Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted October 20, 2023 Area Representative Share Posted October 20, 2023 On my way to the mapping company a few weeks ago the speedo gave a few wobbly readings and then promptly died on me! Miles driven no longer increase either. Car is a 2000 SLR with a mechanical speedo drive off the gearbox. What should I be checking and in what order? I've got a few ideas of my own, but wanted to get some thoughts from here! Thanks Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted October 20, 2023 Member Share Posted October 20, 2023 (edited) Technical Guide: "Speedometers" It could be the drive, the cable or the instrument. I'd start by inspecting the drive and the connection to the cable. And the connection of the cable to the instrument. You can test the cable and instrument by spinning the inner cable with an electric drill. Jonathan Edited October 20, 2023 by Jonathan Kay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted October 20, 2023 Author Area Representative Share Posted October 20, 2023 Good advice - thanks JK. I've been advised that if it's the drive that's the problem, it's an engine/gearbox out job - is that the case? Really hoping not, having been through this earlier this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted October 20, 2023 Member Share Posted October 20, 2023 (edited) I saw that the Guide suggests that. But I think that you can get enough access to both sides by slackening the gearbox mount (? + engine mounts) and hauling the tail of the box to the side. Jonathan Edited October 20, 2023 by Jonathan Kay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted October 20, 2023 Author Area Representative Share Posted October 20, 2023 Yes, that would make sense and is at least worthy of a try before full removal! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 As JK suggests, first check the drive at the gearbox. There's a quill that connects the right-angled drive to the drive spindle in the gearbox tail, and which sits behind a brass "top-hat": To get at the quill, remove the circlip and lift out the angle-drive plus top-hat. JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony P Posted October 20, 2023 Share Posted October 20, 2023 I have half of this problem... Mechanical speedo, driven from gearbox; speedometer works, odometer and trip don't. I'm assuming (for now) that this is a problem with the instrument. Has anyone had, or solved, this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted October 20, 2023 Member Share Posted October 20, 2023 5 minutes ago, Tony P said: I have half of this problem... Mechanical speedo, driven from gearbox; speedometer works, odometer and trip don't. I'm assuming (for now) that this is a problem with the instrument. Has anyone had, or solved, this problem? I'd also conclude that the fault is in the instrument. (With the trip only not working I'd explore the trip reset button and cable.) Speedometer and Instrument Repairs Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john milner Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 Mine started being temperamental nearly ten years ago but then made a slow recovery. The needle would drop to zero and the odometer would stop clocking up. After ten minutes or so it would burst back into life and would work fine for hours or weeks. It must of been at least two years since it last played up. I couldn't find anything wrong but it seemed to be worse on hot sunny days. That could be coincidence as the car does more miles on hot sunny days but I can't remember a problem during Winter months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flaps7 Posted October 25, 2023 Share Posted October 25, 2023 Might be worth disconnecting from the Speedo end to see if the ‘drive’ turns when driving. I managed to remove and replace at the gearbox end without doing anything other than swearing plenty whilst under the car. It was fiddly but then again I am rubbish so probably made more of a meal of it than others. Rick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted February 19 Author Area Representative Share Posted February 19 So an update from my end. Finally got round to having a look at this - removed the angle drive from the gearbox and disconnected the speedo cable. 1. Attached the speedo internal cable to a drill and switched on. Speedo arm went round the dial, so cable and dial etc would seem to be serviceable. 2. Cleaned up quill and inserted it into it's hole that goes into the side of g'box. Rotated the rear road wheel by hand whilst under car and the quill also rotated in it's home which suggests the gubbins in the gearbox is also serviceable. This only leaves the angle drive. I've read on here that the quill can be sensitive to where/how it's inserted etc and that just cleaning, lubricating and putting it all back together might fix the issue... fingers crossed. I've also looked into the cost of replacing the angle drive, if that is the problem. Was shocked to see they are £220! Are they a Caterham specific part? Mine is marked as follows: BG2420-01 with '3708' underneath the first ID, although Google has failed to find it online. Any thoughts? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted February 19 Member Share Posted February 19 Thanks for the update. Burton Power have a right-angled drive at £117.50 including VAT. My guess is that you won't need it... Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted February 19 Author Area Representative Share Posted February 19 18 minutes ago, Jonathan Kay said: Thanks for the update. Burton Power have a right-angled drive at £117.50 including VAT. My guess is that you won't need it... Jonathan Thanks Jonathan… I did find that Burton page but wasn’t sure if it was the correct drive as the 6 speed box wasn’t mentioned. They are also out of stock! I hope you’re right! 👍🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted March 21 Author Area Representative Share Posted March 21 An update... not all positive I'm afraid. 1. Last weekend I carefully refitted all removed parts and inserted a new quill into the existing angle drive. A short drive showed that the speedo still wasn't working. 2. After doing a bit more research I decided that an angle drive being sold by MOSS (part number 120694) was identical and significantly cheaper at £52.70, so after checking dimensionally the two ends matched mine (c. 19mm) I purchased one - arrived today. Looks good quality (better than mine in fact), but... sadly the quill is about 0.5mm thicker and the speedo cable inner, when inserted was just too small to be driven by the drive - pah! So for anyone with a similar issue in the future that's reading this, don't bother buying part number 120694 even though it looks correct. MOSS were very helpful though I have to say! 3. Next up I inserted my fresh, correctly sized quill into my existing angle drive, attached the speedo cable and spun the quill up with a drill on a low speed setting. Amazed to see that the speedo gauge functioned and showed 'speed'! 4. I'm now at a loss as to while the speedo is not working when full assembled! I should add that I have inserted the quill directly into gearbox and spun the rear wheels while lying underneath the car, and the quill turns in the gearbox, so the drive in the gearbox would seem to be serviceable. Any thoughts from others would be very welcome! Also, are there any other sources for the speedo drives? The cheapest I've found is £220 which seems like a crazy price for something that is near identical from MOSS but at less than quarter of that price! I don't mind paying a bit more to support Caterham specialists of course, but that price seems extortionate to me! My car had a new one fitted by Chris Wheeler at the 7 Workshop back in 2010 and the price charged was only about £70 - surely prices haven't increased that much have they?!! Also what has happened to Chris Wheeler /7 Workshop - I was hoping to call him to get some advice, but can't find him online or the company? Thanks Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 21 Member Share Posted March 21 7 minutes ago, Nick Bassett said: Also, are there any other sources for the speedo drives? Burton Power as above. And even if they are out of stock how about asking them if there's a known problem in this area? Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted March 21 Author Area Representative Share Posted March 21 Sorry, Jonathan yes I meant other than Burton. Caterham and 7 & Classics clearly get them from somewhere, I just wondered where I could source an OE part from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigCol Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 42 minutes ago, Nick Bassett said: Also what has happened to Chris Wheeler /7 Workshop - I was hoping to call him to get some advice, but can't find him online or the company? Uncle Albert has retired, is well and enjoying two new knees! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted March 25 Author Area Representative Share Posted March 25 Final update (I hope!) Everything back together and speedo working - massive relief! It would seem the angle drive was actually OK, it was the original worn quill that was the culprit. Why it didn't work last week, I'm not completely sure, however a friend helped me fit the circlip properly on Friday so that the drive was properly snug against the g'box and I think that made all the difference. Happy days! 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted March 25 Member Share Posted March 25 2 minutes ago, Nick Bassett said: It would seem the angle drive was actually OK, it was the original worn quill that was the culprit. Why it didn't work last week, I'm not completely sure, however a friend helped me fit the circlip properly on Friday so that the drive was properly snug against the g'box and I think that made all the difference. Thanks for adding the outcome, and it's good to hear that it's working. I was about to suggest axial loading on the right-angle drive as all of the bits seemed OK but they didn't work when put together. But it was a busy weekend. Have fun Jonathan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Bassett Posted March 25 Author Area Representative Share Posted March 25 Thanks Jonathan 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gridgway Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 for reference, these might be the manufacturers of the drives that Burton sell. https://www.speedograph-richfield.com/shop/angle-drives/rgb1030 I imagine that Burton are out of stock as there are quite a few varieties and they are probably made to order. Unfortunately I can only recount that Speedograph Richfield's service is woefully slow. 9 weeks and counting waiting for a right angle drive and speedo cable! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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