Re: [DML] Speedometer Erratic Swings

Thank you Paul, Stephen and Nick for the suggestions.

Nick I hope I do not need a re-calibration..not sure how to even approach it, however the odometer does seem to still track ok and as you indicated the needle swinging does start at higher speeds about 50 MPH +.

Stephen, I did look at the YouTube video re the angle drive replacement it is helpful. I think I am going to first try to clean and lubricate the lower speedometer cable and the angle drive unit. I had no idea that this should be done periodically.

Paul, I have looked in my Delorean car manual several times and can not find any reference to the speedometer cable, angle drive, etc. Can you please tell me where the white plastic disk in the front wheel is that may need some tape.... is it inside the angle drive or somewhere else, is it the dust cover?

Thank you.

Mike

From: Paul Gress <pgress@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2014 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: [DML] Speedometer Erratic Swings

Hi Michael,

There could be three probable reasons for this:

1) The Speedometer Cable is lacking in lubricant. This causes the cable inside the sheath to get stuck momentarily, get some torsional twist, then get enough torque to break free. This causes oscillations to occur where the speedometer would read in excess of a given speed and lower then a given speed. This may also only occur at certain speeds.

2) The white plastic insert in the front wheel is slipping.

3) A combination of 1 & 2.

To fix the cable, I've seen people pour antifreeze down the cable to lubricate it or replace it.

To fix the white plastic insert slipping, I've wrapped a small amount of tape on it to wedge it tighter. Do this at your own risk, as the counter argument to this is it was designed to slip easily to prevent breakage elsewhere.

Paul

On 04/14/14 08:47 AM, MICHAEL W TOWNSLEY wrote:

I took my 83 Delorean out for a spin yesterday after a long winter's hibernation. I drove about 6 or 7 miles at speeds around 35 to 45 MPH and the car performed fine. When I accelerated to merge on to a 4 lane highway the speedometer started swing back and forth wildly with 10 to 15 MPH variations. It seemed to be more stable in second gear however at low speeds it would drop to zero in 1st. In 3rd or 4th gear it swing back and forth wildly. I thought I detected a slight periodic noise coming the left front tire area when accelerating after making a low speed turn. Has anyone experienced this problem and been able to successfully correct it? My Delorean has the Island Turbo setup with a 160 speedometer I am not sure if the after market speedo mod is the problem or not. I have had the car for about 14 years and I have never encountered this particular issue before.