The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay questions from today's speedo test

I drove my '57 Panel for the second time today. This time, I had the speedo hooked up.

I could tell immediately that the odometer is working as expected, but I'm not seeing the speedo lift up. I had put dry lube in it a few weeks ago, and when I spun it by hand, it reacted (as did the odometer). But this time, I saw no activity on the speedo.

I have to admit, I probably wasn't going any faster than 20 (for fear that things would start falling off of the truck, lol), but I was expecting to see some minor activity at least.

Based on the fact that the odometer works, and the speedo does not, does that mean I am looking at a new speedo gear and/or rebuild? Weird that one would work, but the other does not.

After doing some reading online, it looks like the Speedo may just need more oil. I will pull it out and try again.

It was the biggest rush to see the odo working, though!! Almost like a scene out of Christine, lol.

Hmm. The odometer is gear driven and so if it is working then we know the cable is turning and that tells us the transmission gear is probably ok. The speedometer needle relies on magnetism to make it spin, but if the needle jumps a bit when the rear bit is spun by hand that implies you do have magnetism. Make certain the needle isn't binding on the speedometer glass or somewhere on the dial. It won't take much to disable it even though the magnetic part is spinning...

Thanks!

I'm hoping to tear into it today to see if I can determine what the problem is.

I've also seen needle hubs bind on the hole in the dial, but usually you'd notice that when you install the needle.

So I think I found my problem, or at least, a good part of it

Check out the pics of the inside of the housing...

Looks like the muddaubers set up housekeeping.

I was not expecting to find all of that in there!!! After seeing it, I'm surprised that even the odo was working at all!

Yes, that might do it all right.

Lol.

Looks like I'll be in need of a new speedo. Even after cleaning, nothing is happening.

While I'm looking into someone repairing this speedo for me, I have to ask: has anyone ever heard of the magnets inside of these things losing their magnetic properties over time? I fully understand that the gauge is 60 years old, but I'm thinking once a magnet, always a magnet. Am I wrong on that?

Mine still works and it is a year older than yours. You should be able to see the speedometer move when you spin the back where the pin plugs into. The magnet is a close fit inside the ‘cup’ that actually moves your needle and it should be very easy to move the needle and cup parts.

Lee

Thanks, Lee- I can move the needle by hand and its weight returns it back to 0, but it does nothing while driving (even though the odometer moves while driving).