Cascade Crew

kutison · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:16 pm Post subject: Speedo is a no go

I was coming back from a hiking trip in the gorge, my speedo has always wobbled a bit at low speeds but I never gave it much thought. Suddenly I hear a high pitched whining, coming from the left side of the car.

I looked down and my speedo was wobbling back and forth from 50 to 90 (I was doing about 70) After about 5 minutes the problem corrected itself, but it caused me some concern.

Would someone give me a brief lesson on how the speedo works and take a guess at the problem?

Thanks guys.

alloy · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 1:33 pm Post subject:

More than likely it's a bad cable. They are around $ 15 at any parts store.

Outlaw28 · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:31 pm Post subject:

yeah mine does that...and a cable cost more then 15 bucks at napa they have two different cables for our cars one is 40 and the other is 60...ive just put up with it for 3 years now cuz it doesnt read accurately anyways...plan on upgrading to a nice electrical speedo soon

d00012 · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 2:37 pm Post subject:

Mine does the same thing, bounces around when going over 45. If you have a good sense of speed, don't worry about it. Or just go with the flow of traffic. Save up for a better speedo.

alloy · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 4:31 pm Post subject:

Schuck's $12.49 each. Had this same cable in my car since I put in the T56. It's a one piece cable and works great.

redlava · Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2010 5:22 pm Post subject:

Just disconnect the cable from the speedo and drop some lubricating oil in the hole. Wait for oil to drain into the cable. Repeat a few times hook it back up close to as good as new.

kutison · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:52 am Post subject:

Alright, while the gauges are off, I was thinking about changing the color of all of the interior lights, can I expect to find colored lights stocked among the general collection at my local store? and does anyone know how Al when about installing his door handle lights?

Al Hasse · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 7:54 am Post subject:

kutison · Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2010 5:32 pm Post subject:

alright, thanks

Al Hasse · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 3:33 pm Post subject:

Got a couple of pics for you.

I used a couple of VARAD LEDs that you can find at most car stereo shops (probably spent more than I needed to). Radio Shack probably has something you can use too. I cut off the flasher which left me with the LED and a couple of wires leading off from it. Then I installed a resistor on the positive wire, I forget what value offhand, but I think somewhere between 300 and 500 ohms - I saw a circuit while surfing, and the guy used a 470 ohm resistor for his.

The LED as it pokes through a hole I drilled for it

Back side, LED held in place with hot glue

The rest of the leads, including the resistor crimped in place. I connected the positive to the instrument panel lights circuit and the other to a convenient ground.

Quasi-Traction · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 5:45 pm Post subject:

Al, when you painted that piece Red on your 89 that sits behind the gauges, how did it effect the color of lights at night?

was just thinking that might be a cheap and easy way to attain that.

kutison · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 6:26 pm Post subject:

Al did you solder the wires directly to the LED?

Al Hasse · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:17 pm Post subject:

No, they had wire attached to them already. They were originally connected to a flasher which I cut off. You could probably do just as well getting some 12V LEDs from Radio Shack and not have to worry about a resistor - LEDs are normally about 3V and and will burn out instantly without a resistor to take some of the 12V load.

Here's what I used, I removed the red piece (mine was green) and the flasher module the two wires connect to. I actually had them for another lighting project I decided not to do.

Al Hasse · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:22 pm Post subject:

kutison · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:46 pm Post subject:

Where can I connect to the instrument panel circuit, what color is it? And how do I change a bulb in the instrument panel?

I have all of the coverings off of the gauges. Ive tried pulling the bulbs straight out but was afaraid to pull to hard.

kutison · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:53 pm Post subject:

Also, I am having trouble pulling off the door handle housing. I took the screws out but how do I remove the handle?

aaron_sK · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 7:57 pm Post subject:

The release handle? It's bolted to the door with (IIRC) a couple of 10mm bolts under the door panel.

If you take a look at Al's pictures you will see that he removed the handle trim independently of the handle itself.

Al Hasse · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:02 pm Post subject:

The handle stayed on the door. The lock slider comes off with a little force by pulling up and to the unlock direction. Best place to find the circuit for the dash lights is the fuse panel, it's a 5 amp labeled instrument lights. Best way to bull the lights is from the rear, they're in a twist-lock type socket. Since you have to replace the speedo cable, you might already have the panel out.

townaj · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:09 pm Post subject:

I've wanted to put some led's in the instrument cluster for a while. What do you connect them to on the back? I didn't actually looked hard at the back last time I had the cluster out. But I want to know how to do it properly before I go try something I think up and have something explode lol.

Al Hasse · Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2010 8:37 pm Post subject:

This is the back of the one I had before I bought Paul's. I had to make a repair to one of the copper traces. Your lights plug into the twist-lock sockets (the gray pieces) and come out easiest from the back side. Contact for the whole panel is made when it plugs into the two harnesses on the bottom, lights included - their sockets make the contact to the copper trace.