Fasten seat belt light & speedometer issues

[Saverio]

Hi guys,
So here's a new one for me.

While taking my 74 Scamp out today, I noticed that at low speeds (20-30mph) my speedometer would occasionally bounce to "pegged" and then back to normal operation. It did it a couple of times and then was fine.

Then, after being home for a while, I went out to the garage and noticed the fasten seat belt light was on. Now this is weird because I've unplugged the connections under the seat to do away with the buzzer. The car starts fine and runs fine, but the damn light won't go off, even with the seatbelts fastened!

Any ideas?

 

[TrailBeast]

Take the bulb out if you don't care that it doesn't work.

And the speedo cable needs lubed as a start, then see if it works smooth.

 

[Saverio]

I planned on taking the socket out, might be a dumb question but - does it matter that the light is always getting power, even without the key in the ignition?

Will try the lube on the cable. Thanks!

 

[Saverio]

Here's an interesting new thing I noticed...
When the doors are open, the fasten seat belt light goes off.
Also, when the dome light is turned on via the dimmer, it (seatbelt light) goes off too. :dontknow:

 

[67Dart273]

Well just unhook "all that crap." What years is the car?

Yes this IS important!!! There were changes in the wiring, especially the seatbelt nonsense, almost every year

 

[Saverio]

Ha! I unhooked all the crap. no more light and no more buzzer. Weird that it just all the sudden came on. It's a 74.

 

[cudajim]

You speedometer issue may be in the speedometer itself, not the cable. Do lube the cable first cause it's easy to do. The speedo's tend to wear out after 40 or 50 years and sometimes bounce around. You can try to lube it if you have the cluster out of the car but I find it hardly ever helps. The good news is that sometimes they get better all on their own, the bad news is most of the time they get worse and you have to replace the speedometer.

 

[67Dart273]

Ha! I unhooked all the crap. no more light and no more buzzer. Weird that it just all the sudden came on. It's a 74.

I believe you might have the dreaded interlock. Look under the hood for a small box with a reset button like this:

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=14304

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1969624169

Find the two yellow / yellow tracer wires going to that box, cut and permanently splice them together. The box (if present) interrupts the starter signal to the start relay.