Speedometer not working

[fourchimneysfarm]

Does anyone know how to troubleshoot and fix the speedo? The other gauges work and when you drive it I can hear something that sounds like a cable turning. This is a 1993 Festiva.

Also, the dashboard lights do not work. The domelight doesn't work either and I hope I can track that one down.

Finally, my emergency brake doesn't engage. I pulled the cover and checked that the cable is still hooked up on the top side so I am guessing maybe it's a problem at the back brake?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[GenevaDirt]

probably the cable snapped or if the cluster has been out then the cable may not be seated.
Emergency brakes are a big issue with our cars. First make sure the cable is in tact. If so then you will have to remove the drums and free up the pivots. Once that is done....use them occasionally to keep them freed up.

[milehighbear]

I had two 93's, both sticks. If yours is a stick, remove the little speedo housing that goes into the top of your transmission, just below master brake cylinder, just follow your cable out of firewall and you will find it. Unscrew top off, turn the cable and see if your speedometer needle moves. If not, pull the cable out and check to see if the square end is still on the cable. If not, you may have to pull speedometer out and remove broken part and put in a new cable. Check the gear on the end of housing that goes into tranny also, it could be twisted off. When you pull the gear out of tranny, be very careful, because if the gear is twisted off, it could fall into the tranny and then you have problems. I also had problems with my dash lights. Check to see if your parking lights come on also because dash lights and parking lights are on same fuse. If parking lights work, then pull the little dimmer switch out of the dash (this is little wheel switch that dims or brightens your dash lights and see if you have juice coming to it. If you have juice to it, switch could be bad. I did a temporary fix because my fuse kept blowing when I turned lights on for dash and put a toggle switch in, in place of dimmer switch. Genevadirt gave the answer for parking brake. If you have any questions on either subject, send me a pm and I'll be glad to help you.

[fourchimneysfarm]

Speedometer question

Does anyone have a recommendation on fixing my speedo. The gas gauge and temp gauge work and I can hear what I think is my speedometer cable turning on my 93 Festiva. The dash lights don't work and neither does the dome light.


I also have a problem with my emergency brake. I pulled the cover to it and checked that it is still hooked up and it is. Where do I go now with my search?

Thanks in advance for any help!

[Axlander9289]

Does anyone have a recommendation on fixing my speedo. The gas gauge and temp gauge work and I can hear what I think is my speedometer cable turning on my 93 Festiva. The dash lights don't work and neither does the dome light.


I also have a problem with my emergency brake. I pulled the cover to it and checked that it is still hooked up and it is. Where do I go now with my search?

Thanks in advance for any help!

The most common cause of an inoperative speedometer on a Festiva is a broken speedometer cable. To check for a broken speedometer cable, remove the instrument cluster, and remove the speedometer gear from the transmission. If your Festiva has a manual transmission, the cable should run from the firewall to the transmission on the drivers side of the car. The gear should be held in the transmission by a 10 mm bolt.

With the speedometer gear and cluster removed, have an assistant spin the speedometer gear by hand while you observe the cable in the vehicle. If the cable spins, ensure its tip is square. If so, the cluster is the cause. If the cable does not spin, or the tip is not square, then the cable is the cause of the problem.

The parking brake cable can be tensioned by turning the 10 mm stud next to the parking brake lever. The stud is visible with the console removed, or by removing the small cover in the console, just to the left of the lever.

I don't have a wiring schematic handy to look into your lighting problem, but I wouldn't be surprised if all the bulbs are simply burned out. Connecting a test light in place of the bulbs will verify power and ground are present, and prove burned out bulbs are the cause.

Hope this helps!

[htchbck]

Ax is right about the speedo cable, and the cluster bulbs may be burned out or there may be a bad ground somewhere in the lighting system. For the dome light a lot of times its just the poor design of the bulb housing that causes the light not to function. Best to track that problem down with a test light or multimeter, and see if there is power coming into the dome light by unhooking it and testing at the connector. For the Ebrake before you try tensioning it, look up under the back of the car along the rear axle and follow the cable to both sides of the car, making sure that it isn't snapped off or rusted in two... often it is If not then tighten it.

[GenevaDirt]

fourchimneysfarm....I merged the 2 threads together....please only post one thread in the appropriate forum.....keeps it much cleaner and easier to find threads.

[denguy]

Just finished changing my speedo cable assb.. Bought new one at Discount Auto. $22. First, it wouldn't fit over the round plastic shaft housing on back of speedo. had to sand a few thou off the housing then it went on. Then it wouldn't stay on, kept coming off until i compared it to old one, noticed that the rubber cable cover of the new one was protruding into the connector preventing it from going all the way on and fully seating the plastic locking tab. Dremeled the cable cover back, inside the connector, to be like the original, then it fully seated and locked.
By the way, there is no extra play with the cable assb. length wise. You have to disconnect it at the trans in order to pull out the instrument cluster.

[fourchimneysfarm]

Thanks so much for your advice. As soon as this 20 inches of snow melts I am going to tackle the problem!

[bhazard]

Your brake may be fine. Our cars just have really crappy parking brakes/rear brakes. I can fully set mine and still move the car by hand.

[FestYboy]

Your brake may be fine. Our cars just have really crappy parking brakes/rear brakes. I can fully set mine and still move the car by hand.

our e-brakes work very well if maintained. your issue is the adjuster is frozen with rust. remove the adjuster and loosen w/ PB and anti-sieze untill the cable arm is floppy then reinstall and enjoy e-brake u-turns again!