Speedo problems ! (no not the little, red kind!)

[Griff Boy]

Hi,

I have suddenly developed a problem with the speedo on the Griff, been working fine for years, but yesterday after putting the tangle of wires / ecu back in and taking her out for a test drive the speedo started bouncing up and down, and then stopped working altogether, along with the odometer.

I checked all the connections and fuses, and all seems fine, but still absolutely nothing on the speedo?

Any ideas would be appreciated, as guessing the speed from the revs is not speed camera friendly!

Ian

[nicktowe]

I also have speedo problems, and am about to send mine off to a company called speedycables. The have a website, they will service speedo for about £50.

[FlipFlopGriff]

nicktowe said:

I also have speedo problems, and am about to send mine off to a company called speedycables. The have a website, they will service speedo for about £50.

What is the turnaround as it was about 4 weeks when we looked at it and its illegal to drive without one.
FFG

[Griff Boy]

Am I right in thinking, that the consensus of opinion is that the speedo's knackered?

[FlipFlopGriff]

Griff Boy said:

Am I right in thinking, that the consensus of opinion is that the speedo's knackered?

Possibly the sensor which sits near the diff on the o/s. Long tube looking item mainly threaded about 5 inches long - access from inside the wheelarch (wheel off) of underneath. They are a common consumable. They need to be very close to the wheel to regsiter (from memory about 8 thou max) otherwise the speedo don't work. I'd check this first. Clean and ensure its close enough. If not buy one off Steve Heath as his have a gadget which tells you when its close enough so at least you know that way.
Could be the connector that connects to the sensor as it is in a cruddy place.
I'd get the speedo rebuilt last. They do go but not as common as the sensor.
FFG

[STE VR]

Must be honest, seems a bit too much of a coincidence that your speedo fails after messing with the ECU/loom etc.. I would double check if you have dislodged anything first. Maybe wiring from little black box under dash that converts signal from sensor to ECU?

[HRG]

FlipFlopGriff said:

Griff Boy said:

Am I right in thinking, that the consensus of opinion is that the speedo's knackered?

Possibly the sensor which sits near the diff on the o/s. Long tube looking item mainly threaded about 5 inches long - access from inside the wheelarch (wheel off) of underneath. They are a common consumable. They need to be very close to the wheel to regsiter (from memory about 8 thou max) otherwise the speedo don't work. I'd check this first. Clean and ensure its close enough. If not buy one off Steve Heath as his have a gadget which tells you when its close enough so at least you know that way.
Could be the connector that connects to the sensor as it is in a cruddy place.
I'd get the speedo rebuilt last. They do go but not as common as the sensor.
FFG

Steve heath does a sensor that works from miles away and has a diagnostic LED so you can tell it's working.

[Griff Boy]

STE VR said:

Must be honest, seems a bit too much of a coincidence that your speedo fails after messing with the ECU/loom etc.. I would double check if you have dislodged anything first. Maybe wiring from little black box under dash that converts signal from sensor to ECU?

Hi ste vr,

Thanks for that, any idea where I would find this little black box?

With all the recent work done inside and the retrim it is possible.

Cheers

Ian

[STE VR]

I found mine under the top dash board by the heater controls. I only suggest this as I had similar symptoms and it turned out to be the connections to that black box.

Steve

[Loubaruch]

Griff Boy said:

Hi,

I have suddenly developed a problem with the speedo on the Griff,
Ian

Ian I notice you are north of the border, I am about 20 miles from Carlisle and have a speedo you could try, if your other efforts dont solve the problem. Logically if you have been disturbing the dash wiring chances are that something has shifted.

Edited by Loubaruch on Thursday 5th March 22:48

[Troogly]

.... just to clarify on one point.... it isn't actually illegal to drive without a speedo. It's only illegal to break the limit. So it is possible to send your speedo away and as long as you don't break the speed limit (maybe by using a sat nav / GPS camera detector as indicator of speed) then you'll be OK.

[FlipFlopGriff]

I was told it was illegal to drive without one, but anyone who could clarify - 5.0ltr?
Ours was the connector to te sensor, for some reason someone had cut the propoer connector off, would the cables together and put some electrical tape around them. The new sensor came with a male connector (maybe female can't recall) so sourced an original connector to join to it from Mitutoyo (sent me all the bits as samples) and build it up - PITA but at least it now works with a sound connection.
FFG

[Hoover.]

FlipFlopGriff said:

I was told it was illegal to drive without one, but anyone who could clarify - 5.0ltr?

Source: Police National Legal Data Base


"Any speedometer that is fitted to a vehicle must be kept in good working order whilst the vehicle is being used on a road. The penalty for failing to have a speedometer in good working order is a fine.

However, if the speedometer develops a fault whilst being used or a defect has been discovered then all steps must be taken to rectify the fault with reasonable expedition. This exception only applies when the defect develops and must be repaired before the next journey."


hope this helps....... I thought you just had to have a working odometer, but it appears not.

[5.0ltr]

Someone call? Yes you need a working one.No you do not need one for an MOT as they do not test it. When I had probs last year with mine and the thought was the head may have to go off for repair, my Indy said the car would not work with the head removed, something to do with the ignition light and not making a circuit? Cant remember exactly now and it was the sensor on the drive shaft luckily so I did not have a stationary car for weeks awaiting repair.

[Troogly]

.... it seems I'm a bit out of date with regs.... I always thought that IF you had a speedo fitted then it had to be functioning correctly. But, and rather strangely, you could legally drive without a speedo fitted in the car.

Still, looks like the regs are that you must have one fitted (and it must work properly).

[davetherave1970]

The speedo displays your speed so can a GPS device (Road Angel, Sat Nav) be regarded as having a working speed reading device I wonder?

[fastandcurious]

I relly on my Road Angel as my speedo because my speedo is so inacurate. It had a factory replacement a few years ago and reads approx 20% faster than it should. Does anyone know if it is possible to calibrate it?