'Kay- I've not converted my speedo yet, but I've read various posts about it; I'm aware of the (very sensible!) arguement to swap the speedo resistor rather than plug in a converter box which might confuse the ECU.

 

My question :confused: has anyone out there with the converter box experienced any problems? (Mainly steering/stability and fuelling I s'pose)

 

Answers on a postcard...

I had a converter on my NA, which failed and cause the rev limter to drop back in, and the power steering to fail intermittently, to cure it I did the resistor change on the clocks (but got clumsy with putting the needle back on and broke it, ended up buying a set of uk clocks (which took care of the conversion) and getting the speed limit and rev limit moved on the ecu. Third way is best imho.

What way is best?

What way is best?

 

I presume Jock meant swap the clocks!

 

Jock- where did you get the ECU reblown? Or did you do it yourself? :cool:

 

And how much were the clocks? (Compared with £100.03 for a new set of dials and a resistor :D )

If you use the resistor method you don't require a new set of dials. Just paint out the K of km/h, total £0.03.

I presume Jock meant swap the clocks!

 

Jock- where did you get the ECU reblown? Or did you do it yourself? :cool:

 

And how much were the clocks? (Compared with £100.03 for a new set of dials and a resistor :D )

 

 

Bought the clocks from AndyZ (traders section) Ecu was rechipped and new chip burned for me by AndyP :bow:

If you use the resistor method you don't require a new set of dials. Just paint out the K of km/h, total £0.03.

 

True, but I want white dials! :hyper:

where can you buy the resistor from and is it easy to do it yourself?

Just about to get around to doing this.

 

Mainly to Jock and Eisegerwind- regarding the replacement of R10, I've seen reference to 20k and 22k resistors. Which is the right one?

 

I see from a few posts that knackering the needle is easy to do. Any tips on how best to dismantle it?

20K is the best but you can get away with using a 22K, there is a potentiometer on the speedo PCB that can be adjusted to fine tune.

Just about to get around to doing this.

 

Mainly to Jock and Eisegerwind- regarding the replacement of R10, I've seen reference to 20k and 22k resistors. Which is the right one?

 

I see from a few posts that knackering the needle is easy to do. Any tips on how best to dismantle it?

 

 

The way that its suggested to do it is to use a pain of needle nose pliers and hold the pin whilst removing or replacing the needle. I id this originally and it worked fine (during my resistor chasnging effoirts) however when i took it out for a test with just the speedo, no plastic fascia, in the needle looked a little high and I thought "if I just give thet a little nudge in..........Doh!!!!" but i am a ham fisted tw@t at times :(

If you use the resistor method you don't require a new set of dials. Just paint out the K of km/h, total £0.03.

 

this is probably another stupid question cos i'm full of them :confused:

Does this method also change the odometer to mph??

Got a mate who's into soldering so i may give this way a go instead of changing clocks.

 

cheers

 

nick

I believe so as the resistor change affects the speed signal which I believe also controls the odometer. As Always, stand to be corrected.

It dosen't affect the speed signal, only changes the output to the needle movement mechanism. What you are really doing when you change this resistor is converting the speedo to a U.K. spec speedo, the U.K. speedo has a 20K resistor for R10 on the pcb. The odometer isn't affected and still reads in KM.

It dosen't affect the speed signal, only changes the output to the needle movement mechanism. What you are really doing when you change this resistor is converting the speedo to a U.K. spec speedo, the U.K. speedo has a 20K resistor for R10 on the pcb. The odometer isn't affected and still reads in KM.

 

 

So does the UK odometer have different gearing, or is there another change that can be made to the circuit board that'll make it read in miles ?

Don't know for sure but I suspect that it's different gearing. I've got a U.K. speedo in one car and the original J spec odometer and it still reads in KM, the conclusion is that it's the the odometer that's geared differently to read KM or MPH not a function of the speedo.

Cheers for the advice fellas!

 

Resistor is on order, needle nose pliers standing by, soldering iron warming up :D

Oh dear it's all gone a bit Pete :( but mainly due to bits falling apart when dismantling! The speedo thing kinda works...

 

Successfully dismantled the gauge housing, and took the speedo module out. I had a tentative play with the needle and decided I'd probably break everything by taking it of, so I decided to do all my soldering with the speedo face on- mistake 1! In principle it's possible, but I (inevitably) ended up brushing the speedo face with my nice hot soldering iron, so it now has a lovely melted arc around the 120 mark.

 

I did manage to remove the old resistor though, and then decided to mount the new resistor on the underside of the PCB. That worked. Went out for a quick test drive, and the speedo still works (hurrah!) but I'm not conviced that it's right. It felt like it was over-reading but I didn't have anyone else to drive in convoy with to test it (and I haven't got any GPS gadgets yet). So I'll be doing that today- but when I looked at fitting everything back together I found that the mounting holes to screw in the hazard light switch have fragmented. Not bothered about the hazards, but the entire climate pod hangs of the same mounting. Quick trip down B&Q for some longer screws should sort that out.

 

But I also found that I mis-connected my (bodged) rear fog light switch, and I've taken out everything related to side and headlights. I'm starting a new thread for that one!!!!

Mark,

 

If the speedo is not reading correctly there is a potentiometer(blue/yellow component) on the pcb that is used for calibrating the read out. A quick check of the readout is to set the cruise control to max, the speedo should read 70MPH.

I don't have cruise control!

 

Plus having just been out in my girlfriend's car I'm thinking that maybe I just drive around too fast! :D

How does the calibration of the speedo work and does anyone have any pics of the potentiometer - my speedo reads 5 mph too low!

Turns out I was right in the first place- it's over-reading by about 5% compared with a standard Vauxhall speedo. Unless there's an easier way to calibrate it on the kitchen table, I'd like to take out the speedo module and run some wires from the membrane to the speedo being held by a mate in the passenger seat. By borrowing a GPS receiver I'll drive at a set speed, and get my mate to tweak the pot till it reads the right speed.

 

The next question is how many wires do I need? The easiest way would be to run 9 from all 9 screws, but can I get away with 4 or 5? I take it 4 do the speedo, 4 do the boost gauge and 1 is a ground or somfin. Any ideas anyone?

Turns out I was right in the first place- it's over-reading by about 5% compared with a standard Vauxhall speedo.

 

Are you running on standard wheels + tyres?

If not your speedo might be out anyway.