www.jec.org.uk

XJ12 series 2

After some haywire behaviour by my speedo, it’s now given up altogether.

Strong suspicion is that the speedo end angle drive has failed. I’m getting rotation from the speedo cable while the car is moving. The angle drive however only engages intermittently when I try spinning it by hand.

I’ve tried seeking a replacement - neither Barratt nor Manners were able to help; apparently it’s “discontinued”.

I’ve been trawling second hand land online but no joy at the moment.

In the meantime I wondered if anyone out there had any success in trying to get one of these drives repaired or refurbished? Seems like something that could be prone to failure every so often so I thought I’d be able to track down a repair or exchange service.

Thank you.

They're basically generic items, but no longer manufactured 'cos all speedos in the last 20 years or more have been electronic. A quick search for "speedo angle drive" turns up lots of (expensive) options - typically £50-£100, which just shows it's now a sellers' market. The main variation seems to be mounting - some a held by a threaded collar, others a bracket and bolt.

AFAIR the main gubbins in them is a pair of angle gears, one nylon one brass, that do the 90 degree turn, and the square end of a bit of speedo cable inserted into one of the gears. I recall many, many years ago fixing one on a Rover or Triumph where that bit of cable had unravelled, by cutting the end off a drive cable and somehow fixing it, either brute force or araldite, or maybe both. If the same has happened to you, you can try; if the gears (probably the nylon one) have stripped, you will be stuck with acquiring a "new" one from a breaker's yard or eBay.