International Vintage Volkswagen Forums

Speedo starts rattling at 30 - 40 mph. Is this an indicator of old age and time to replace the part ? Or is there some simple fix ?

I have tried undoing the speedo cable and re-seating at the back of the speedo, this seems to temporarily cure the problem.

thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve
Have you checked the speedo cable? It could be frayed and causing a noise when it gets to a certain speed. Easy and cheap to fix if it is.
Cheers
Batton

I'd say possibly the cable aswell.
Have encountered that before.

X3 :wink:

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x4. Almost certainly the cable.

Saw you out and about last weekend in your car Steve. You were at the summit of Clayton hill (near the windmills). Was going to wave, but you wouldn't have recognised me in the Ferarri.

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Thanks for all the advice so far, seems to be pointing towards the cable, which I will check.

The noise seems loudest from inside the car though and coming directly from the speedo ?

Rich, I did see "the Ferrari" last Sunday ! I won't repeat here what I was thinking :wink:

Did I say Ferarri? I meant Fiat Panda.

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Within my limited VW ownership experience I've had two speedo's making loud 'squawking' / 'screeching' noises. The problem was caused in both cases by a lack of lubrication of the input shaft (the bit the cable engages with).

With one speedo, it would be quiet up to 60mph then start screeching. It progressively began happening at lower and lower speeds until the cable snapped. The dashboard played the part of a big resonator and I thought it was a faulty wheel bearing to begin with.

Repairing is mostly a simple case of stripping/cleaning/lubricating/re-assembling. I did have one speedo where the shaft had picked up a little metal from the sleeve and needed a light sanding with emery paper. The tricky bit is getting the chrome ring eased away from the body of the speedo without damaging it.

Try turning the speedo input shaft with a matchstick. It should barely take any effort to turn it.

But yeah, I'd swap the cable to start with because that's a lot easier!

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That's more like it,was going to say,you must be selling a lot of radios.

I also had a "screeching" speedo. i took it all apart and gently lubricated the cogs and it's all lovely again now. :d