Concept2 Forum

I picked up a sturdy Model A in great condition about two weeks ago. Even the speedometer worked. At least until last night. For some reason, the wheel seemed to freeze and, after forcing it to spin by (I thought that the chain was mistracking), I noticed that the speedometer wasn't working. I took the cable apart and saw it was still in one piece and if I twist it manually, the speedometer works. Still, when I reassembled it, it did not work. I also noticed a short metal sleeve or stub protuding from the lower part of the wheel-speedometer connection, where the cable enters the wheel housing.. The part was shiny and I thought that it had to have just slipped out of the housing because it was still so clean. I know a picture would help and I will post one this weekend. If anyone could post a picture of what the speedometer housing on the axle looks like on their Model A, that would be a gret help.

In the meantime, does this sound like a difficult fix? I could just go without it or drop several hundred on a monitor?

thanks in advance

Congratulations on the great find! You might be able to save the speedometer with a little TLC. Both the drive mechanism (The gearbox attached to the flywheel) and the cable had a lubricant that stiffens up over time causing increased friction and bending of the two tabs that engage the rotating flywheel. I would suggest removing the cable for a cleaning then lube with light oil. Then remove the speedo drive mechanism from the flywheel and disassemble by removing the circular clip from the back side of it. it's a pretty simple worm gear mechanism. Clean all components and lube with a light grease before reassembly. Also note that on some Model As the inner (rotating) cable was sometimes too short, resulting in occasional disengagement from either the driver end or speedo head enitd. Feel free to give tech support a call. C2JonW

Thanks for the tip. I noticed that what ended up being the worm gear was extended halfway out of the rear sleeve and after disassembling, realized that the grease must have binded up and locked the mechanism. When I forced the wheel to move, it pushed the gear off track and part way out of the cylinder. I cleaned everything, oiled it up andv tapped the worm gear home and it is working again. I'll take it apart again later and re-grease it. Thanks again for the advice. It's a great unit for $30!!