Speedometer cable keeps breaking... (1 Viewer)

[CMD82]

I am now on my 3rd speedo cable. The latest one is an OEM cable from C-Dan, which lasted about a week or two. I have no idea why these keep breaking on me. It is screwed in the transfer port and plugged into the back of the speedo. Am I missing something... The cable does not appear to be bound up. The cable in the housing is not currently spinning, which leads me to believe the cable is broken somewhere in the housing. I am sick of dropping $50 on cables. WTF!!!!!!!

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

No immediate ideas come to mind other than, are you careful to route it away from the exhaust?

Butt

 

[CMD82]

Chuck - It is near the exhaust... I clipped/wedged it on the heat shield above the exhaust. Maybe it slipped off and touched the exhaust. Would that destroy the cable?
When I removed it from behind the gauge cluster there appeared to be shavings by the inner male piece that fits into the gauge cluster.

Thx

 

[Michael Hanson]

Im thinking its inside the transmission. Something is binding up. Mike

 

[CMD82]

Mike - Would that still be the case if as soon as I put the new cable on it worked like normal? I thought about that, but I can't/don't want to get under the truck while its moving to see if the speedo cable attachment point on the tranny is turning.

I am totally stumped.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Try a flush and fill. Mike

 

[meatloaf]

I've had problems with the speedo driven gear and not the cable itself. I would imagine that if it were the cable breaking, the tranny or TC woould not be the problem, but rather something binding closer to the speedometer.

Luis


https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-...er-gear-problems-again-look-what-i-found.html

https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/266840-speedometer-problems.html

 

[Godwin]

Transmission has nothing to do with the cable breaking since the cable plugs into the transfer case.

>there appeared to be shavings by the inner male piece that fits into the gauge cluster<

I'd start looking at how you're connecting the cable to the gauge cluster, check to see if it's binding at the cluster, or is routed oddly and causing the inner cable to break. It's a tight fit up behind the dash and instrument cluster and getting it plugged in properly to the gauge cluster can sometimes be tricky.

You could try using a longer cable for ease of hookup to the cluster; a cable from a 85-87 FJ60 would be a few inches longer.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Agreed transfer case,but that cable is pretty strong, I dont see a gauge breaking a cable. Lube the back of the gauge with sewing machine oil. MIke

 

[CMD82]

Yes I meant transfer case. Could the cable "melt" if it resides too close to the exhaust? It seems like to the routing was ok. I just fished it up behind the dash and plugged it in.

Could the output on the tranfer case cause any of these issues?

Thx

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

Chuck - It is near the exhaust... I clipped/wedged it on the heat shield above the exhaust. Maybe it slipped off and touched the exhaust. Would that destroy the cable?
When I removed it from behind the gauge cluster there appeared to be shavings by the inner male piece that fits into the gauge cluster.

Thx

Yes I meant transfer case. Could the cable "melt" if it resides too close to the exhaust? It seems like to the routing was ok. I just fished it up behind the dash and plugged it in.

Could the output on the tranfer case cause any of these issues?

Thx

Mine runs close to, but does not touch that heat shield. I'm able to zip tie it to the body above and inboard of the shield.

Butt

 

[alaska60]

keep that sucker away from heat.....I have gone through a few myself...

 

[cruiser_guy]

The cable MUST follow a smooth path. No sharp bends.

 

[CMD82]

There didn't seem to be any sharp bends in my routing. Is the cable supposed to clip somewhere? Or is there a specific routing that should be followed? I just ran it up through the floor and behind the dash. It didn't seem to be that difficult. The cable more than likely came in contact with the exhaust at some point. I came back from a trip ~ 120 miles and parked, it worked fine the entire time. The next time it was driven the speedo didn't work. I can only assume the cable was resting against the exhaust which caused it to fail. Thoughts?

 

[nitro3421]

+1 on making sure it's a smooth path the whole way. Zip ties should help keep it in place away from heat sources.

 

[cruiser_guy]

Was the cluster hard to get back in place? If so, I'd bet the cable is/was bunched up somewhere behind it. The most likely place would be behind the cluster.

 

[HBFJ62]

Agree with thought to check behind cluster. I broke one right at the cluster because I didn't get enough of the cable up to have a straight shot for the last few inches into the speedometer.

 

[CMD82]

Was the cluster hard to get back in place? If so, I'd bet the cable is/was bunched up somewhere behind it. The most likely place would be behind the cluster.

Not particularly... However, this or the exhaust seems like the most likely scenario. I guess I will get another one and take extra extra extra care in routing. Thanks everyone.