Any thoughts on why the speedo needle would be bouncing?

Up to 50mph it just shudders around the mark. Over that and it bounces up to 5mph so I really have no idea what speed I'm doing.
There is a defined clicking sound coming from the speedo.

I've been told it's an indication the cable is about to break.

I was going to pull the cable out & grease it at the weekend. But if it's possible it may have lose strands, that may not be a good move.

try giving the speedo end of the cable a good dob of grease, fixes mine when it does this

Is this on the T3??

I have had some trouble with this on mine.

Firstly check that the square hole on the wheel hub isnt rounding out.

Otherwise (and what happened to me) is "i think" the female inside the T3 speedo rounds out.

I have had to change mine for the same reason.

What sort do you have?
A "deluxe" with trip meter or the povo pack with out.

I have a deluxe that bounces and a povo that doesnt it it is any help

I havent tried wrapping the end in plumbers tape to try and improve the fit.
I was wondering if this would help

yeah i had the same thing and it was the cable tryed grease but didn't help much just get a new cable they are cheap and if that don't work it's your speedo

piss it off and get a GPS

Any chance you can borrow a speedo / console??

I've got a similar problem with mine. It was making a horrible grinding noise of a morning (only when its cold lol) so i replaced the cable. The noise stopped for a month or so and now its back!

This is a 70 beetle.

The t3 does do it but only at a certain speed, usually between 50 & 65, then comes good. And of course I've got the deluxe.. :P

This one does it all the time & the quicker you go, the more erratic it gets.

I had the same thing on my 70 beetle. I changed the cable and it also stopped for about a month, then back again with vengeance!
It turned out to be the speedo, it was a bit worn out. Same problem as lauzboy's. Cost about $80 to fix from memory. Ahh the peace and quiet now!

It could just need tightening up at the clock. My cab has been like that for years and is still working (it only happens on mine at very low speeds) but on previous VWs I've bought a new cable only to find the original was loose!

This is often caused by stiffness in the mechanism inside the speedo itself. The 30-year-old grease in your speedo mechanism is probably dry, dirty & stiff. VW speedos are surprisingly easy to pull apart, clean, and re-pack with fresh grease. If you don't service the speedo then it can stick, resulting in a series of broken cables.

A common problem is people use grease on the speedo cable.
It can also come from the wheel bearing cap on the hub.
If you look at the speedo cable the winding wind up towards the speedo.
Over time it will move grease up the speedo cable tube and into the small spindle at the rear of the speedo.
Grease is to heavy for the speedo and does cause problems especially when is cold.
WD 40 is all you need.