Speedo

[JoeT]

Hi all,

It's finally time to get a working speedo, will something like a cooper S (130Mph) speedo work? My current one that goes to 90 doesn't seem to work at all well, are there any certain requirements to make one compatable, or can I just order one from minisport?

Thanks

Joe

[PaulAmes]

if you want to get a speedo working you have a few options. Either get a mechanical one or a electric one. An electrical one will work with a wire from your engine but wont look very 'mini'. If you want the 130 cooper s one which is the one that I have then you will need a pulse generator. Like theis one:

http://www.conrad-anderson.co.uk/prices/access-prices.htm

This is what I have used - it gives of 4 pulses per rev and then gives off a mechanical output for the speedo. The pulse is needed to get the vtec to work apparently. I got the cable from speedy cables. Havent fully tried it yet - but it should work fine.

Paul

[PaulAmes]

yep - sorry - no pulse generator needed for DTA!! I have a honda ecu

[BassAddict]

If you use a mechanical one - there's a "budget" way to calibrate that a mate did on his last mini - get someone with a handheld gps device that tells you how fast your travelling to sit in the car, tell them when your speedo says 10, 20, 30, 40, etc etc and get them to write that down along with what speed the gps says - then make a new dial to go over the speedo with the numbers in the right places !!! :lol: Mileage will never read properly though !
Rich

[Geehawk]

Just as a matter of interest. Does this mean that Watsons £0000 conversion does not include a working speedo ??? Or is yours just duff ??

[PaulAmes]

Yeh - Geoff should have got your speedo working unless you told him not to?

[JoeT]

I've emailed Geoff and am currently awaiting a reply, so here's hoping!

[Oz]

When I spoke to Geoff ages ago about this, he said that he supplies the cable but its up to the customer to get the speedo recalibrated !

[JoeT]

When I spoke to Geoff ages ago about this, he said that he supplies the cable but its up to the customer to get the speedo recalibrated !

Yeah that's fair enough to get it calibrated, but mine, on standstill will read 20mph, then moving off will jump from anything from 5mph to off the clock randomly, and then just stops after a while!! sounds like a cable problem if you ask me :?

[PaulC]

With the SAE kit you have to sort the speedo problems out yourself!! When i went out in the demo car neither the speedo or the rev counter worked. So i didn't have a clue how fast i was going!!!

Paul C

[nominous]

The Honda ECU looks for revs to engage VTEC, the speed only matters on the jap import cars as the UK cars have no limit. I can check into that however. If it does need a speed sensor, their may well be a way around it which I'll loo into for you guys as well.

[Latka]

I thought it was revs, throttle position, and oil pressure? Hmm... I dunno - maybe I got bad info on that one.

[nominous]

Yeah, those are also contributing factors, I dont think the speed matters, well it sort of does, but that gets complicated and only on the JAP Import cars.

The oil pressure, water temp and throttle postion are important too, but assuming the engine is up to temperature and you have oil, even at 10% throttle vtec will eventally engage.
the VTEC point is actually 4 different rpm points depending on throttle position.

When I built my B20 it pulled well in vtec from 4300rpm, but I had a part throttle setting for 5500rpm so I could cruise at a higher speed without using more fuel by not being on hte vtec cam.

[duck]

You still need the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) signal for the VTEC to engage, on the Jap motors is it used to limit the top speed, on UK cars it is still needed as it stops the VTEC engaging until you reach a certain speed, this also stops the VTEC engaging when in reverse.

This thread has more info about it and also the solution to the VSS problem when using the Honda ECU in a mini (PaulAmes worked it out)



http://www.16vminiclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=277&start=20

[duck]

Also here is a link to the on-line Honda manual (european) that has info about what is required for the VTEC to engage :

http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/CRXManual/62sh222/5-8.pdf

basically it is:

RPM - over 5300
Speed - over 30km/h
Coolant temp - over 60 degrees C

[vitecmini]

hi 16v Friend,s

One thing is verry importand.
If you use the Honda ECU you NEED the speed sensor.
If you drive with the car without a speed sensor your Ecu
switch to the Trouble-Programme.
(you can see on your Ecu LED give a flash-Light)
Is it possible to drive with this Programme but you DON,T have
the full Power from your Engine and you use more Petrol.
The Speedometer-Cable fits verry well on my Innocenti Speedo
but its 20% under the real Speed.
some Speedorepairers/Restorers have a little Speedogear between the
Cable,s with a differend final gear.
We need exactly this thing.
I,m open up my Speedo and modified it with a little
sensor that opens 2 times per 360°.
With this little thing your Ecu nows if the Car is standing or running and it works verry well.

At the next Time im building up 2 other Speedo,s for my Moke,s with the Honda-Engines and im looking forward to send Pictures to our
Forum.

regards
Vitecmini

(I hope my tecnical English is good enough to descripe this Problem)

[nominous]

Im looking into a solution for this problem. Should work on both the UK and JDM cars.
Its a circuit which would emulate the VSS, preset at a constant speed. The theory is sound, need to put it into practise :D

[Latka]

Your english is great - I understood it. (It's certainly better than my technical Deutsch - seems the words just get longer and longer the more technical you get!)

:)

[B20GT]

A question for vtecmini, did you keep the standard front end length to your car? If so, you will have a very valuable frame :wink:

[Latka]

I'm going to be using the Brian Campbell frame (Heh - don't know what else to call it yet!) - mine will be a standard nose length car.

Ugh...I'm frustrated. I want to get started on the project already! :D