NAS D90 speedometer cable issues

teledan

Member
Hey all, I have a 1995 NAS D90 and my upper speedometer cable broke (the plastic connector that goes into the gauge). So I ordered a new Proline cable from Rovers North but after installing it, I get no movement of the speedometer needle at all while driving. I notice that the end that goes into the speedometer gauge is different than the stock cable I removed, specifically the inner square cable portion. The outer white plastic piece that connects to the back of the gauge fits just fine but it seems like the inner cable may not be going far enough in to the gauge or something. The other end that connects to the transducer seems to connect fine.

Here is a picture of the original cable

7B339167-C3D4-4F4B-B7B7-283717FEE0C3.jpeg


And here is a picture of the new Proline cable

A8D6BBC8-1C4D-4A6D-A738-F4A4F988766E.jpeg


Is this how it is supposed to look or did I get a defective cable?
 

Tbaumer

Technical Excellence Contributor
It looks like the square end has been spun out of square shape, like it was able to spin within the speedometer. I can't imagine it would grip well like that.
 

Z.G

Well-known member
Doesn't look right to me. Unfortunately not working in the office so I can't compare to others, but Im assuming that's defective
 

dsh

Active member
Is your speedometer turning (is it frozen)?
I would drive the vehicle with the cable disconnected from the speedometer and placed where you can see the inner cable rotate.
 

teledan

Member
So here is the full story. A couple months ago I pulled off the dash and in the process, I broke the white plastic part of the speedo cable that connects to the back of gauge. Up until that point, the speedo was working fine. With the white plastic part broken, the speedo seems to work intermittently. Sometimes it will be just fine but other times the needle is jumping all over the place. This is the reason I bought the new cable.

I put the new cable on and as I stated in my original post, I got no movement of the speedo needle at all while driving. Last night I tried pulling the transducer end off and spinning the cable with a drill to see if the speedo needle moves and it did just fine. I then took the old cable and taped up the white plastic piece as best I could and re-installed it. I went for a drive about 15mi and then back to my house and most of the time the needle was jumping all over but on the way home it started behaving and was rock solid until I pulled in the garage. This makes me think the transducer is fine but that there is something wrong with how the new cable connects into it. When I installed it, it seemed to fit well on the transducer though so I am kind of at a loss. I think my next test will be to spin the old cable with a drill on the transducer side and see how it behaves. dsh, I will also try and drive it with the new cable connected to the transducer but the gauge end off so I can watch it. Any other thoughts?
 

dsh

Active member
Give that a try. Put a load on it - try to hold it from rotating with your fingers.

I stripped out my transducer when I unknowingly installed a new cable on a frozen speedometer; now I have to purchase a new speedometer AND transducer. 😕
 
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