mx5cartalk.com

Was driving the NB for about 3km when I looked the speedo was reading zero kmh. As I pondered this it came free and works again.
I believe it is not cable dríven. The car was not used for 10 days so can this contribute to this by sticking somehow?

My NA sometimes sits for a few weeks and no problems.

Maybe check the connections at gearbox/instrument panel.

I replaced my cable with a new one a short while ago for a possible noise issue - turned out not to be the cable though It was pretty cheap, so it didn't worry me too much and now I know its a new cable in there. Had I used some common sense and noted what route the cable took behind the dash from the firewall to the instrument panel, it would have been an easy 1/2 hour job....took me 2 hours and a damned sore back

BTW ... I believe NB is electric, so no cable .... duh So just check sender unit & wiring for loose connections ...

Glad you caught on to that one Kev

It is probably just a bad connection on the back of the cluster, they have 3 ribbon style cables and it should be pretty obvious where the contact patches are that you can clean up.

If you haven't removed the cowl on top of the cluster there is a few threads about it, the clips can be a bit fragile.

KevGoat wrote:...took me 2 hours and a damned sore back

For any under dash work it's well worth removing the seat so you can lay on your back & even put your feet up on the rear shelf.

This seems to happen occasionally on NB8B:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=42521

viewtopic.php?f=18&t=48128

The car in the second post was flood affected, & it's thought had an ECU problem as a result, as there was a bunch of things that went wrong with it & eventually forced the owner to off load the car.

thanks,,,,I've emailed honki3rider mentioned above with a similar problem and I'll try jiggling the wire harness behind the dash..

Just for the record - many owners in the States have reported this problem too(see Miata.net on how to fix it) http://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.ph ... ost6211281

Briefly - the sender is screwed into the side of the gearbox. The two wires to the speedo join the sender ,soldered on and
filled with goop. Through heat and vibration the poor solder job comes adrift , and loses constant contact.The fix involves re-soldering and replacing goop. The pics make it look do-able.....

Goop- is that an engineering term like "thingy".

Closest thing I know of is tube silicon thingy.

Mr Morlock wrote:Goop- is that an engineering term like "thingy".

'GOOP' = 'geez, old owner problem' [relates to previous owner not current]

I like that - the acronym for Goop- it will get recycled

Hey Silvia,
What news on the fix and be aware that not all Goop's are cable and non-ferrous metal friendly!
Greg.

The job's on hold as the speedo has decided to function normally again....possibly cooler weather or I dunno what
But I feel confident to go for it should the problem recur.
Good point about the Goop.......I'll check with Jaycar and see what they say....

Mr Morlock wrote:I like that - the acronym for Goop- it will get recycled

Thanks MM!! Just sitting here thinking now I have to clean the rubber off my NB after Lakeside yesterday! Not as bad as the 86 guy who's white rocket copped rubber 'splats' all over the front

SPLAT: 'Special Protection Lacking At Track'