I have HAD IT with shtty angle drives!

[ccurzio]

Driving on the interstate today, I happened to look down at my speedometer and noticed it was working great. I had the thought, "finally. I have an angle drive that is actually lasting." NOT TWO MINUTES LATER, there was a clunk and the speedo needle dropped to zero, followed shortly thereafter by a bang as something ejected from under the car.

This is the third angle drive that has failed since I've owned the car, and all of them came from DMCH. After the second one failed, Houston sent me a different style that didn't require any periodic lubrication. That one lasted the longest (aside from the OEM part that was on the car when I bought it), but I'm back to not having a working speedometer.

Yes I've replaced speedo cables. No my lambda counter is not jammed. And granted, the last drive Houston sent me has lasted for three years, but I simply refuse to accept that this is some kind of wear-part that's normal to fail so frequently.

Does anyone have any alternatives? I don't know if Houston specifically is unable to source an angle drive that's worth a shit or if good ones simply don't exist, but this is is far beyond completely ridiculous.

[MikeWard]

Do you still have the OEM Smiths angle drive? If so Rob Grady can rebuild them.

The only other decent alternative were the angle drives made by Speedograph here in the UK, but they won't make them anymore for reasons I outlined in a post in this topic here; http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?1558-Angle-Drive-Martin-Gutkowski-s-unit&p=223890&viewfull=1#post223890 They were very well built, mine has over 21k miles on it now and is still going strong. I do run with a one piece speedo cable though, bypassing the lambda counter.

[sdg3205]

Do you still have the OEM Smiths angle drive? If so Rob Grady can rebuild them.

The only other decent alternative were the angle drives made by Speedograph here in the UK, but they won't make them anymore for reasons I outlined in a post in this topic here; http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?1558-Angle-Drive-Martin-Gutkowski-s-unit&p=223890&viewfull=1#post223890 They were very well built, mine has over 21k miles on it now and is still going strong. I do run with a one piece speedo cable though, bypassing the lambda counter.

Like mike said, get rid of the lambda counter. It adds resistance. Anything helps.

[powerline84]

I had my smiths rebuilt by Rob and it's a quality unit. He even pre-greased it for me lol. So far so good

[Gregadeth]

Like mike said, get rid of the lambda counter. It adds resistance. Anything helps.My speedo works and is pretty accurate at lower speeds, but when I'm travelling at 65MPH, it will always show around 55 or 60. I remember gutting my lambda counter and taking the internals out, but it's still a part of the chain. If I removed the counter completely and used a single cable, would that fix the inaccurate reading? It's only at the higher speeds.

[Gregadeth]

Driving on the interstate today, I happened to look down at my speedometer and noticed it was working great. I had the thought, "finally. I have an angle drive that is actually lasting." NOT TWO MINUTES LATER, there was a clunk and the speedo needle dropped to zero, followed shortly thereafter by a bang as something ejected from under the car.

This is the third angle drive that has failed since I've owned the car, and all of them came from DMCH. After the second one failed, Houston sent me a different style that didn't require any periodic lubrication. That one lasted the longest (aside from the OEM part that was on the car when I bought it), but I'm back to not having a working speedometer.

Yes I've replaced speedo cables. No my lambda counter is not jammed. And granted, the last drive Houston sent me has lasted for three years, but I simply refuse to accept that this is some kind of wear-part that's normal to fail so frequently.

Does anyone have any alternatives? I don't know if Houston specifically is unable to source an angle drive that's worth a shit or if good ones simply don't exist, but this is is far beyond completely ridiculous.I found this on the Lotus forums: http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/elan-mods-f31/gps-speedometer-t40563.html
If I understood correctly, it basically bypasses the angle drive (aka the weak link in the speedo system) and uses a GPS signal to turn the speedo cable that runs the speedometer.

[Chris 16409]

Watch eBay for OEM angle drives. You can usally pick them up relatively cheaply. Then you can send it to Rob if need be. I found one that ended up working after lubing it up. If they aren't oiled regularly they can jam. Then people get rid of them because they appear to have failed. The Smiths units are better than anything offered today. Hey Mike, maybe we should go to speedograph and say we're with some other car brand. Then they won't be apt to turn us away.

[dmcnc]

Rob's rebuilt angle drives are your best option. I went through 4 DMCH angle drives in two years. Do you still have your original smith's angle drive?

[FABombjoy]

I found this on the Lotus forums: http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/elan-mods-f31/gps-speedometer-t40563.html
If I understood correctly, it basically bypasses the angle drive (aka the weak link in the speedo system) and uses a GPS signal to turn the speedo cable that runs the speedometer.
That's a nice option for GPS-only installs!

If you wanted to install a VSS to have speed w/out constant GPS lock, the speedbox is VSS compatible

https://www.speedhut.com/Speedbox.html

Porsche 930 16-tooth VSS rings drop right on to our CV joints and can be had for $13 on eBay. I'm picking it up with a Littelfuse / Hamlin 55505-00-02-A sensor on a cobbled-up aluminum mount.
56500

[smallclone]

That's a nice option for GPS-only installs!

If you wanted to install a VSS to have speed w/out constant GPS lock, the speedbox is VSS compatible

https://www.speedhut.com/Speedbox.html

Porsche 930 16-tooth VSS rings drop right on to our CV joints and can be had for $13 on eBay. I'm picking it up with a Littelfuse / Hamlin 55505-00-02-A sensor on a cobbled-up aluminum mount.
56500


so what gives? is the lambda the reason these go bad?

I wonder if there is a simple female to female adapter to replace the lambda

[FABombjoy]

I wonder if there is a simple female to female adapter to replace the lambda
There are in-line cruise control adapters that would work as a coupler.

Several vendors have a 1 piece cable that replaces the lower & upper cables. I have Grady's angle drive & 1 piece cable. If it ever dies I'll switch to either the electric motor driver and be forever done with angle drives.

[smallclone]

There are in-line cruise control adapters that would work as a coupler.

Several vendors have a 1 piece cable that replaces the lower & upper cables. I have Grady's angle drive & 1 piece cable. If it ever dies I'll switch to either the electric motor driver and be forever done with angle drives.

a one piece cable sounds good in theory but for me an upper cable with a female end would be a much better idea since the lower cable is already in place.

[David T]

I fixed a car with a failed angle drive and when I removed the speedo head I found a post had broken off inside and got jammed into the speedometer because the metal clip (still attached to the post) got stuck on the magnet. The added drag must be what wore out the angle drive. If you have a car that eats angle drives look inside the speedo head. The Lambda counter has no effect on accuracy. Either you have the wrong size tires on the front, the wrong ration in the angle drive, or the speedometer is not calibrated correctly.

[MikeWard]

Hey Mike, maybe we should go to speedograph and say we're with some other car brand. Then they won't be apt to turn us away.
No good unfortunately Chris, I've already tried. In my dealings with them on various other projects, I have never once mentioned DeLorean, if they asked I'd say it was for a kit car.

However the /11 variant of the BG2401 must be DeLorean specific because as soon as I gave those last two digits I got an almost instant response of 'that's off a DeLorean, we can't help you'




My speedo works and is pretty accurate at lower speeds, but when I'm travelling at 65MPH, it will always show around 55 or 60. I remember gutting my lambda counter and taking the internals out, but it's still a part of the chain. If I removed the counter completely and used a single cable, would that fix the inaccurate reading? It's only at the higher speeds.That sounds like an issue with the speedo head itself, rather than the angle drive / cables. I had almost an identical issue, and that was after replacing the failed angle drive and cable. On mine it would work perfectly up to around 30mph and then stick, once I got up to 40-45 the needle would ping up and then work up to around 55mph then stick again. I found a guy who specialised in speedometer repairs and sent the speedo head to him to be serviced. This was at the tail end of 2013 and I have had zero issues since. Here is the website of the guy I used here in the UK: http://www.magnetic-speedometer-repair.com although I'm sure there will be a suitable counterpart who can service the speedo in the US.



a one piece cable sounds good in theory but for me an upper cable with a female end would be a much better idea since the lower cable is already in place.That kind of negates the purpose, the point of the one piece cable is to to remove the extra (and unneeded) link in the chain.

[smallclone]

No good unfortunately Chris, I've already tried. In my dealings with them on various other projects, I have never once mentioned DeLorean, if they asked I'd say it was for a kit car.

However the /11 variant of the BG2401 must be DeLorean specific because as soon as I gave those last two digits I got an almost instant response of 'that's off a DeLorean, we can't help you'



That sounds like an issue with the speedo head itself, rather than the angle drive / cables. I had almost an identical issue, and that was after replacing the failed angle drive and cable. On mine it would work perfectly up to around 30mph and then stick, once I got up to 40-45 the needle would ping up and then work up to around 55mph then stick again. I found a guy who specialised in speedometer repairs and sent the speedo head to him to be serviced. This was at the tail end of 2013 and I have had zero issues since. Here is the website of the guy I used here in the UK: http://www.magnetic-speedometer-repair.com although I'm sure there will be a suitable counterpart who can service the speedo in the US.


That kind of negates the purpose, the point of the one piece cable is to to remove the extra (and unneeded) link in the chain.

the link meaning the lambda? if there was an upper cable with a female end it would just connect to the cable thats already there and then you can remove the lambda

[dodint]

The one piece cable eliminates joints, period. Yes, an upper cable with a female end would eliminate the workings of the Lambda but it still introduces a coupling that doesn't exist with a one piece cable.

You'd have to balance the convenience of being able to swap a bad lower cable with the annoyance of having to get behind the speedometer each time. For me a one piece cable is worth it; keeping it as simple as possible.

[Elvis]

My angle drive failed lately after >60000 miles that I put on the car, I have no idea what the PO put on it.

Now I got the same one that lasted in 3 cars that drove around the world :-)

Speedo needed to be recalibrated by 12% but I was told that's the fact on most angle drives sold today ?!?

[ssdelorean]

Do you still have the OEM Smiths angle drive? If so Rob Grady can rebuild them.

The only other decent alternative were the angle drives made by Speedograph here in the UK, but they won't make them anymore for reasons I outlined in a post in this topic here; http://dmctalk.org/showthread.php?1558-Angle-Drive-Martin-Gutkowski-s-unit&p=223890&viewfull=1#post223890 They were very well built, mine has over 21k miles on it now and is still going strong. I do run with a one piece speedo cable though, bypassing the lambda counter.


Rob's rebuilt angle drives are your best option. I went through 4 DMCH angle drives in two years. Do you still have your original smith's angle drive?

My Speedograph ("Martin G") Unit is still going strong. Outlasted everything else. Glad I got it when I did. At the time Rob was not rebuilding or creating the HardCoreDrive. If my current unit ever fails I will be calling Rob.

[SamHill]

Or use an RPM conversion chart to judge your speed?

[dodint]

Will the chart spin the odometer too?

If I needed precise speed without a functional speedometer I would use a GPS app on my phone. I recommend one called 'GPS Test' if you have Android.