Technical Speedo cable

[tobywood13]

Hello all, I am once again the proud owner of a Fiat Panda! It’s a ‘93 CLX, so I won’t have the carburettor trouble that my last Panda gave me for months. After a slightly worrying drive home with a battery warning light and a broken speedometer, can now start getting the Panda back to perfect condition.

I’ve disconnected the speedo cable from the back of the gauge cluster and tested it while driving, it’s not rotating. Further inspection revealed the cable has split quite close to the gearbox, so I’ve ordered a new part.

What’s the procedure for removing it from the gearbox? Do you have to jack the car up, or can it be done from above?

Thanks in advance!

 

[the green vanper]

Hello,

I assume you've checked the download section of the forum?

It seems that there are 3 different workshop manuals for the 1st gen Panda, but I have no idea if anything changed between 1980 / 1984 and 1993.

It's worth checking in my opinion

Good luck!

 

[cybertruckino]

Hi there, easiest way is to turn the wheel out of the way and twist it off if its not too tight. If it is, then you might need to jack it up and get under it partially. As far as I know, the speedo cables had revisions between the years, but the mounting at the gearbox side is still just something you can twist off and then pull out.

 

[tobywood13]

Hi there, easiest way is to turn the wheel out of the way and twist it off if it’s not too tight. If it is, then you might need to jack it up and get under it partially. As far as I know, the speedo cables had revisions between the years, but the mounting at the gearbox side is still just something you can twist off and then pull out.

Thanks, I couldn’t see a way to get at it from above but I’ll try turning the wheel before I resort to jacking it up. I’ve got to change the alternator belt too so it will be on a jack soon anyway, if the side method doesn’t work.

 

[tobywood13]

Hi all, I’ve got the old cable off but I’m having trouble getting the new one to attach. There’s a white plastic thing sticking up out of the hole where the cable is supposed to screw in, is that normal? This plastic thing seems to have a bit of metal poking out the top of it, perhaps where the old cable snapped off? I’ve included some photos here.

Does the new cable go over the top of this, or do I need to take it out somehow? Or, do I need to remove the old bit of medal from the middle? Thanks.

 

[the green vanper]

I'd say the new cable (the metal part) should go inside the white plastic. So yes, you probably need to take the old part out. Use a magnet

 

[tobywood13]

I'd say the new cable (the metal part) should go inside the white plastic. So yes, you probably need to take the old part out. Use a magnet

Thanks, good suggestion to use a magnet. I managed to get a little bit poking out, then grabbed it with a pair of pliers. Job done now!

Just need to work out how the attach the rubber cup to the firewall at the other end… not sure whether it goes on the cabin side of the engine side. If engine side, not sure how to stick it to the firewall.

 

[tobywood13]

Hello all, the speedo is already playing up again! It's making a lot of noise, the needle is shaking as the car accelerates, and it wont read any higher than 30mph. Does anyone know what might be causing this? I will be taking the dashboard apart again to check everything back there this evening, but was wondering if there was anything else I should be checking. Do I need to grease the cable, for example.

 

[cybertruckino]

Hello all, the speedo is already playing up again! It's making a lot of noise, the needle is shaking as the car accelerates, and it wont read any higher than 30mph. Does anyone know what might be causing this? I will be taking the dashboard apart again to check everything back there this evening, but was wondering if there was anything else I should be checking. Do I need to grease the cable, for example.

Hi there, when I replaced mine it also jumped a bit, havent tested if it went over 30 yet (no working brakes, so handbrake only).

I think lubricating it with some gearbox oil should make it work better. If you dont, I think the oil will work itself up eventually.

Make sure you have the little plastic insert inside of the speedometer side (basically the plastic cup, and inside there should be a smaller plastic piece where the cable fits through and that it can rotate freely. That part stabilizes the metal wire into the speedometer.
EDIT: See the photo. My original one jad quite a lot of oil on it. You can see the black part on the speedo wire itself, thats the plastic part I was referring to.

Also, I managed to break the speedo connector whilst removing it. It should click in quite firmly and not be able to be pulled out with ease once seated properly.

 

[tobywood13]

Hi there, when I replaced mine it also jumped a bit, havent tested if it went over 30 yet (no working brakes, so handbrake only).

I think lubricating it with some gearbox oil should make it work better. If you dont, I think the oil will work itself up eventually.

Make sure you have the little plastic insert inside of the speedometer side (basically the plastic cup, and inside there should be a smaller plastic piece where the cable fits through and that it can rotate freely. That part stabilizes the metal wire into the speedometer.
EDIT: See the photo. My original one jad quite a lot of oil on it. You can see the black part on the speedo wire itself, thats the plastic part I was referring to.

Also, I managed to break the speedo connector whilst removing it. It should click in quite firmly and not be able to be pulled out with ease once seated properly.

Thanks, I'll try a bit of gear oil down the cable. I did make sure the little plastic bit was inserted into the back of the speedo before putting the dashboard back together.

When I removed the old cable, this plastic bit came out at the same time and was attached to it. I'll try re-inserting it to check how solid it feels. Can a replacement be ordered for the little plastic bit, or do you need an entire replacement gauge cluster?

 

[the green vanper]

I you have enough space, you could connect the lower end of the cable to a drill to see how the speedo needle reacts. I remember that all the 'old fashion' (mechanical) speedos were more or less 'shaky'.

 

[tobywood13]

I you have enough space, you could connect the lower end of the cable to a drill to see how the speedo needle reacts. I remember that all the 'old fashion' (mechanical) speedos were more or less 'shaky'.

Thanks, I’ve just taken apart the dash again, lubricated the cable, and reinserted it again to ensure it was in properly. It seems to be working properly now from a brief test drive, I hope to find out for certain over the next few days. If it starts playing up again I’ll test the speedo running off a drill.

Annoyingly, in my dashboard disassembly I seem to have damaged one of the electrical connectors that powers the other gauges/warning lights etc., now my fuel gauge is playing up and a few of my warning lights aren’t displaying unless the connector is in the exact correct position. Another thing to add to the list!

 

[tobywood13]

Speedo has resumed its funny behaviour, it seems like it's popped out the back of the gauge. Is there any way to secure it? The plastic bit on the back of the gauge is quite loose now, and as soon as I accelerated up to about 20mph it fell out and is now not moving at all once again. The plastic turreted ring is locked in place, it's the inner cable retracting and pulling the small plastic piece inside the back of the gauge out of place.

My fuel gauge and temp gauge have also died, along with some warning lights, because the connectors on the back of the gauge unit aren't plugging in properly. One of the white plug sockets on the back of the gauge unit is missing a tiny bit, so it no longer holds the plug in place securely. Annoying. Should I buy a new gauge cluster so the speedo cable and electrical connections can be solid? Thanks.

 

[tobywood13]

All sorted now, I’ve slapped a load of grease on there and the cable isn’t popping out anymore. There’s a slight buzzing noise behind the clocks, but it’s far quieter than it was before. Job done, thanks for the help!

 

[tobywood13]

My speedo problem has reappeared after a night of snowy weather, seems the cables go bad in the cold. I'll try and describe my symptoms. Just what I needed on the morning of an 8 hour 400 mile round trip with a Panda full of Army kit!

Even when it was working, the cable was quite buzzy and juddered a lot at low speeds in particular. I have plenty of slack in the rubber outer cable, but the metal inner cable is quite far down into the white connector and won't move out much when pulled. From reviewing other people's photos, my cable does look quite short. I ordered the RHD cable from Ricambio, so it should be the right one, but perhaps that's why it keeps popping out/buzzing? I'm wondering whether I have the cable in the wrong way round.

The cable was turning at the speedo end when I moved the car when I first tried to reattach it, but now it isn't turning so it might have detached from the gearbox end or gotten all mangled and twisted inside the rubber cable. The separate plastic thing that attaches to the speedo end of the cable and then goes in to the back of the speedo is not damaged. I can use it to manually turn the speedo, and it fits snugly onto the cable.

I will try disconnecting it again and redoing the whole job again, which end is the plastic stop (the red thing in the below photo) supposed to be at? Gearbox end or speedo end? I can't remember which way round I have it currently, but perhaps whichever way I have done it is the wrong one.

 

[the green vanper]

I think the red part is to block any grease getting into the speedometer. But can be wrong.

 

[tobywood13]

Well, I had the red bit at the gearbox end, hopefully that was the cause of all my problems. Unfortunately, the bit of cable that sticks out of the red bit was all mangled, so I will need another cable. Hopefully the chunks of whatever is left of the old cable don’t block the new one from going all the way in to the gearbox!

Lesson learned, next time I’ll make sure I have the cable in the right way around, then I should have a solid connection. I also hope that the new cable lasts a bit longer. That's two cables I've now had eaten by this car's gearbox. One twisted up at the gearbox end when I bought the car, and one replacement (admittedly fitted in the wrong way) having the end shaved off by the gearbox.

 

[the green vanper]

It's only my supposition, but can't find any other logical cause for it. Perhaps only positioning.

Then - on the photo you've posted it looks like it's on the speedometer end, too

 

[cybertruckino]

The red part is supposed to be on the end of the speedo.

 

[tobywood13]

The red part is supposed to be on the end of the speedo.

Thanks for confirming, will put the new one in the right way round this time!

Out of interest, does anyone have a diagram of the route the cable is supposed to take in the engine bay? Perhaps I routed it incorrectly and it's going round too tight of a corner, which would stress the cable a bit more. I have it coming straight up out of the gearbox between a few pipes/hoses that are in that area, under the spare wheel, then turning left to go round the back of the cabin air box, then right through the bulkhead into the speedo.