Date:         Sun, 23 Jul 2017 17:51:56 +0000
Reply-To:     Keith Hughes <keithahughes@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Keith Hughes <keithahughes@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Speedometer Bounce
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Update on the speedo bounce / cable issue for those interested:

I bought a replacement cable from RMW (FYI - it's no longer the orange one shown on their site) last week and replaced the 4-month old GEMO brand cable that was in there. I had pulled the instrument cluster out (cleaning up some wiring at the same time) so I hooked the new (PEX brand as far as I can tell) cable up to a drill and to the speedo on the bench. Ran smooth no matter how the cable was coiled up.  It runs smooth as silk installed. No speedo bounce at all. BTW - the speedo is a GoWesty rebuilt with the +7% calibration for larger tires, and it's basically dead on by GPS.

Post mortem on the GEMO cable: I could feel the cable binding turning it by hand, so I inspected the housing and all looks perfect. I cut the cable at wheel end and pulled it out. No snags or anything, but the cable itself is not round in cross-section. It has two flattened "sides" running the whole length of the cable. I found that where the speedo connector is swaged onto the cable housing, the housing is oval and the cable is running like a cam within that constriction, stretching and relaxing the orifice. It won't run smooth with even an inch of cable in the housing.  The only mystery I have now, is why it worked more or less OK for a couple of months before wigging out my cruise control - which now works perfectly.

Keith Hughes
'86 Westy GenV (Marvin)