Speedometer cable noise

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73dartneedswork

73dartneedswork

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Hello,
My speedometer has not worked since I purchased my car. I finally got around to replacing the speedometer cable and when I drive I can hear a noise coming from behind the instrument panel. Should the cable be making a noise?
The guy at Napa said that the cable was already pre lubed.
Thanks
 
Does the speedometer work now? If not you may not have gotten the speedo cable inserted into the speedometer correctly and it's slipping. If it does work it's possible the speedometer itself is making noise. Maybe stripped gears on the odometer clicking? Maybe the speedometer needs cleaned and lubed?
 
73dartneedswork said:
Hello,
My speedometer has not worked since I purchased my car. I finally got around to replacing the speedometer cable and when I drive I can hear a noise coming from behind the instrument panel. Should the cable be making a noise?
Click to expand...
No. If it's a whirring noise it's usually the cable. If it's a hammering sort of noise, the cable may not be seated properly. There's a little sheet metal piece at the end of the cable that needs to be seated firmly in the socket of the speedometer input. The cable clip needs to also be firmly attached at the back.

73dartneedswork said:
The guy at Napa said that the cable was already pre lubed. Thanks
Click to expand...
Kinda, sorta. IMO powdered graphite works great on noisy cables.
 
I am no pro on this and after a head injury I forgot alot of things. Make sure you have the right cable for the year because there are different ones. If you have the right cable and you know you installed it right in the dash then the cable is not properly indexed into the transmission. This will allow the cable to spin but not enough to move the needle. It will sound like a vibration in the dash and drive you nuts. Move the cable at the transmission so it will lock in where it should be. Or go on the Transmission forum and see if a tranny guy can give you a better explanation or description on how to fix. Then will see if your speedometer is on or off. PM if I can be of any assistance.
 
I was driving the car this morning and speedometer quit working. Either the cable came off the back of the speedometer or the cable broke. I'm still hearing the same noise though, so it's got to be the sound of the cable spinning in it's housing. I'm going to look at it when I get off of work.
Thanks
 
If you didn't have it pushed all the way in it may have popped out and the cable is hitting something as it spins. Could also be the speedometer itself broke. Anything can happen but I doubt the cable broke as they are pretty darn hard to break.
 
Today I got a chance to try and figure out what was going on with my speedometer. I pulled back the instrument panel to find that the cable had snapped right where it hooks into the speedometer.
I bought a replacement cable and housing. This time I took the cable out of the housing and greased it with some white multi purpose grease. I got everything hooked up and back together and everything seems to be working great. There is no noise coming from the speedometer or cable.
Thanks again for the replies.
Kris
 
Glad to hear you got it fixed Kris. It's really rare to see a new cable snap. Must be another one of those great made in china products.
 
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