now I have to tap the speedo to get the needle to move
 

Hi,

I had the gauge cluster refinished cosmetically, and replaced the speedometer cable. Seemed to be working OK, but recently I have been messing with it to ensure the smoothest operation of the speedo, etc., and have run into a major problem.

For some reason, now I cannot get the speedometer to work without tapping it. SOmetimes it will free itself up somewhere between 12 and 40 mph, but then it violently bounces around before getting to the correct mileage... not good. If I tap it, the needle will go right up quickly and smoothly at low MPH.

I dont knwo what I did wrong, nothing seems bad, and Ive tried various lengths of cable slack in the engine compartment. When it works, it moves very smoothly now; I just need it to move when the car starts rolling.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

JMH

P.S. Also, it seems to me that the odometer still is working, despite the speedo being stuck at 0.

bump up...

I found that there were no connectors that attached the cable sheath to the mount points on the car. The run was smooth with no kinks, but still it kind of hung down a bit more than where the old mount point would have had it run.

So I fashioned some attachments from old metal hangers, and it keeps the cable more in line with where it should have routed with the OEM cable mounts (as I said before, it wasnt more than an inch or two away from those spots).

It seems to require less tapping or speed to get the needle moving, but it still requires some. Any suggestions?

JMH