Speedometer wire broken...maybe?

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I have a 1997 Geo Tracker (which was not a listed model option - guess I have the only one left on the road). About 4 years ago I was driving and the car began to make a horrible, LOUD whirring vibrating noise and the speedometer needle pinned, and while driving around trying to find a mechanic (I was out of town) the needle finally popped off. The noise essentially stopped, and I drove back home to my mechanic.

He diagnosed a broken speedometer wire. Said it would be too expensive to fix. So, I didn’t. For the last four years, it has always made a slight squealing/whirring noise from the speedometer area. Not too loud. Able to ignore it. Until now…when for no apparent reason, it has begun making the horrible, LOUD, whirring/vibrating noise which is deafening, and is present all the time no matter the speed/weather, etc.

My questions; 1. Is it really a broken speedometer wire? Because if its broken, why is it making all this noise? 2. Is it really that expensive to fix. Is there a less expensive fix that I can do just to make the noise stop? 3. Am I hurting the car by driving it this way? It sounds like it’s going to explode.

Thanks!!
Tracker Lover

2

I’d be sure it’s the cable rather than the gear in the speedo. Sounds more like the gear is broken and the cable keeps spinning it as it slowly deteriorates into a zillion pieces… like the stars in the sky. It’s working more like a “juicer” than a speedo right now.

It won’t explode. Nor will it hurt the car. It’ll keep making more and perhaps louder noises until it suddenly fails completely.

3

You might be able to get the noise to stop by asking your mechanic to disconnect the speedo cable at its source, usually the transmission.