94 Chim Speedo Repair

[keeling54]

I've just purchased a 94 4.0 Chimaera and I need to get the digital odometer repaired, the Speedo works fine but the LCD display has failed element so the mileage isn't visible.

Speedycables have quoted me £120 to repair it but want the Speedo for 10 weeks. Anyone have any other recommendations for firms that may be able to fix it a bit quicker.

[Aussie John]

Did the 94 Chim have a digital odometer? I bought a 93/94 Chim speedometer which was mechanical. If it should have been mechanical then ETB instruments may do it, they repaired mine only a few weeks ago.

[Adrian@]

When the battery is changed it needs to be remote'd to outside the casing (so it can be treated as a service item and changed every so often. A@

[keeling54]

Adrian@ said:

When the battery is changed it needs to be remote'd to outside the casing (so it can be treated as a service item and changed every so often. A@

The guy I bought it from said there was a battery in the speedo that tends to fail, is that actually the case and if so are they easy to access after removing the speedo.

My mistake it a 93 and yes it has the LCD odometer.

[Adrian@]

Yes there is a battery inside, and you have to visualise, that if the main battery fails and you turn the ignition on (the day after you replace the battery in the speedo) it will fail again! (the car sees 3V that is would like to use to start the car and phutt!) I have all the kit to do the job and I have changed the battery for my own cars and customers cars (when I was in business) AND it is 15 years since I last did it. You need a 1Khz frequency signal generator and a remote battery holder, a few grommets (there really should be knowledge/proof of the mileage) I have some of the battery holders still!

I purchased the signal generator from a TVR owner back when (I had read a thread about him doing it somewhere, and now change the battery as a service item). A@

Edited by Adrian@ on Friday 8th April 05:58

[blacktvr]

Hi,
It is not too hard to do the repair yourself. I did mine a couple of years ago on my 94 Griffith. It is just a matter of changing the battery 2032 (I think from memory), and building a simple signal generator using an astable 555 timer to wind the odometer back to the correct mileage. If you give me your email address I will email you some detailed instructions with photos. This info is all on the internet already, it just took me a bit of time to research it and put all the info together.
Gordon

[Azzurrinick]

I had the same problem on my '94 Chim, sent it Mark at M-Fix who sorted it out, turned it around in about 4 weeks.

http://www.m-fix.co.uk/

[keeling54]

Thanks all, I'll pull the speedo and take a look.

One last question, what mileage does the odo read after a battery swap?. Does it reset to zero or something random.

[Adrian@]

Zero, and this is a (even with remoting the battery) a 45 minute job. As a business, I never charged out for the job as such (when you saw a car in with a digital speedo it was a 'given' that the battery was going to need changing) and it was a fun job to do whilst I was having a coffee. If you get really stuck, but as said, M-Fix (I am told that the service is the mechanical version NOT this digital version) and ETB (I used to use ETB before doing them myself). I found my box of bits (I still have a chim that I might need to reset IF it flattens the battery, so I am holding onto it).



A@

Edited by Adrian@ on Saturday 9th April 11:37