Speedometer indicator lights

[ADRay]

I was looking at the speedometer in my Mini yesterday, and for the first time noticed the two amber lights on it. Are these the turn signal indicators? as it exists, when I use the turn signal, the single green light will blink. Is the green light supposed to indicate that the headlights are on?

Someone in the history of the car took the original '82 dashboard out, and did a real Mickey Mouse job on making the older style pod work.

Thanks

[Scargo]

When the signals are activated, the green light will flash. There is no light that indicates the headlights are on. The blue light is the high beam indicator.

The two orange lights are supposedly low oil pressure indicators, but I've never seen them activated in any Mini I have ever owned or riden in.

[MPlayle]

When I was restoring the 1967 Moke, I had a chance to dive into sorting out the indicator lights on the large center speedometer.

As Scargo says, the single green is the turn indicator, the blue for high beams, the red is the ignition/charge light, and the ambers are for oil pressure/filter.

There are two amber lights as one is on the oil pressure switch and should come on when the key is turned on but the engine not started.  The other was a clogged oil filter warning as it connected to the early style canister oil filter housing.

Often when running an oil pressure gauge, the amber for the low oil pressure was not connected at the engine as the pressure line just replaced the switch.  Some people do insert a 'T' fitting to have both operate together (light and gauge).

If you have a spin-on oil filter (which an '82 Mini should have), the second amber is not connected to anything.

[skmini]

Interesting.  On my 1979 Canadian Mini, the green light is for the rear window defogger and the amber lights are separate left and right turn signal indicators.  There is no oil-pressure light, only the gauge.  Looking at the wiring diagrams online, this seems to be another Canadian Mini-ism.

I'll have to start making a list of Canadian Mini-isms

[Jimini II]

As that is not a home market UK speedometer those orange lights could be for indicators.
Only the very early Mini's had the clogged filter warning orange light.

[MiniDave]

If not a UK market speedo, where would it be for?

[Jimini II]

Don't know Dave it could have come from anywhere, any Country that uses Kilometers instead of MPH so there are a lot of options.

[MPlayle]

In making my description, I was going by what I had/found on the 1967 MK-II Moke I recently restored.

The original 850 engine still had the canister filter with the clogged filter light switch and the replacement wiring harness was likewise equipped.  Since the replacement 998 engine had a spin-on oil filter, that connection went unused.  I went with a 'T' fitting at the oil pressure port on the block in order to run a gauge and the low pressure switch on one of the amber lights.

[BruceK]

It's good to remember the speedometer that Minis used was a stock Smiths item which was used in other cars too - the Morris Minor used it well before the Mini came along for example (and the Minor continued to use it throughout the rest of its life). 

So features on the speedo weren't there just for the Mini and that can account for some of the features not being utilized - as can meeting the needs of other country's markets.

Here's a familiar face in a different setting.

[ADRay]

If not a UK market speedo, where would it be for?

The car was imported from Germany, and it isn't original. The wiring on the back is a total rat's nest.

Also, the speedometer and odometer has never worked in the 5 years I've owned it. I've swapped out the speedo cable to no avail. I believe I need to find a cable that'll work from a A+ to that clock (if such an animal exists)

Thanks everyone.

[MiniDave]

Stick something in the speedo drive hole (on the speedo) and spin it, see if the needle moves. (I have a small chunk of speedo cable I chuck up in a drill) be sure to run it counter clockwise (looking at the back of the speedo) that will tell you if the speedo itself is working. I don't think there's anything special about an A+ gearbox that it requires a special cable, as long as the ends fit in the gearbox drive and the speedo head and it's long enough it should work.

Bruce had a couple of old speedos if he hasn't sold or given them away, but you probably will still need to send it off and have it recalibrated to match this gearbox's final drive ratio - probably a 3:44. If you have a tach and a GPS you can correlate it - by noting the RPM at different speeds like 60 and 70 mph.

[Jimini II]

It is probably the speedometer gear drive in the gearbox or the speedometer itself.
I chased a problem on a Moke i owned that i installed a 1275 in after replacing the speedometer, cable, and using the correct tooth drive gear (used as i could not find it new) i found that the gear was loose on the shaft and when it warmed up i lost the drive from speedometer gear.
It was an annoying problem to have as i always waited for it to cool down so i could get my hands down the back of the engine and of course everything worked when cold.
The gearbox end of the speedometer cables are all the same for A or A+ if you have a center speedometer, the speedometer end is different for the later clocks that sit on top of the column.

[MiniDave]

Yes but the center clocks are all the same, so the cable should be a standard one.

That's weird about the gear turning on the shaft, never seen that before!