The 'E' Type Forum

Following the rebuild of my car, the speedo didn’t work. It was always wobbly so I fitted a new speedo cable during the rebuild (the longer one for a 2+2). However it doesn’t even wobble now! So I disconnected the cable from the speedo drive and attached a drill to the inner cable and ran it (anti-clockwise) and the speedo needle whizzed round. So the speedo drive I thought. Took the speedo drive off which seemed OK visually as when the cable (which goes into the gearbox) was turned the inner drive also turned. So fitted the speedo cable and attached the speedo drive to the drill and - nothing. Definitely the speedo drive then. Got a new one and fitted the speedo cable to the drive and attached the drive to the drill and - nothing again. Tested the cable on its own - speedo whizzed round.

So apparently the inner cable is not connecting the the workings of the speedo drive but why, as it is a new cable? Is it possible to fit the cable the wrong way round? Does one end of the speedo cable protrude more than the other and have I put the long end in the speedo and the short end in the speedo drive?

All very mysterious - or is it? Advice please!

Malcolm : the cable end which has a plastic distance piece on it is the one which goes to the speedo. The angle drive end is a long ( aboiut 1 inch / 2.5cms) squared off piece of inner cable . You can only insert the cable inner into the outer from the top end . Note that the brass connector to the angle drive has a very fine thread, and you need to take care not to cross thread this , otherwise the connector and the inner cable will not go home sufficiently to give you drive

Thanks Christopher - I obviously can’t see the speedo end but on the basis that the drive end does not have a plastic distance piece on it, I assume that it must be attached at the speedo end. However the inner cable at the drive end only protrudes about half an inch which might be the problem, which seems strange considering I did not take the inner cable out of the ‘sleeve’ before I fitted it. I’m not at home at the moment but when I get a chance, I’ll measure it and take a photo and post it here.

Hi Christopher (and possibly others...). Well I had a look at the inner cable and there is about a half inch protrusion at the speedo drive end. It would therefore appear, as I had assumed, that the inner cable is simply not connecting inside the drive, presumably because it is too short.

Is it possible that the inner cable is fitted the wrong way up, so to speak? I presume that the only way to tell is to take the blasted thing out again which, as most people will know is a pain! Or could it be that the cable itself is faulty and a new one would cure it (although the original came from a well known supplier. (with initials in its name!) and was stated to be for a 2+2 as it is longer.

I attach two photos (I hope) which might be of assistance.

Many thanks for your advice.[attachment=1]47D16CC0-30AB-4757-9DA9-B1273D043D19.jpeg[/attachment]

[attachment=0]D41F7FC2-E12B-44A8-94A8-B42182E32514.jpeg[/attachment]

Malc : are those pics of the 2 different ends . If so , it looks to me as though there is something most peculiar happening, because you look to have a speedo type attachment at BOTH ends. The gearbox end from recollection should be a large brass female threaded cap , and I'm pretty sure that the gearbox end should just be plain inner cable with the squared off end to fit into the angle drive. Unfortunately I've not got a spare to illustrate this

These are the two ends of a 60” cable from speedograph. If it helps.

Hi Christopher and Richard - thanks for your notes. The two pictures are both of the gearbox end. As far as I can see from various pictures of the cable I’ve looked at on suppliers’ websites, one end has a knurled nut and the other a square one. The knurled one presumably attaches to the speedo (I can’t remember now as I fitted it a couple of years ago) as it can be tightened by hand. The gearbox end can thus be tightened by spanner (or pliers).

Looking at the picture of the cable posted by Richard from Speedograph, appears to confirm the above but it is also apparent that the inner cable at the gearbox end protrudes a lot more than on mine, so this does appear to be the problem.

I am going to have to get the cable out and have a look to see why the inner cable does not protrude more and if necessary buy a new one - from Speedograph,

Ah well, better get my fingers pliable....

Many thanks for the advice.

The cable in the pic was damaged during manufacture, it had a kink in it just below the plastic ‘stop’ at the speedo end. So if ordering from Speedograph, check it carefully before fitting!

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Hi Malc...the inner cable pulls out from the speedo end....so if the outer sleeve connection isnt fitted correctly and fully screwed into the speedo then you could be short on the inner cable at the gearbox end...Steve

Thanks everyone for the advice - as usual all knowledge is within the Forum! I’ll disconnect the cable at the speedo end and make sure that is is sitting properly and see if I can get any more inner cable at the drive end and then refit it and test again with the drive. If I still can’t get a longer end of inner cable at the drive, I’ll have to take it out and get a new cable - maybe I’ll try David Manners this time as they currently have free next day delivery. I suspect all the cables are manufactured by the same company and sold by all the well known suppliers.

Rather than extract the whole cable from the car, why not wait till you get a replacement cable and just replace the inner?

Hi all - problem solved! The cable was not sitting flush at the speedo end - I suspect that the knurled nut was slightly cross threaded so did not seal properly hence the other end was short. I undid it and played around again with the drive end, pulled the inner cable through and connected it to the drive and spun it with a drill and, hey presto, the speedo worked. So I then spent a while trying to get the blasted thing connected again at the speedo end and eventually it spun on easily and did up tight and when connected to the drive, it still worked. Drive now back in place so all is well.

Oh, apart from the fact that I am at a loss to know how one of the hardura fits! I re-fitted it originally and took it out under two hours ago but I’m blowed if I can get it to fit properly. All part of the joy.

Anyway, thank you all for your advice - got there in the end with your help.

There’s a very good maxim which works time and time again - if you’re struggling with something, leave it, have a brew and then start again. After being mystified with the hardura, I had a cuppa, then went back and realised I had them the wrong way round (trying to fit the one to the left of the steering column on the right and vice versa). Swapped them over, ten minutes, finished - doh!