Speedo woes again.- Solved by REDLINE

[Terry Field]

Caterham speedo into a Type 9 box.

 

The speedo just stopped working completely.

 

Checked the speedo on the bench with a drill and it works, and replaced the inner and outer cable.

 

Removed the gearbox angle drive which seems OK (although I think I need to check it again)

 

Jacked the car up and ran it with the cable in place at the gearbox end, but not attached to the speedo. I can sometimes get the cable to turn (i.e.from the gearbox turning round) but the very slightest pressure on the inner cable at the speedo end stops it turning.

 

With me so far? I'm starting to think that there is some obstruction in the angle drive which is preventing the inner cable from engaging deeply enough to make it turn properly, perhaps a small piece of the old cable, so I need to have another look at the drive.

 

Meanwhile if anyone has any past experience of a similar problem, I'd be happy to hear.

 

Finally tracked it down to a problem with damaged / worn gearing in the angle drive - confirmed by our friends at Redline. I mind blowing £68 for a replacement

 

Terry

 

1700XF - Team Lotus with flares.

 

Edited by - terryfield on 1 Mar 2010 14:33:08

 

Edited by - terryfield on 9 Apr 2010 12:26:38

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Believe a common problem is the tiny little quill that engages in the right angle drive from the gearbox. If this snaps, it may make contact intermittently.

 

 

[Tony Whitley]

Yes, and Caterham sell the quill (a short speedo cable) separately for a lot less than a new angle drive.

[Richard K]

Slight 'hi jack'.

The quill on my speedo drive broke and when I came to fit the replacement part from CC it protrudes out further by about 2-3mm.

 

This is enough to prevent the angle drive being located correctly in position.

 

How can I get the remaining ‘part’ of the quill out from the gearbox location. I don’t want to go to the hassle of removing engine and gear box.

 

Could I get away with ‘nipping’ 2-3mm off the end of the quill?

 

Anyone with experience of this

 

Richard

 

[charlie_pank]

Little magnet on a stick?

 

back here because I want to be.

[Richard K]

Thanks for the idea Charlie,

It will need to be small as the diamiter is only about 4mm

 

Or I could try a BIG MAGNET and hope it has enough 'pull' to get the obstruction out

 

Richard

[Terry Field]

Finally got around to removing the angle drive from the 'box. The quill seems to be intact, although the end 2 or 3mm appear to be slightly rounded or chamfered, rather than a square section, which may be the problem. Other than that it seems to be working as it should.

 

I'll probably drop into CC next week, but how do I remove the quill from the drive - it seems fairly well anchored?

 

Terry

 

1700XF - Team Lotus with flares.

[luddites7]

need to pull it really hard probably find its turned and wedged itself in.

 

I got new ones from redline they are very helpful

 

Make sure you get right length, i had one too small intiially and it worked on and off, best to get the longest one they do and then grind it down to right length.

[Terry Field]

Thanks L7, I'm quite close to Redline so I'll drop in there

 

Terry

 

1700XF - Team Lotus with flares.

[Terry Field]

That didn't quite work with the colours

 

What I meant to say was:

 

Finally tracked it down to a problem with damaged / worn gearing in the angle drive - confirmed by our friends at Redline. A mind blowing £68 for a replacement

 

 

Regards

 

Terry

 

1700XF - Team Lotus with flares.

 

Edited by - terryfield on 1 Mar 2010 14:35:40

[Terry Field]

Despite changing the cables and the angle drive, AND getting the thing to work on axle stands, it wouldn't work on the road.

 

So a trip to Redline this morning to cure the problem.

 

There is a small quill or cable which connects the internal gearbox drive to the external angle drive on the gearbox. I had assembled the angle drive by inserting the quill into it and then offering the whole lot up to the gearbox. It seems however that the quill has a rounded section about half way down it which causes the quill to spin in the angle drive instead of mating up properly, and by assembling it the way I did, the quill was pushed too far into the angle drive, causing it to spin on the rounded section.

 

The remedy is to insert the quill into the gearbox first and then offer up the angle drive. By doing this the quill seems to stay in the gearbox and only goes into the angle drive far enough to makethe conection but not so far as to cause it to spin or slip. Why this should happen and why the quill doesn't then work its way further into the angle drive and start to spin is a bit of a mystery, but the end result is successfull.

 

Big thanks to the guys at Redline - they spent about 30 minutes tracing and curing the problemwithout charge . Excellent old fashioned professional service

 

Terry

 

1700XF - Team Lotus with flares.