[regoputt]

I am looking at a 1988 Spider Graduate for purchase. The owner has told me that the speedo works sometimes and then will just quit. The tach still works. My question is this... What can cause that problem, and will it cause the odometer to read incorrectly? Thanks ahead for the help.

 

[GuyC]

Welcome to the Alfabb....

If you do a search there is a thread regarding speedo / tach issues for Series 4 spiders. You will find a great deal of info covering the Series 3 as well in that thread. It is quite possible for the odometer to work normally and the speedo to not. If the speedo works sometimes and not at all at others it is quite possible that the pointer itself has gotten itself behind the stop pin. That was part of the problem with mine, the pin would jump behind the stop after hitting a bump just the right way, and then start working again after hitting the next "good" bump.

The thread I mentioned is here

 

[WopJob]

If the speedo and adomenter are both dead then the cable (or mechanism) is at fault.
the speedo not working or readling slow is while the odometer still works is a.... known issue. see the other threads.

 

[regoputt]

Sporadic speedo

Thanks for the information. Based upon what the owner has told me and the replies I have recieved, I think it is the adjustment screw on the back of the speedo. The owner says the odometer works and the speedo works sometimes. He said that sometimes it won't work and then suddenly it just starts working. I think an adjustment just might do the trick. I am driving the car this weekend and will check it out.

 

[GuyC]

Good luck this weekend, hope all goes well. I mentioned the pointer getting behind the stop located on the face of the speedo. If the speedo suddenly stops working take a close look and see if the pointer has lodged itself behind that stop. It is a fixable issue. Mine was a bit more complex, I had all the solder joints redone and the speedo calibrated along with a few electrical components replaced. It wasn't cheap... but good work seldom is.

Guy

 

[the_sicilian]

its electrical. my tach does it as well. the connectors are at the bottom of that housing and can take moisture or rain (and ya with a convertible, it happens) and gunk those up. im looking to probably deal with it when i remove the dash to install a fresh heater-fan. a good wire-brushing of every electrical contact, some CRC cleaner spray and dielectric grease of each loom. its kind of fun and it gets you outside and its pretty hard to screw up. a nice way to get to safely know the ins and outs of your new spider.

my spider was garage kept its entire life and all rubber and hoses are tight and in great condition for 17 years now, and i have the sometimes-dead main gauge issue. i really dont think it should put you off of a good find, imo. its a minor detail

 

[Gubi]

If the speedo needle doesn't work and then just suddenly starts working, it's not the adjustment screw. I agree that it's probably something electrical.

If the odometer definitely works during the times when the needle doesn't then it's something in the speedometer itself: either a bad drive motor, a bad solder joint, or the aforementioned needle stuck behind the pin.

If both the odometer and the needle are stopped and then work intermittently there's a few possibilities:

1) Cold solder joint in the speedo itself
2) Loose pins at the back of the speedo
3) Dirty/corroded connector to the instrument pod or to the speedo sender in the engine compartment
4) Bad speedo sender (this was the cause of my intermitttent speedometer/odometer problem)
5) Rounded off or otherwise messed up cable drive from the tranny to the sender (probably less likely)

 

[Craig LNU]

At the end of the day it needs to be repaired, I can vouch for Palo Alto Speedometer in CA, they are great (and a very quick turn around too).

Good luck!