My needle was flickering at mainly 45-70 mph. I pulled the cable out and saw that it had a thin graphite oil lubrication. I added grease on the cable, and had to try >30 times to get it back into the angle drive (or is it just straight into the T700? Don´t know.
Took it for a test drive. Now I havw lots of flickering at very low speeds, and the same as before at higher speeds.
On my 420G, I put the same grease on the cable and the result wasfar less flickering.
I might try a new cable, with the existing outer tube.
Anybody have an opinion???
Peder
Hi Peder, I had a flickering, noisy speedo at low speeds in our XJ6. Changed the cable (SNG), no real improvement. Changed the right angle drive for a NOS unit. All good and silent. The old drive seems to have a stiff point in it - rainy day job in distant future. Paul
Good point. I don´t know how the cable is attached to the T-700 box. Will look when underneath next time. Probably an angle drive but could be straight in.
Could ask
John´ s Jaguar in TX who provided some of the parts
Report back what you find. I have a John’s 700 in my mk2. The speedo died a awhile ago and I think I narrowed it down to the angle drive, but there isn’t enough space between the angle drive and the body to take it off without moving the transmission so I’ve just left it.
The cable needs to run only with large diameter bends. If they are too sharp the inner cable will wear no matter how much lubricant is in place, and the result is a wobbling speedo needle. My MOD 3.8S ran with no angle drive for decades, with the inner cables wearing out every 10-15K miles. I finally discovered there was a missing angle drive at the overdrive, fitted one, eliminating a bend in the cable, and the speedo needle has been dead steady ever since.
On the same Mk9, with the T700 box, the speedo needle is flickering some 30deg above 50mph. But then today after half an hour of flickering, it suddenly decided to work normally for the last w0 min of driving.
The angle drive is black and brass, and looks new, or 5 yrs when the T700 was installed. It has a small grease nipple, which I fed today.
Cable is new. Dont know where to get another angle drive, if this one is bad. Dont know if I can remove it with box in place.
Just a theory:
I‘d think that a large flicker in the needle must mean that the binding isn’t on the gearbox end, but towards the instrument.
The cable simply twists until the force is strong enough to turn it again, then it snaps forward and binds again. Is there an angle drive at the instrument? Does the instrument turn evenly when you run it without the cable? Is the resistance at the upper end too high? A sharp bend maybe?
Hi,
Another option is a drop of oil or grease or a dirt particle inside the speedo.
I had this in my ex 1966 E-type 2+2, I had put grease in the end of the cable and when it got hot the grease found it’s way inside the speedo.
Any small drop or a particle between the rotating magnet and the metal disc holding the needle will result in a jumpy speedo needle. YMMV.
Cheers!