wobbly speedo needle

[Christien]

I had the speedometre cable replaced in my car last fall, and ever since, the needle wobbles and hovers around the actual speed. It's not a case of jumping far distance, so it's not an electrical issues. It just doesn't sit still, maybe bouncing within a 10 km/h range. Is this normal? Maybe just typical of mechanical speedos, and I'm used to more modern cars? The speedo was dead when I bought the car, and has behaved this way ever since I had it fixed. The tach needle is rock solid, works perfectly.

One other question - I know my speedo needs calibrating - I've read the tech article and lots of posts about how to fix it, but one thing was never mentioned. At standstill, the speedo needle actually reads 20 km/h and this 20-factor seems to be consistent at all speeds (i.e. I'm going 40 when it reads 60, 100 when it reads 120 - haven't checked it with a GPS, but seems to be consistent with typical traffic flows). Is this fixable by just moving the needle resting point? Or is the 20 line the normal resting point?

Much thanks,
Chris

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Chris,

From your post I assume you have a speedometer cable not an electronic sending unit from the transmission. According to my dad, you had to ensure the speedo cable was greased. If memory serves you also had to ensure the connection points were correct. This is just from memory about old Dodges/Chryslers so it might not be relevant or correct. Don't know about the rest...

[Christien]

Thanks David. Those are all things to check. The cable was replaced by the mechanic who did the safety, so I have no idea if it was done properly. (It was a brand new cable, though, so it shouldn't be failing.) Now I've at least got a starting point to diagnose and fix.

Chris