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Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#1
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56PKRDGUY
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Hello Again guys have a issue with my speedometer on my 56 400. The needle would go crazy and just go haywire and finally
it is stuck. Tried to tap the gauge and broke the glass. Now I want to know if I want to replace the speedo and glass could i just take the speedo out without the hole cluster as I have a another speedo in my parts car that's nice. And what the procedure not much room back there. Thanks Gary

PS Happy Holidays to all of you!!

Posted on: 2020/12/18 18:02
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#2
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d c
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Was the speedo jumping wildly bouncing from way above your actual driving speed to almost zero while driving before it gave up the ghost? Was it doing this violently in rapid rhythm as to snap the needle off?
If so- I have heard others advise of cable problems or cable lube but I have seen speedo heads binding and causing the cable to wind up and build tension and release . It can even cause the cable to twist or snap. Others have said to try to lube the speedo oilet hole in place. Rust, dried grease and oil is common on speedos and odometers of this age. I will urge you to remove the speedo (or cluster assm which ever easier) and carefully CLEAN the back of the speedo and odometer. Pay special care to the odometer reduction gears with a tooth brush and wd40. Clean all dust,lint, old grease etc. do not stain the odometer numbers on the rolls. Clean all odometer pivot axle pins. Then oil with light oil. Test on bench. This is the only thing I found to help. Of course remove speedo cable and oil and grease also but I found this was not the root cause. The ones I saw were in the speedo. Good luck.

Posted on: 2020/12/18 18:25
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#3
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HH56
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The speedo can be removed by itself. There are 5 screws holding it in the cluster but you will need to also unscrew and move the instrument voltage regulator and possibly a couple of circuit breakers and part of the loom aside before removing it. Check out the instrument section of the service manual for instructions and photos.packardinfo.com/xoops/html/downloads/servicemanual5556/Sect13_Instruments.pdf

Posted on: 2020/12/18 18:41
Howard
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#4
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56PKRDGUY
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Sounds pretty straight forward. Will the glass come out as well that the speedo connects to with all the numbers on it.I really do not want to take the complete cluster out.

Posted on: 2020/12/18 19:12
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#5
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HH56
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Only the speedo mechanism comes out on its own. The glass is part of the cluster so to remove that the entire cluster does need to come out so some tabs which hold the glass retainer in the cluster can be accessed and bent straight from the drivers side. Figure 2 in the instrument section shows the 3 retainer tab locations on the face of the cluster.

Posted on: 2020/12/18 19:24
Howard
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#6
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56PKRDGUY
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Is there a easy way to take out the cluster? I am worried of not being able to see what wires need to be where they should be as there is not alot of room behind the dash.
So does the steering wheel support need to be dropped and I will gain more access to the cluster?

Posted on: 2020/12/18 19:39
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#7
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56PKRDGUY
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So in the 1956 Packard Service manual it is showing a 1955 Packard cluster. So there are 4 more connections because the oil pressure and generator gauges for 56 are not idiot lights but are now gauges plus looks like a oil pressure hookup on the gauge now. This looks more complicated. If any of you have a better view of the 56 cluster it would help me and also the wiring hookup as what is what I do appreciate it. I need to take the one out of my parts car first, not doing this yest as I live in Connecticut a we just got 10 inches of snow here.
Thanks Gary

Posted on: 2020/12/18 19:56
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#8
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HH56
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The 55-6 instruments and clusters are identical except for the faces which changed with styling. The senior cars with 4 gauges have 3 more wires you need to remove instead of just pulling out the 2 light sockets on the Clippers. Ammeter has 2 extra wires and the oil gauge has one for the 3rd. The 4th wire for the oil gauge is actually a jumper wire from the instrument voltage regulator which also is connected to the temp and fuel gauges and does not need to be disconnected when removing the entire cluster. As to whether the steering column brace needs to come out -- it would give more room but it is also a pain to remove so I would do it only if you absolutely can't work around it.

Start by removing the speedo trip reset knob and cable from the dash bottom edge. The knob is held to the shaft by a small screw and comes off then the nut holding the cable to the dash edge can be removed and cable pulled out of the hole.

You will need to remove all the lamp sockets from their holes in the cluster. I would label 3 of the lights in some way so you can easily get them back in their respective spots. Those at the top of the cluster are the turn signals for the first two while the high beam indicator in the middle hole in the speedo is the other. The rest are just general illumination bulbs and it doesn't cause any problems if those get in a different hole. Just be careful when pulling the sockets out of their holes to try and pull them straight out. Sometimes they are tight and if they suddenly come free and are at an angle the glass on the bulb can catch the edge of the hole and break. A small thin blade screwdriver can sometimes help ease them out.

After the lights are out, before removing the nuts holding the cluster to the dash it is a matter of removing wires from the voltage regulator and gauges and freeing up the loom from the clip at the back of the speedo. Here are the 56 color wires to remove:
Instrument voltage regulator -- pink wire
Temp gauge -- dark green wire
Fuel gauge -- orange wire
Oil gauge -- dark blue wire
Ammeter has two red wires so mark those to get them back on the correct terminals. The ammeter will still work if they are reversed but will read backwards and you would need to go back under to change them.

I think that is all but if something was forgotten you should be able to see if anything else is obvious. I don't have a good photo but unless someone else has one to post here is one from the AC install manual which gives a fairly decent view of the cluster in the dash.

Attach file:



jpg  (309.90 KB)
209_5fdd87f8cc2a7.jpg 1328X1436 px

Posted on: 2020/12/18 23:56
Howard
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#9
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R H
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Bite the bullet and move the dash.

Remove steering wheel. Un bolt dash up top and a bolt each side at kick panel loose

Then rotate dash so you can get to gauges.

The heater lines might need to be removed to.

Deal with it in front then on your back..

Posted on: 2020/12/19 0:28
Riki
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Re: Speedometer not working needle is stuck Glass broke also
#10
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Steve
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When I pulled the instrument cluster on my 1951 200 I'm glad I moved slow and took lots of pictures. I had different color paint sticks and made index marks, match colors marks, and changed any/all light bulbs. Cleaned the back of gauge electrical connections and rear of dash connections....broke the nuts loose and retightened. When you think you have enough pic's take more it's cheap insurance. Good luck.

Steve

Edit: My instrument cluster is probably one of the easiest units to remove 2nd time is easy..er.

Posted on: 2020/12/19 16:33
Steve
Old cars are my passion

1951 Packard 200
1953 Packard Clipper Custom Touring Sedan
1955 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer Tri-tone
1966 Rambler Classic 770 Convertible
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