95' Defender 110 Odometer issues

[Globalnomads]

Hi all,

I am having some issues with our odometer/trip meter on a 95' Defender 110. I have searched through some treads but can't seem to find the info I need, any help and guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I have just come back from a test drive with a Garmin Montana GPS and taken the following readings;

Note: I still have the original UK gauge so these values will be in MPH and Miles. Also, I am running 265/75 R16 BFG AT tyres and the speedo cable has been replaced.

Speedo Vs GPS (in brackets)

10MPH - (8.4)
20MPH - (17)
30MPH - (26)
40MPH - (35.4)
50MPH - (45)
60MPH - (53.8)
70MPH - (62.5)

So to me it seems the speedo isn't too bad, although it doesn't seem stable and bounces a little, particularly at lower speeds. Also, I don't know if I'm hearing things but there could be a slight clicking sound inside the gauge itself??

The trip meter however was quite bad.....over the test the GPS registered 17.62 miles and the gauge only registered 4.45 miles which is a bit of an issue.

To me it would seem that some internal components in the speedo/odometer unit itself may be worn, but before rushing out and purchasing a new one I thought I'd check here.

Has anyone else encountered these issues, and if so, what was the cause?

Thanks in advance

Dan

[clive22]

Hi

Check the back of the speedo drive into the guage proper - baynet type fitting.

Where you said "although it doesn't seem stable and bounces a little, particularly at lower speeds" and the clicking (aka slipping)noise tells me it not full in the rear drive, hence the low readings on odo/speedo. It gotta be fully seated to work properly.

Do it now before its worn out and you have to replace the whole cable

Could be the Transfer end too, if not the dash end.

Mine did the same they can also pop out again, there a reasonable amount of force running through the sheath, well in the context of they are.


Clive

[Globalnomads]

Hi Clive,

Thank you for the reply.

I have had the gauge in and out a few times checking the fitting, and to be honest I don't think the cable is very well constructed.

We have installed a Britpart item which has a plastic stem to engage the speedo drive which appears shorter than the metal one I removed. I did at first have issues seating it properly but I'm fairly certain it's as far into the gauge as possible.

Maybe I need to go back to a genuine Land Rover part and also do a quick check of the plastic gear teeth in the transfer box before changing the gauge. Checking the cheaper options first....:D

Thanks again for the reply, hopefully it will just be a dodgy Britpart cable and possibly some worn teeth. Fingers crossed.

Cheers,

Dan.

[BilboBoggles]

It may be a fault in the speedo head - I had something similar on my old Range Rovers - would click and eventually the odometer locked up and stopped moving. But a couple of things I found.

The inner part of the cable if too stiff or bent or damaged will tend to stick and then release - it's quite springy and the result is at low speed the speedo need pulsates. The fix for this is to lube the inner cable - a good squirt of engine oil may make a difference if it's just sticky.

There are gears and alls sort of things inside the speedo head which are used to drive the odometer, and which can break. This will mean that depending on the gear that is broken - your odometer can get way off or just lock up. My Range Rover speedo locked up because one of the plastic gears broke but prior to this the odometer would often stop as it ticked over the 10k digit. There used to be a place in Ringwood Victoria that would recondition these speedo's but even then it cost quite a bit. A good second hand one might work just as well.

[isuzutoo-eh]

Trip meters in older 110s are notoriously prone to fail. I reckon a lot of the ex-army 110s that have had speedo unit replacement is due to a failed trip meter-mine was replaced just over 90,000km after build. My County has a failed trip meter too. Speedo and odo keep working. Fiddling with the trip reset button can sometimes get it to read a few km but then it defaults back to 0000 again. Others have reported the same.