Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi,

Is it true that the trip reset spindle on a S4 speedo is removed by pushing it in and turning anti-(counter-)clockwise? I have tried this but I don't want to damage it by forcing the issue.

Anybody used Speedy Cables (London) lately?

Thanks in advance.

Pete

On mine there is a transverse pin which has to be pressed or pulled out first. this then allows the shaft to separate.
Eric in Burnley
1967 S3SE DHC

Hi Eric,

I did see a tiny roll pin and I wasn't sure. So I take it I remove the pin and black plastic shaft, then push the metal shaft in when inserting the the speedo into the dash?

Thanks for the advice.

Pete

Pete,
Best of luck pushing the roll pin back in. I gave up and used a split pin. A slacker fit of course, but it made the job possible and I cannot tell the difference.
Speedy Cables did my speedo a couple of years back and it came back looking like a new one.
By the way, Speedy Cables London is in Swansea.! No, I don`t know either.
Eric in Burnley

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the help. I'm just in from the garage and have removed the pin. Yes, removal was easy but I imagine re-inserting a tiny black roll pin into a black hole behind a dark dash with a black carpet underneath is going to be fun! I think I will put some kitchen towel down first then pre-insert the pin into the plastic spindle first. Wish me luck.

Thanks for the recommend for speedy cables. I did wonder awhile back about the London part but if you look at the google maps location for them it's beside Lludain Fach or little London.

Regards,

Pete

I think mine is a tiny R-pin.

As far as I know you don't push the stub of the reset into the speedo body when reinserting it in the dash. By tilting the insreument you can just about make it fit through the hole.

billwill wrote:I think mine is a tiny R-pin.

As far as I know you don't push the stub of the reset into the speedo body when reinserting it in the dash. By tilting the insreument you can just about make it fit through the hole.

Yes, but you may have to remove the voltage stabilizer screwed to the rear of the speedometer to be able to remove it. Still much easier to remove the Voltage Stabilizer than remove the day odometer reset.

As per the last post remove the stabiliser and it will go in with some jiggling about.

Cheers
Mark

Thank you all for the advice. I will have a go in the morning. Phil, I like the idea of the R clip by the way.

Pete

Well it took an hour and, thanks to all the advice, my Elan now sports the correct speedometer (thank you Ted) rather than one from an MG. Also, the annoying bouncing needle has now gone. After a brief test drive it appears to be reading correctly when compared to the rpm.

Just to highlight a two things in case someone else is trying it in the future.

Yes, the voltage regulator has to come off (Thanks Phil, Bill and Mark). It's quite a job to get it re-seated and screwed back in when only using one hand. I rotated the speedo through about 90 degrees so that it was more accessible. Just going by the wiring diagram, isn't it meant to be attached to the tachometer?

The lower part of the spindle is indeed removed by pushing out the tiny (and I mean tiny. It must be only 4mm in length and less than 0.5mm in diameter. Thanks Eric) roll pin. When I did a search here, one member said that you can push the spindle in and turn it a few times in the opposite direction and the spindle will screw out. This must be true (otherwise how else can you remove the innards from the casing when the spindle is in the way) but I tried as hard as I dared and it didn't work. Before I lost it I pre-inserted it back into the plastic lower spindle ready to be fitted again. Once the speedo was in and the lights tested I pushed the lower spindle back on using needle nosed pliers to push (or more precisely, squeeze) the roll pin back in. As a precaution I laid out some white kitchen towel in the footwell just in case it popped out. I like the R pin idea as it would allow easier removal in the future.

Once again thanks for the help.

Pete

The regulator can be mounted anywhere where its body is in contact with one of the earth wires. The Tacho or Speedo clamping screws just happen to be handy places.

I don`t know about the spindle screwing out. I could not get it out.
If you remove the pointer and dial there is then enough room for the movement to come out.
Well done. they are all easy when you have done it before.
Eric in Burnley.

Thanks Eric. It looks much better than the other one. I actually caught myself sitting and looking at it for about five minutes after I had been for a drive .

Anyway, on to the next job!

Pete

Also, the annoying bouncing needle has now gone.

Did you actually do something to cure this or was it just the 'new' speedo unit do you think? Mine's like this and I don't know if it is the cable, RA box or speedo.

Keith Scarfe wrote:

Also, the annoying bouncing needle has now gone.

Did you actually do something to cure this or was it just the 'new' speedo unit do you think? Mine's like this and I don't know if it is the cable, RA box or speedo.

In my experience it was usually the cable at fault. Even though it seemed perfect and spun ok at low revs it was somehow faulty and the bouncing went away when a new rotary cable was fitted.


Try seeing if you can grip the gearbox end of the inner cable in a power-drill chuck and spin it at various speeds to observe the effect on the speedo.