Rover r8 Speedometer shakes 15-40mph

[MGZRreplica]

Hi
I’ve got a 1993 rover 218 diesel turbo
With 69k on the clock.
Between 15 to 40mph the speedometer
The needle shakes
about 5-10mm.
What could it be?
Thanks for your time

[RoverRevival]

Faulty or going faulty sender

[ROVER-25X]

Loose speedo cable perhaps, might be worth checking it is correctly connected to the clocks and gearbox sender.

[MGZRreplica]

I’ve removed the speedo trim and
Unscrewed the clocks But they won’t
pull out.

I’ve purchased a new speedo cable
from Rimmer Bros

they said there was only
one for the diesel model.

The part number is
YBD10034EVA

Anybody got any tips?

Or if they live by
Walsall, Cannock or Lichfield
And they know what they are
doing I will travel and pay you
to swop the cable.

Thanks for your time

[Vinny1979]

Get your hand behind and squeeze the speedo cable clip which then pulls forward
remove the two wiring plugs too

[Johnny 216GSi]

I have the same problem on a 216 (Honda engine) car.

Mechanical speedo drive though... (some are electronic).

Have come to the conclusion on a mechanical drive, this is how the rotary motion of the speedo cable is converted to a constant angular position on the speedo dial. I think it might be done with magnets (??) inside? Speedo cable turns, converted to momentary attraction of steel plate on speedo needle to magnet being turned by speedo cable... but with clever spring/damper arrangement so it doesn't appear as pulses but rather a constant position on the dial. So maybe I've lost a magnet, or the magnet(s) are misaligned, or have lost their magnetism?

Not sure what to do about it really. Already fitted a new speedo cable. Wonder if something has actually failed inside the binnacle itself... If the damper/spring arrangement isn't working correctly then it won't "filter out" the pulses being created by the spinning magnet, and the dial will oscillate around the correct indication of speed rather than be steady...

Someone else will be able to comment on what's going on better that I can, or someone has experienced the problem and fixed it...

[220 GSi turbo]

You are in the right ball park, Johnny, although the drum inside the speedo is made of aluminium and the motion is caused by eddy currents.

You can probably test the speedometer by disconnecting the cable at the gearbox end and using an electric drill (in reverse motion) to drive the cable.

If that works ok, then the fault is likely to be the speedo drive gears in the gearbox.

[Cromp85]

I’ve removed the speedo trim and
Unscrewed the clocks But they won’t
pull out.

I’ve purchased a new speedo cable
from Rimmer Bros

they said there was only
one for the diesel model.

The part number is
YBD10034EVA

Anybody got any tips?

Or if they live by
Walsall, Cannock or Lichfield
And they know what they are
doing I will travel and pay you
to swop the cable.

Thanks for your time

Im not 100% sure on the diesel cable setup as i have only dealt with jumpy speedos on a 214 and 220.
From my experience the speedo cable is in two parts. A short cable from the gearbox, then a longer cable through the bulkhead to the instuments. To separate the cables in the engine bay pull the collar up towards the long cable. With the cables split you should be able to pull the clock unit out enought to get at the clip on the back.

[Julesmat50]

Rimmer Bros they said there was only one for the diesel model.

The part number is YBD10034EVA

Please be aware that this speedo cable may be the wrong part. I also have a diesel turbo (my second) and I have replaced the speedo cables on both of them. They BOTH had a TWO peice speedo cable, not the one peice that the picture on Rimmer Bros shows. The two piece has a shorter end going into the gearbox and a longer one that has all the grommets to go through the bulkhead into the back of the speedo. There is a possibity I will mention is that both of mine were later 95M registered cars and the one peice could be for the earlier models or as M was pretty much the end of the Diesel R8's, they were using up surplus stock.

The part number for the one both my turbo diesels had is either YBD10036EVA or YBD101300EVA, which is item 1 and 2 in this exploded diagram. I can't remember which one it is for definite as I can't remember if it was a screw fit (1) to the gearbox extension cable or a "click" fit (2).
https://rimmerbros.com/Item--i-GRID002308

[MGZRreplica]

Hi
Good news is I had it fitted by garage
Friday and it was the right cable.
They charged me £99.
And it has stopped the Speedo shakes.
Thanks for the reply’s.

[ROVER-25X]

Great news, glad it was sorted.