speedometer

For the last couple of months my speedo has been making a clicking sound/BUT in the last week it has got worse and the needle is now not steady.
Anybody know the likely cause.
Trevor

Hi trevor
it means your speedo cable is breaking up..
and it needs to be renewed..

they break strand after strand...
and the needle will start bouncing about when nearly all the strands are broken...

unscrew behind the speedo and take the LH front Hub cap off and take the very small circlip off the speedo cable end in the LH side front wheel... pull the cable out from behind the wheel assembly

cheers

LEE


http://community.webshots.com/user/vw68autobug

Lee, I changed the speedo cable but it is still clicking but quieter now. Needle is now rock steady and oddmoneter works.
What is causing the clicking now.
Trevor//

I heard pouring a tiny bit of oil down the tube holding the cable stops the clicking.
Wait before someone confirms that though cause im not certain 😂
Simon

ill have a bet what it is

vw in their infinate wisdom to make cars cheap swapped the drive gear for the odometer from brass to plastic
every speedo ive had that randomly clicked had this gear cracked
giving away a trade secret i learned ages ago here but the real early speedos that go to 80mph have a brass drive gear in them that fits in later speedos
so i used to grab all the shitty smashed up early speedos for chump change at swap meets

I always pour a bit of oil down the speedo cable from the top.
this usually stops the clicking....
and the needle sway..

but occassionly it does come back for a few seconds now & then...

Lee

Definitely the gears in the speedo. I changed the speedo cable a couple of times which reduced the noise but eventually it got worse and worse and clicked/grind all the time. Not very fun on the motorway in the mornings 🤪

I had a whirring, ticking speedo with an unsteady needle until recently. Found a replacement speedo on ebay for ~$20 which solved the issue. Still using the same cable as before.