Technical speedometer problem

[xilios]

Hi,
I've got a '93 fiat panda 1000 fire which has a problem with the speedometer. It was sitting outside for a couple of weeks and the temperature droped below freezing, I started it without any problems, but when I took it out for a spin I noticed the speedometer was not working, also the km counter has stoped. Can anyone please give me some advice as to where I could start looking for an answer. I don't care to take it to a fiat garage and I really don't have a clue as to where to begin.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advence George

 

[urchin]

sounds like the cable do you know how the speedo out? if so remove it then drive down the road while you put your finger in the end of the cable to see if the inner cable is turning. obviously find a nice quite road to do this you dont need to go very fast. if its turning then its a fault with the speedo itself if its not turning then its the cable or inside the gearbox.

 

[xilios]

Thanks for the quick reply urchin. I'll try and locate this cable and see how I can disconect it. Any further tips on how best I can accomplish this would be appreciated. We've also got a fiat punto that we use so no real hurry.
Thanks again, George

 

[VmanC]

The first part of the job is to remove the front of the instrument pod. This is only held in place by five screws, one either side and three at the bottom. Before you pull it forward you will have to take off the three knobs on the heater controls, they just pull off. Don't worry about the one on the fan switch as the switch is attached to the front section you're removing, when you've got it off by a few inches you can then reach behind to disconnect the wiring from the fan switch.
You should now be able to see the screws that hold the instuments in place. With these removed you can pull forward the instruments enough to get your hand behind and grip the speedo cable where it connects onto the back of the speedo. The plastic end of the cable will have to be squeezed or pushed to one side in order to disengage it from the speedo, it's a bit of a fiddle but what you're trying to do is release a notch that locates in a groove on the back of the speedo.
It's then a good idea to disconnect the wiring from the back of the instruments, two or three block connectors, so that the instrument panel can be removed completely out of the way.
You can now see the inner cable. If you don't want to drive it in this state you can jack up the front wheels to run the engine in gear. As has already been mentioned you can now see if the inner cable turns when you do this.
All this is only about 15 mins work so well worth having a go at, best of luck .

 

[xilios]

WOW, thanks vmanc for the detailed description.
I'll give it a try when I get it into a garage, (possibly next week sometime) I'll ask a friend who might have some space in his garage as its still freezing here.
cheers