Hi All, I hear a rubbing that seems to be coming from the instrument panel. It changes with the car speed, not the engine speed. My thought was that it could be a speedometer cable gone bad but the speedometer registers smoothly and I would think that if the cable was faulty then the speedometer needle would vibrate in tandem with the noise. I welcome anyone's thought on what the noise might be. Many thanks.
95 BBB
The speedometer/odometer and the cable that drives them are the only mechanical parts in the instrument panel that are likely be audibly affected by car speed versus engine speed, so that is a good guess.
The speedometer cable that I had go out was making noise at the transmission from the gears being worn, but your's could have developed a bad hookup to the back of the instrument cluster.
It does seem like it would affect your speedometer, but maybe that comes later. :-/
How bad is the noise, and is it affected at all by coasting the car versus keeping it under power?
I would disconnect the speedometer cable at the transmission and zip-tie it out of the way. I don't remember if you have an auto or a 5-speed but it is easy to do on the 5-speed, not sure about an automatic. If the sounds goes away, you have identified the source.
Finally, have you checked the plastic instrument surround hood to make sure it is fully secured? Losing one small & brittle plastic clip turns that part into a noise-maker.
Pat
It is without a doubt your speedometer cable. Our 90's was easy to diagnose because it would make all sorts of racket when cold. Right now it is pretty quiet, but I ordered a replacement cable from Tommy at Finishline (part number NA03-60-070 option: automatic) for $64.95. The speedometer needle has been rock solid all this time.
-- Ken Lyons '97 Brilliant Black/'90 Classic Red Inside the Beltway
Yeah, just wait the 3 months it will take me to get around to it so I know what I'm doing. Pulling the instrument pod cover is going to be a bear. After 18 years in the sun, the sucker is probably going to shatter. Good thing Tommy has that part as well - NA01-55-420B-00 for only $99.50 (yikes!).
Wait! Only $95.50...that's better
Thanks Ken. I was afraid of that but I appreciate your insight. Would have thought the needle would vibrate along with the noise but I suppose there is enough delay in what it reports to mitigate the fluctuations. Can I stop by the next time I am in the DC area and have you help me install it? (Kidding) Regards,
Just found this on Miata.net... perhaps we can both save the money and effort of replacing the cable... though getting behind the instrument cluster to do the following is probably more than half the battle in replacing the entire cable...
"Just like a motorcycle control cable, the speedometer cable may need some lubrication occasionally. Per the directions in the shop manual, remove the instrument module containing the speed/tach/etc. Very gently roll the module towards the steering wheel to expose the speedo cable's white plastic connection to the back of the speedo head itself. Depress the small release tab and remove the cable from the speedo. Use a commercial product made for the motorcycle market called Dri-Slide. This is a graphite-molybdenum disulfide compound that goes on wet and then the liquid vehicle dries up to leave a non-sticky, very slick DRY lubricant on the cable. DO NOT use oil !! The Dri-Slide container uses a long, thin "hypodermic-style" wand to allow you to accurately direct the material into the correct location. Be careful not to catch the end of the wand on anything and spring it back. The resulting "twang" will spray black lubricant all over everything !!! The resulting stains will be permanent."
Too time consuming, it would take me months to lose enough weight to get under the Miata. Of course, others may not have that same problem...
Chris & Ken,
FWIW, the instrument cluster is held in place by 4 screws. Once these are out, the entire assembly can be pulled forward far enough to get to the speedometer cable at the back of the assembly.
Running a new cable is not fun, but not too terrible a job.
I removed the instrument hood from a 1991 recently, and while the clip broke off, it did not shatter. The top portion is now being held in place with sticky putty, which is quieter than the plastic clip that was there before and has been working fine for a couple of months.
Good luck to ye both!
Pat
I got very ill and tried the starvation diet last year.
119 pounds at 5'9", still no go, it is just too low a car, plus I was much too close to death to turn any wrenches. ;-)I really gutted out and almost hit 150 pounds this winter. It took about a week to drop back down to 140 once bike-riding weather set back in. "They" said that my metabolism would slow down when I hit my 30's, they were wrong.
Pat
"pws" wrote
Pat, Pat, Pat (shaking head). Isn't it "bike-riding weather" in Austin all year long?
I get frostbite when I reach into the freezer. Even Texas winters take me out, I think that I would have a hard time in a colder weather environment.
On the other hand, riding in 100+ degree weather is not a problem as long as there is plenty of water and sunscreen.
Just like with the Miata, night-time summer cruises are probably my favorite type to take. You are correct, however, in that the weather is not a good excuse to stop riding.
The increased physical activity, at least for me, is one advantage of the gas increases. Pedal, hike and paddle versus using yet more gas driving cars and power boats.
My total gas bill is lower than it was before the massive increases and my cardiovascular system is loving it, with more endurance at 38 than I had at age 30. Of course, I am seeing the trickle-down expenses like anyone else.
The other good thing that I have noticed is that there are already less pickups and SUV's on the road, which can only make me happy.
Pat
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