I have a 1964 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88,and I took it out and realized that the speedo never reached the actual speed I was going. Upon stopping I realized that it now was not returning to 0 mph when completely stopped. Now after being parked for a couple weeks, the speedo still reads about 15 mph at a standstill. The speedo does "work" just not accurately,so Im ***uming its the cable? It worked properly less than 3 months ago, so I figured it was from this COLD Michigan weather....but I was wrong. Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated.
Sounds like the speedo head needs a good cleaning and lube. The cable wouldn't keep it at 15MPH when parked but as long as you have it apart, remove the cable from the housing and coat it with lube before poking it back in the housing. I like to use a combonation of 1/2 white grease and 1/2 stp.
Thanks Rocky. I dont have it pulled yet, but it sounds like I may have to. Ive never pulled an old dash like this apart before and am a bit nervous about gettin in there and breaking all original stuff, but hey...do what ya gotta do! Thanks again!
does the speedo stay at 15 when you turn the car off? or only when its running? check the speedo gear in the trans, too may also have to lube inside the gauge, they dry up, too then the needle wont spring back inside the speedo.. i have a 71 fury, and the spring inside the speedo corroded from water leakage, and didnt have the springback it was supposed to, youd be going 20 it would say 75, then when you stopped it would say 40.
Ya, it still reads about 15 mph when sitting with the key out of the ignition. I can go, I would guess about 45 mph and it never goes past 30 or so, it just hovers.
Rocky is probably correct. There is usually a magnet spinning around inside and a metal hub around it which makes the pointer move. I would pull it and clean it out and see what might be in there. Use a suitable subs***ute for a cable and spin the input and see what is goin on. Mark
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