Is there a “buffer” in the speedo cluster?

[gtopat]

Or does the speedometer needle run solely off the cable?

My car suffers the unfortunate effects from having the dash ripped out and the transmission exploded over the years and no cluster I’ve ever had in it, does the speedo work properly

As I drive down the road, the needle swings wildly 10-20+mph both sides of actual road speed. Potholes and road bumps cause the needle to bounce around pretty significantly too.

My dash lights have never worked either, but before I go tearing it all back apart, does anyone know if there’s part of the speedometer that’s supposed to “smooth” out the needle movement? Or is my cluster just “f’d”

Thanks
-Pat

[oldcigarette]

Mines bounces quite a bit on transitions but it tends to steady out if I'm going a constant speed. I dunno what the cause is but if you figure out it let us know Mine's been like this for a long time and I find if kind of endearing at this point.

[flcl64]

Could be the cable binding up. The speedometer needle in my truck bounces for about 10 minutes when it's cold out. It was a lot worse when I first bought the truck, so I took the cable completely out, pulled the metal cord out, washed out everything with brake cleaner, then re-lubed the cord with graphite.

[spyphish]

Needle is hooked to an outer thin metal round piece and the cable runs a magnet I think. It's very delicate and once the needle falls off and you stick it back best you can. Swings wildly on the MonacEAUX as I tried to stick it back on myself. I had the 14o restored and it works fine on the cop car. Phish

[gtopat]

Thanks guys. Found nothing in factory wiring manual, but some lite googling supports spyphish’s diagnosis, the little spinning magnet-on-a-shaft between the cable and the needle. I’ll pull the cluster apart, if it’s anything I can fix, I’ll document it here, else it’s off to a speedo repair shop!

-Pat