speedo / clock repair

bluecoupe30!

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As usual, out here in the middle of the pond, I have a different approach.

DO. IT. YOURSELF.

F'rinstance, after decades with a non-working odometer, the guy I go to yearly for a safety check (a necessity for continuing registration) noticed that my mileage didn't change year-for-year. His comment provided the impulse to take out the speedo and clock and carefully go into the odometer bits. I've done a few 2002 units, and the coupe odo is the same-same, all over again. Take out the axle on which the number wheels are mounted, slip in a bit of wire as you withdraw so they don't go all over the place, peen the shaft gently, and as they say, assembly is the reverse. It works.

I gently took off the speedo needle using two spoons. When the time came, I popped the needle back into place like it was meant to be ... which it was.

I went into the speedo of my '85 K100RS several times with moderate results. Used the gears from odometergears.com, good stuff. It seems that 80s-vintage BMW speedos and odos had gears that turned to cheese, but we knew that.

I'm no wizard, no effing-A mechanic, but if it's busted, there's little to lose by having a go at it. Knowing when to stop helps, but odometer repair is nothing that anyone possessed of a little couldn't do. If I did it, so can just about anyone. Checkbook-restoration types probably checked out by now.

2250457 had a clock that hadn't worked since I got the car some 20-plus year ago. I also came across an older, and different, coupe clock (one mechanical-electrical, one fully electrical). I got one working by reading about their inner workings, then messing with it. You don't have to pay big-azz money for someone else to do it. The resources of this list are revealed using the Search function and some reading online will bring you to a state of knowledge that the above-mentioned mechanical sympathy, patience, good light with simple hand tools, enable you to own the repair. And here's the important part: when you own the repair, you own the car. Read "Shop Class as Soulcraft" by Matthew Crawford and be the master of your possessions, rather than letting your possessions master you. A good deal of "like what you have" rather than "have what you like" enter consideration. Beware of Maya...

I will say that there have been things that have busted around the place whose bits end up in the trashcan. In those events I am no better off, nor worse, than when I started.

Fixed my 1985 dishwasher the other night, just a cleaning of the door microswitch seems to be all that was required. It's a Whirlpool, supposedly a Hobart design, badged as Kenmore, I read online that the basic design is excellent and worthy of keeping going. So I did and it works. Guess all the Black Friday sales will have to do without me! New dishwashers sell from $300 to $2200. On craigslist you can get one free.

Fixed the microwave oven. Beware that one, older models have a capacitor that can kill you stone dead if you aren't careful. Again, one of two simple door microswitches was bad. $3.25 part, not $350 oven. This was a Sanyo, they don't even make microwave ovens any more. It too dated from 1985, but it was part of a built-in, and replacement would have required replacing the oven too, so in I go, out I came. Not as good as sex but still rewarding.

Now if only I could do Zenith 35-40 INAT carbies...

Y'know, over the years I've been on this list, there seems to be (and this might be just me) a creeping elitism whereby coupe owners rely less and less on their own abilities. There are still some masters online, they are readily identified. But with rising values of surviving cars, owners seem less inclined to do their own work. The cars certainly aren't any different, so it's not a different skill set. Maybe different owners than I started with. Was a BMWCCA member for 20 years or so, but their direction, and my dedication to 2002's and 3.0CS left me in a shrinking group. I hope that doesn't happen here as well.[/QUOTE

I like this, matches what I feel when something starts to malfunction. Like to have a "go" myself, learn something, better understand the final invoice in many cases, and also, get to purchase some new tools :D. But I struggle on where to draw the line. Recently, against my better judgement, went all-in on a lawnmower repair. Personally, I resent any time spent working on a tool I need to do a job I dislike, but it was a Honda, thought my chances were better than 50:50. So I did resolve the hard starting, then dying issue, kinda rewarding. But I have to start limiting myself, just too many things failing. Would prefer to just concentrate on automotive endeavours. And start referring certain repairs to "professionals". But I guess we all know how often this just leads to disappointment and more expense. Appears I have just answered my own question! :rolleyes: This Forum, so very therapeutic!
 

eriknetherlands

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Agree on the DIY approach. I fixed my dead clock myself with just a dab of solder.

After getting it out it was just half an hours work. I found the instruction on this site.
Apart from saving the money, nothing is more satisfying than re-installing, seeing a functional clock, and lean back and enjoy the coffee grinder sound.

And I use the argument that I just "saved 300 bucks", allowing me to spend it on other e9 paraphernalia ...
 

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lloyd

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odometer gears makes the gears that noho or pas use ... but last i knew they didn't actually do the repairs.

I did not mean to suggest that OG repairs the instruments. OG has a reputation for being friendly with advice and might offer some rudimentary instructions along with the gears that typically need replacement. They might even know of a speedo shop more local to you.

MThompson's write up on the subject is superior. That said, each car seems to have its own under-the-dash idiosyncrasies and not all digits and utensils are the same or work the same, often making tutorials best appreciated after you skin one or two knuckles. o_O
 

m5bb

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Scott,
I am good friends with Jeff Caplan that owns Odometer Gears in VA. I'm sure he could tell you how to repair the odometer. I could set that up.
I used a more local company in Greenville SC to repair my clock. They had good reviews. Not sure about the price. I would have to look it up. I see they do speedo's too.
http://dandmrestoration.com/
 

Willem Tell

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Gary, that is not the case. you can remove the steering wheel and the grab rail, loosen the cowl nuts (2 on each side) ... and then the wood panel holding the instruments is somewhat loose. if you disconnect the wiring harness for the gauges, disconnect the speedo cable and slide the wood panel forward and remove the speedo. loosening the cowl nuts might also require the removal of the console and loosening the heater control panel. there may be a little more too it as its been a few years since i took mine out the first time.

Thanks rporsche for this welcome info! And a special thanks to m_thomson for the detailed write-up!

I was thinking from past reading that the instruments could only be accessed with the windscreen out.

I had The Unicorn out to a great car show in Luzern today (I'll post pictures in the gallery). I had to cover about 20kms on a highway to get to the mountains roads going home. I noticed then that my speedo was indicating 80 kmh when I was at 3300 rpms in 4th gear, so I had to be doing 120-130kmh. It's making a fast ticking sound and mostly stuck around 80kmh. It did eventually go to 120kmh, but would not drop below 80 or so, even when stopped.
My odometer continues to work correctly, so I think it's not the cable.

What is the "grab rail" you refer to? Never mind, from M-Thompson's write-up, this is the front rail across the dash pad?
 
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ATL_Alan

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I put some detailed instructions for clock removal here. Some of this applies to spedo removal.

I sent mine to North Hollywood Speedometer for repair. The only down side of their excellent work is that the spedo now looks nicer than the tach.

m_thompson, I'm trying to retrieve your clock removal instructions and am getting a blank page. Can you repost? Also, any other instructions on removing the speedo and tach. All my gages are DOA except oil and gas and I need to get serious about removing and sending them off for repair.

Many thanks!
 

Ohmess

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Hi Alan - Its been a while since I did this, but my recollection is that you remove the panel underneath the dash to the right of the steering wheel, then reach up and undo the knurled screws holding the tach in place. Sometimes you can get the tach out by only loosening the bottom knurled screw, but that depends on how tight the top one is. You then remove the tach. Reach through the hole where the tach was installed and loosen the knurled nuts for the clock.
 

ATL_Alan

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Thanks, I'm going to accumulate wisdom and instructions from the group this week and try it this weekend when I have some time. I reached up under there yesterday but it's pretty tight and nothing was obvious from my fingers so I stepped away to regroup.
 

Stevehose

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a golf glove does wonders for gripping those tight knurled screws. The speedo can be removed by flipping it 180 degrees then using Zen powers manipulate and lower it through the frame.
 

Pinstripe inc.

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Scott,
I am good friends with Jeff Caplan that owns Odometer Gears in VA. I'm sure he could tell you how to repair the odometer. I could set that up.
I used a more local company in Greenville SC to repair my clock. They had good reviews. Not sure about the price. I would have to look it up. I see they do speedo's too.
http://dandmrestoration.com/

First noticed in the fall, my odometer has gone intermittent. I first tried adjusting the trip odometer to zero, and it didn’t help. Speedometer, tac, and clock,are all working. Comments please.
 

HB Chris

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The plastic gear is slipping on the shaft. Remove the speedo by removing combo gauge first (it can can just hang down with wires attached) then remove speedo, all from the left side. Check your speed to gps first then have a speedo shop calibrate it when fixing the gear. You need to twist the speedo in several directions to get it out.
 

boonies

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The plastic gear is slipping on the shaft. Remove the speedo by removing combo gauge first (it can can just hang down with wires attached) then remove speedo, all from the left side. Check your speed to gps first then have a speedo shop calibrate it when fixing the gear. You need to twist the speedo in several directions to get it out.
This process described by @arnie should be helpful, I just did this last weekend.
 

m5bb

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I have a complete extra cluster.
Here's what the back looks like for those working in an area they can't see.

Gary
 

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