73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Interior & Equipment => Topic started by: Skunksmash on September 19, 2009, 06:23:40 pm
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Problem 1. My speedometer says I am going 16 mph, when I am sitting still. And it seems to adjust accordingly to my speed. So for example if I was doing 30 mph, I think it is telling me that I am going 46mph. I may be a little off on that, but it seems wrong, and it still does tell me I am going 16mph when sitting still. I am kind of at a loss on how to fix this. Oh yeah the truck is '87 by the way.
Problem 2. My odometer doesn't work anymore. Most people wouldn't care, and might in fact, laugh. But I use it to see how far I have gone on various trips and as such, I would like to have it working again. I guess I am at a loss for this thing too. I mean, from what I can tell all it is, is just a two little electronic bulbs that point at the spinning thing which is at the back of the speedometer gauge. The are in a little housing, you can't even mess with them. You can only unscrew the housing to detach it from the gauge, for removal. And there's only one screw. You can not mess with the little... heck I don't know what they are... little infared bulbs in any way. The whole thing is so simple I don't know how it could notwork. But, it doesn't anymore. I screwed it right back in place, the same way it came out, with it's one single small screw.
Problem 3. Not really a gauge problem I guess, but still a problem and it's right there by all the gauges. The gear selector needle is giving me trouble. See that little cable attached to the selector needle, in the pic? It keeps slipping off the steering column every time I put it into gear. If it doesn't stay up there, the needle won't move when you change gears. What can be done to prevent this? Admittedly I don't have it set in exactly the right spot yet. I seem to have set it a little too tight. But even still, that should only make it harder for it to slip off, shouldn't it? I don't think I am missing any little guide piece for the cable, but please feel free to tell me if I am. Oh yeah. And all of this is after having removed the gauge cluster so I could change out some of the light bulbs that were burnt out, and not illuminating the gauges anymore at night. I would not have removed the whole thing and gotten into this mess, but in my clumsiness I dropped one of the bulb holders back behind that light aqua colored housing for all the gauges. Only thing to do then was yank em. You don't have a choice anymore if you do that. Anyway, thanks for reading.
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1 and 2 I don't know. 3, I'll take a shot at. !st, the track the pointer is in needs to be clean. Mine had rust and crud in it. I may have put a dab of grease in it also, I don't remember. IIRC there is supposed to be a pulley off to the right (there was on my '73) it allowed for a straighter pull on the needle instead of it dragging along the column. I did mine last fall, so I don't remember all the details.
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1 and 2 sound like a problem with the speedo.
3 you have the cable connected wrong. It is supposed to go to the right around the white plastic.
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Sorry capt, but im afraid I can't understand the reply. The speedo didn't have a problem before I took it out, but maybe you are right and something happened during the time it was out? Also I am not too sure about what you mean about the white plastic part. Can you be more specific? Sorry im a noob at this heh
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look at your pic now look at 1st then look about 4 o'clock you see that white plastic part that has a slot in it the cable is supposed to go there. and the speedo being broke is affecting your odom. eather swap it out or disconnect it mess with it spin it and all and see what it does
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Similar to this:
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Wow. Now I feel stupid. LOL :D
But as for the speedometer, I think what happened with the speedo was, my dumb self put the needle back on wrong after I took it off and repainted it bright orange, to freshen up the old fadedness. Looks good at least. Wonder if there is some way I can know exactly where it should be pointing when I put it back on? Seeing as how there is no little bump stop for it, like on some vehicle's gauges.
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all the ones i see on ebay are eather zeroed out or
(http://i.ebayimg.com/01/!B(-NCWwBWk~$(KGrHgoH-EQEjlLluvvMBKfE14Y67w~~_12.JPG)
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Probly cause they were'nt dumb like me and took the needle off to repaint it. So theirs is just sitting where it would be if it was still in the truck. I thought about it later and, all you would have to do to paint them without removing the needle, is just take a piece of notebook paper and cut a slit in it. Then slide the paper up under the needle, via the slit in the paper. Then just slide another, smaller piece in to cover the slit. Then you got a perfectly masked off needle. And the paper is so thin that it will do it easily.