XS 1.4 - RPM needle shaking

[eugenio 0]

Hi everybody – long time lurker here, first post!

 

I'm from Argentina and recently got a 205, a pretty well kept XS from 1992. It has 230k on the odometer which is quite a bit but the car is mechanically and aesthethically sound. I recently installed XS vinyls (here in argentina it came without any decals), Hella lights and some mudflaps for extra rally flair. I did some basic maintenance, changed cambelt, including water pump, oil and oil filter, air filter, fuel filter and clutch cable as the clutch was super stiff. It's smooth now. Here are a couple of pictures of the car:

 

 

 

It's all been pretty smooth sailing so far, I've driven around 1000km in the last couple weeks with the car. However, there is something that bothers me: The RPM needle shakes like crazy. It is like a micro-shaking thing, it still displays the correct RPMs, but instead of holding steady it moves just a few mm to each side very fast. I do not thing this is an engine problem as the engine seems to rev just fine. Anyways, the visual part is not so bothersome as the sound is...it makes this mosquito-like stutter sound that is really loud inside the car. So even though it seems to be harmless, it is very annoying and I would like to fix it.

 

I've done some research in the forums and found some people with a similar problem BUT with the speed needle which apparently goes away with a new speedo cable. But the tach doesn't work the same way (it's electronic, right?) so I'm kind of lost as to how to go about fixing it. Without looking at it in depth, a mechanic friend said that the problem is probably the needle or the mechanism in the cluster itself and I should change the instrument cluster but I would like to avoid it if possible as sourcing a good one could prove difficult here. Do you guys have any ideas what could be causing it and if I may be able to repair it?

 

Thanks!

[stewal 7]

Nice looking car!

 

I think your mechanic maybe right but it would be worth taking the cluster out and checking the plugs and connections first : proper electrical contact cleaner is always worth a try on the contacts surfaces and the plug pins.