Hey there guys, new to the forum so im looking for some super advice. At the moment i've got a ford fiesta mk4 LX. i've been using an electronic speedometer since ive got this car due to the fact that my speedometer is ridiculous. basically when im driving the speedo is jumping allover the place. averagely it usually bounces around 10mph over what im doing (i know that they have to tell you different than what a sat nav does but not this much) until i get on the motorway anything above 50mph it goes psychopathic its getting to the point now that its annoying me having to have wires into a lighter adapter so i can have an electro speedometer i would just like to be able to look down at my speedometer and know what speed im doing! any help woould be greatley appreciated!!! if you do have any answers can you tell me the way to go about em to! please experts HELP ME!!!!!!!! :o :o :o

Hey there guys, new to the forum so im looking for some super advice. At the moment i've got a ford fiesta mk4 LX. i've been using an electronic speedometer since ive got this car due to the fact that my speedometer is ridiculous. basically when im driving the speedo is jumping allover the place. averagely it usually bounces around 10mph over what im doing (i know that they have to tell you different than what a sat nav does but not this much) until i get on the motorway anything above 50mph it goes psychopathic its getting to the point now that its annoying me having to have wires into a lighter adapter so i can have an electro speedometer i would just like to be able to look down at my speedometer and know what speed im doing! any help woould be greatley appreciated!!! if you do have any answers can you tell me the way to go about em to! please experts HELP ME!!!!!!!! :o :o :o

hello

this may be a strange concept to you , but have you thought about taking your car to a garage! :P

hello

this may be a strange concept to you , but have you thought about taking your car to a garage! :P

yup but it has to be a ford tech who charges 70 diagnostics before telling me anything! im a good car d.i.y person but i need to know the problem before i act. Just need to know if anyone has heard of this before.

yup but it has to be a ford tech who charges 70 diagnostics before telling me anything! im a good car d.i.y person but i need to know the problem before i act. Just need to know if anyone has heard of this before.

I also have a Mk.IV I have the haynes manual for it and in regard to the speedometer it says:

Note: A speedometer cable is not fitted to later models (January 1999 onward) which are equipped with an electronically-controlled instrument panel.

If yours is the older car you will see the cable coming through the bulkhead near the wiper motor. Or is yours the newer one...?

no mine is a '97

I have actually put the drill on the cable and it doesnt bounce it goes up as normal its only when driving it bounces :S?

if the cable is still in good condition then the problem will be at the transmission or in the instrument panel, is it all connected up tightly? maybe the cable is loose?

Hey there guys, new to the forum so im looking for some super advice. At the moment i've got a ford fiesta mk4 LX. i've been using an electronic speedometer since ive got this car due to the fact that my speedometer is ridiculous. basically when im driving the speedo is jumping allover the place. averagely it usually bounces around 10mph over what im doing (i know that they have to tell you different than what a sat nav does but not this much) until i get on the motorway anything above 50mph it goes psychopathic its getting to the point now that its annoying me having to have wires into a lighter adapter so i can have an electro speedometer i would just like to be able to look down at my speedometer and know what speed im doing! any help woould be greatley appreciated!!! if you do have any answers can you tell me the way to go about em to! please experts HELP ME!!!!!!!! :o :o :o

Hey ive got a 1999 mk4 and my speedo does the same thing and yeah its quite annoying; only difference with mine is the shaking of the speedo calms down a little if i keep at a constant speed for a while....but either way it would be nice to solve this annoyance

This usually indicates a problem with the gear that goes onto the end of the cable and INTO the gearbox. They are sometimes made out of plastic and often wear... Loosing a single tooth (for instance) will make the speedo needle 'wobble' a lot, as the drive to it isn't smooth.

They look like this:

I had a VERY similar problem on a past Rover 214 - and this was the culprit... Easy job to check though, just unbolt it from the gearbox, slide it out and inspect. If you are very lucky, it might just be loose or have some swarf on the ends that you can clean off.

Chris...

This usually indicates a problem with the gear that goes onto the end of the cable and INTO the gearbox. They are sometimes made out of plastic and often wear... Loosing a single tooth (for instance) will make the speedo needle 'wobble' a lot, as the drive to it isn't smooth.

They look like this:

I had a VERY similar problem on a past Rover 214 - and this was the culprit... Easy job to check though, just unbolt it from the gearbox, slide it out and inspect. If you are very lucky, it might just be loose or have some swarf on the ends that you can clean off.

Chris...

thanks there! just another question: could this problem with the speedo mean MOT failure?

well mine has passed M.O.T twice with this problem so i dont believe it is a failure

thanks there! just another question: could this problem with the speedo mean MOT failure?

Well, technically YES, because the speedo should give a consistent and accurate (within a set tolerance) read out at all times.

In real life? The MOT tester will glance at it while it's on the rollers for the break test and if it's showing anything at all he'll mark it as a 'pass', scratch his !Removed! and go for a cup of tea!

So it might be down to your luck on the day mate.

Chris...