Speedometer sticking

[wineworks]

Hello all,

An annoying, possibly expensive (speeding tickets and all that) problem has developed: the speedometer needle will stick as it makes it way along the dial; I'll have to accelerate or decelerate significantly to get it moving—e.g., if it's stuck around 40, it won't come unstuck until I've sped up to, say, 70.

This first developed last summer, and in the year that I've been living with this I've noticed that the problem appeared to go away in the colder months; with the return of summer came the return of the stuck needle.

This 4L was born in 1986; is there some sort of gunk which can develop over time to make the mechanism catch? Or is it something else, and if so any ideas? Much thanks.

 

[benchseat]

(i) If it is anything like the problem with earlier (70s) models, it is due to the speedo needle warping, bending outwards, and fouling the speedo glass. (ii) On a 1986 4L it should be possible to remove the speedo dial from the speed/indicator lights console by undoing a few screws. Then you may be able to bend the needle the other way (iii) A 1986 4L : is this 845cc? If so, 70 (mph) is good going . . . .

 

[wineworks]

Thanks benchseat, I thought that might be it; the needle is indeed warped (bending in towards the dial instead of out to the glass) but since it doesn't seem to be touching the surface I figured that it might be something behind the faceplate. I'll pull off the dashboard and try bending it straight—and hope that it doesn't snap off or anything like that.

(And the speeds are in kmh, not mph—after living here in France for 19 years I've gone native it seems…)