind dash gauges

[mdotrutherford]

Just wondered if anyone else gets this or can give me an answer.
Sounds just like a bi-metallic heat trip type switch noise, from what would appear to be behind speedo or tacho quite sparadic and to the best of my observations no particular trend or pattern ie engine and or cabin hot or cold.
Answers on a postcard?.........thanks in advance

[tvrbob]

Most of us get it. Next time you hear it just gently tap the glass on all the small gauges. You should hear others click as you do it. We think it's a differential expansion due to heat in the dashboard. The gauge body expands at a different rate to the glass. It becomes something of a routine, hear a click and tap the gauges, job done.

Hope this helps

[waynester]

Yep, noticed that on mine, especially when the sun shines on the dash.

[mdotrutherford]

Ooer missus, how queer. Thanks for the gen fella's i'll bear that in mind next time.
Ian

[scaramouch]

I get this too,
I have put it down the the veneer cracking and pinging as its coming away from the metal backing plate on the dash panel.
I notice it more when the heater is on, and over time have noticed cracks appearing on the veneer,
as mentioned its probably caused by the different rates of expansion of steel and veneer.

[blaze_away]

Nice wind-up folks....the most likely cause is that within the speedo mechanism is a 'false' 1/10 th of a mile counter. You'll notice that the Chim doesn't have a 1/10th wheel visible through the glass, but the mechanism is still there, ever 1/10th of mile it "clicks" over.

[tvrbob]

blaze_away said:

Nice wind-up folks.....

Not at all. The clicking on my dash is the gauge glasses. I do know that the 1/10 mile mechanism can make a noise on earlier versions like yours, this is a '98 and so the speedo is a different version. I could be mistaken but I don't think this model suffers from the 1/10 mile click. I get dashboard clicking on my '99 and I can make it happen by touching the fronts of each of the small gauges. There's no wind up here.

[spend]

blaze_away said:

Nice wind-up folks....the most likely cause is that within the speedo mechanism is a 'false' 1/10 th of a mile counter. You'll notice that the Chim doesn't have a 1/10th wheel visible through the glass, but the mechanism is still there, ever 1/10th of mile it "clicks" over.

You !
Its the endangered species of glassius fibre worm - they only make this noise when breeding & will subsequently spin a fine yarn. The myth that the noise is connected with the odometer is due to the fact that these only came from a supplier who suffered an infestation of the said worms. TVR took remedial action and changed suppliers - it just so happened that CAI didnt know what an odometer was.

Dave

posting complete bo11ox is such fun

[tahiti450]

tvrbob said:

Most of us get it. Next time you hear it just gently tap the glass on all the small gauges. You should hear others click as you do it. We think it's a differential expansion due to heat in the dashboard. The gauge body expands at a different rate to the glass. It becomes something of a routine, hear a click and tap the gauges, job done.

Hope this helps

Yup my '99 does exactly the same and I have always thought it came from the instrument glass expanding, esp if the lights are on and they are being heated from inside.

[karlr]

Also get this clicking noise when the suns out and its hot in the cabin... sure enough followed by cracks opening up and running between dials..