Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi

Simple question here, how is the speedo trip odometer supposed to be reset to zero ? I cannot find any push button or turn knob anywhere obvious ?

My car is a 1973 +2S 130/5

Cheers

Peter
On my +2 (an early 1969) The trip reset is jus behind the botton edge of the dash just to the right of the speedo.

Regards

Andy

On my Sprint, there was no trip reset. I had it added when the speedo was refurbished. I wonder if that was common on the late model cars?

Dave, 72 Sprint DHC

On my S4 it's same as Andy's +2 - a short, straight, sleeved cable coming straight down from speedo with a knurled knob which appears just below the bottom of the dash - you simply turn it to reset the trip odo.

The same on my Sprint as Elliott described!

Well I have to say having own a raftof classics befor and even (unfortunately) having grown up when most of them were new the 'sleeved cable with a knurled knob' is exactly what I expected but cannot find

Maybe its tooked up insde the dash behind somewhere

More investigation needed obviously

Cheers for the info though

Mine is the same as described by Elliot.
From memory it was easy to remove so you could withdraw the guts of the speedo from its casing.
Has yours fallen off at some stage ?
The hole at the bottom of the casing would be visible looking up from underneath.

Ralph.

The trip odo reset knob and shaft broke loose from the rest of the mechanism decades ago on my car. I still have it in a box of small parts that are no longer where they belong. It didn't look like a trivial job to replace it.

I wondered the same when I first got my Elan, after much fiddling around the back of the dash I came to the conclusion the reset 'thing' must have disappeared at some time in the past and just managed without it.

After a slight issue with gearbox oil ( ) I've just had my speedo refurbed and it's come back complete with new trip reset knob! A nice bonus!


Now the challenge comes of refitting the speedo without breaking it off again...

Schrodinger wrote:I wondered the same when I first got my Elan, after much fiddling around the back of the dash I came to the conclusion the reset 'thing' must have disappeared at some time in the past and just managed without it.

After a slight issue with gearbox oil ( ) I've just had my speedo refurbed and it's come back complete with new trip reset knob! A nice bonus!


Now the challenge comes of refitting the speedo without breaking it off again...

Hello,
My speedo works just fine but I too am missing the trip odometer reset 'thing'. I was wondering (Schrodinger) if you could tell me who it was who was able, in effect, to supply you same, please. Similar info from anyone else also welcome of course!
Many thanks,
Tony

It would be very easy to lose the reset gizmo; if you turn it the "wrong way" just a few turns, it screws out. it requires some athletic limbo dancing under the dash to get it back in; I guess lazy DPO's might not have bothered.

After almost 27 years of my ownership, the trip odometer re-set knob has failed, I think it pulled down a bit, I never knew which way to turn it so I generally turned it one way and then the other. But I have used them almost every tank of fuel since I got my first Elan.
RotoFlexible says the repair is non-trival, but can anyone explain how it attaches and how to replace it? Both my Elans have always have had functioning trip odometers and I like them, I find them more accurate than the fuel gauge. It would be nice to have it working again.
But it does not seem to simple screw in unless I am missing something.

PanoGuy.

The Trip Odometer connection on the back of the Speedo, is very similar to the way the Speedo cable fixes. i.e. they are both male threads on a post. It is positioned slightly above the centre speedo cable in line with the actual trip recording and to the right (looking from the front).
Be careful of the bulb wires.

The Trip Odometer cable has an inner cable that has to fit into the hole, then the female threaded ring nut screws onto the male post. This secures the inner cable and outer cable. You can check all is well by turning the knurled nob, which will reset to zeros.

TeeJay wrote:The Trip Odometer connection on the back of the Speedo, is very similar to the way the Speedo cable fixes. i.e. they are both male threads on a post. It is positioned slightly above the centre speedo cable in line with the actual trip recording and to the right (looking from the front).

Mine emerges from the side of the speedo casing pointing straight down.....

Thanks,
Mine looks like yours Roger, but I just can't figure out how it attaches and how it engages. I suppose I need to pull it out again and take a closer look. I feel some of that gentle clicking sound when I turn it, but it does not turn the odometer numbers. The manual just says remove and replace, I guess I should try again.
Doug C