speedometer gage, the needle is going out of control

Mikey's 68 RT · Mar 3, 2014

1970 dodge rt charger. My speedometer needle in my gage is moving randomly all back and forth from 20-110 miles an hour. Everyince and awhile it will do this and my Speedo cable sounds like its stuck. En I will slow down or stop and it goes away. Any idea what the probldn is? Is this just my speedo cable needing to be adjusted or is it a voltage regulator problem and I need to get an additional grounding strap? Thanks for your help.

Propwash · Mar 3, 2014

Your speedo cable has nothing to do with electronic's. It's mechanical. It is a bound metal cable that runs in a housing from your tranny to the back of your speedometer cluster. Try the easy things first....Remove speedo cable, lubricate the cable inside as well as at the back of the cluster. Check the condition of the cable, make sure it isn't sheared, kinked or unwinding. If those check out, then move on to a faulty speedo cluster or issue with the speedo gear/assembly in the tranny.

clazar · Mar 3, 2014

I had the same problem with my RR cable. Simple replacement with a factory cable did the trick.

Chuck

terzmo · Mar 3, 2014

mine went crazy just before it burned in half from hitting the exhaust

Badvert65 · Mar 3, 2014

X2..Same thing with the speedo on my 65 Belvedere.

Propwash said:
Your speedo cable has nothing to do with electronic's. It's mechanical. It is a bound metal cable that runs in a housing from your tranny to the back of your speedometer cluster. Try the easy things first....Remove speedo cable, lubricate the cable inside as well as at the back of the cluster. Check the condition of the cable, make sure it isn't sheared, kinked or unwinding. If those check out, then move on to a faulty speedo cluster or issue with the speedo gear/assembly in the tranny.

193rdsow · Mar 3, 2014

There are several things that could be causing your problem. The speedometer cable is not seated properly in either your speedometer or the tranny. The speedometer cable needs lubricated or replaced. Lastly, it is most likely your speedometer needs rebuilt. I would look at where the cable mounts to the back of your speedometer to make sure it's properly seated. If it is, the cheapest first step is to replace the cable if it's old. If your lucky that will fix the problem. If it still does it after replacing the cable, pull the speedometer out of your dash and have it repaired.

Durandal25 · Mar 3, 2014

.....I had the issue a few months ago, and pulled the speedo , cleaned it .... No issues now

Meep-Meep · Mar 3, 2014

It's quite possible the spedo head is worn out. There are a couple of jewel movements that support the aluminum drum and shaft, and when those go, the rotating magnet hits the aluminum cup and knocks the needle around. You can sometimes hear a faint tick or rubbing sound.

Jim Bob The Dancing Bear · Mar 4, 2014

I had this one a 78 power wagon. I pulled, cleaned and relubed the cable. It has been working like a charm since. I also used compressed air (can not compressor) to blow out the dust from the gauge. It still bounces once I start getting close to 80 MPH but below that it works fine now. The condition, pre cleaning, was worse when it was cold out. When it was 110 there where no issues.

Shawn

69a100 · Mar 4, 2014

I had the same myself, do what the others have said. What I did was take the dash out and remove the cable from the back and used a couple drops of tranny fluid into the area where the cable attaches at the dash. If you look there are 2 areas, ones for the speedo and the other is for the odometer, oil them both. Also throw about a shot glass worth down the cable too. It will wick it's way down and into the tranny and grease it up good. Good Luck

speedometer gage, the needle is going out of control

Mikey's 68 RT

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Propwash

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clazar

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terzmo

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Badvert65

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193rdsow

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Durandal25

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Meep-Meep

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Jim Bob The Dancing Bear

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69a100

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