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Speedo stops working

Discussion in 'XJ Technical Chat' started by SpearChucker, Sep 10, 2018.

  1. SpearChucker

    SpearChucker Active Member

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    Anyone have a fix for this:
    Two or three times now I've pulled out from the house, got to the highway and noticed I have no reading on my speedo. I then pull over to the side of the road, undo the cable at the cluster and the speedo drive and reattach them to make sure I have a good seat. Took three tries today before it would work.
    Any ideas or do I need a new drive, new cable, new cluster even?
    This is on my 1984 750RL which I'm assuming has a similar speedo drive setup as the other XJs, but I might be totally wrong about that.
     
    SpearChucker, Sep 10, 2018
    #1
  2. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    I'd pull the cable from its sheath to inspect it. It might be in two peices, and only be working on friction.
    You can also whittle you a stick to put into the speedometer socket (or use the driven end of an old cable), chuck it in a drill and see if the speedometer runs consistantly.
     
    k-moe, Sep 10, 2018
    #2
    SpearChucker likes this.
  3. SpearChucker

    SpearChucker Active Member

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    I'm thinking I'll pull that cable in the morning and check it. If it's whole I'll check out the speedo. Thanks k-moe.
     
    SpearChucker, Sep 10, 2018
    #3
  4. kerriskandiesinc

    kerriskandiesinc Active Member

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    Don't put too many miles on her...using the drill method......don't take too many off....using the reverse drill method...
     
    kerriskandiesinc, Sep 10, 2018
    #4
    SpearChucker and Toomanybikes like this.
  5. k-moe

    k-moe Pie, Bacon, Bourbon. Moderator Premium Member

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    You can't remove miles by spinning it backwards. They thought of that
    .
     
    k-moe, Sep 11, 2018
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    kerriskandiesinc likes this.
  6. Toomanybikes

    Toomanybikes Well-Known Member

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    If the outer case has been stretched then inner will not reach one end. And if you have had the front wheel off you make have damaged the drive plate that turns speedo drive unit.
     
    Toomanybikes, Sep 11, 2018
    #6
  7. Joshua Olkowski

    Joshua Olkowski Member

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    I had the same problem on my 81 XJ550 Seca. My problem was in the wheel itself. There is a ring with two tabs that insert into the speedo which thus turn the speedo cable. Turns out the two tabs that insert into the two seats on the speedo inside the wheel were bent back. In determining the problem I hooked the speedo cable to a drill to see if the actual speedometer works. It did. So that was my clue that the actual mechanism in the wheel wasn't working correctly.
     
    Joshua Olkowski, Sep 12, 2018
    #7
  8. SpearChucker

    SpearChucker Active Member

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    Thanks Joshua, as soon as I try to do anything on my bike it seems people call to book me for photo shoots. Maybe this is a way for me to get rich, just rebuild the bike. LOL. I’ll try and get to it this week, with it snowing the urgency is diminishing.
     
    SpearChucker, Sep 12, 2018
    #8

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