Becker Sat Nav and Speed wire - is it needed?

Hi all

I've fitted a Becker Traffic Pro into my Ninety, Model BE4765. It knows where I am, if I get it to display my position it's correct. However, any routes it calculates from somewhere in Kent. If I ask for local points of interest, I get Maidstone.

I know that it can use a speed (GAL) signal which of course the Ninety doesn't have. For me to fit that properly means adding a transducer which means I lose the speedo cable so need to replace the actual speedo with a TD5 one.

While I'm happy to go that route eventually I don't want to shell out more and more if the navigation system is buggered. So, does anyone know if the speed signal is needed to make it work or just one of those things that makes it better?

I would think it shouldn't need it, it will just calculate speed from sat position instead.

try resetting it.

I had this on a tomtom - it was coz the "home" position was set incorrectly.

To be honest, I didn't think that the speed wire fed to then HK (Becker) radio system was anything to do with the sat-nav.
Sat-nav can and will get its speed information from the GPS signals anyway.

The speed wire is more for volume setting (believe it or not) so that the volume is automatically turned up or down to compensate for vehicle/road noise when travelling at speed; the HK system is after all supposed to be a "bells and whistles" system.

On the Disco 2, the speed wire signal is provided by the SLABS ECU and fed to the following units:

1. The air temperature control unit (ATC)
2. The instrument pack
3. The ICE power amplifier
4. The active cornering enhancement ECU (ACE)
5. The engine control module (ECM)
5a. On the V8 it's also fed to the cruise control

This is for the Hi-line ICE and also the HK system.

timtheenchanteruk said:

I would think it shouldn't need it, it will just calculate speed from sat position instead.

try resetting it.

Click to expand...

Tried that. It uses a sensor for reverse as well.

The Mad Hat Man said:

I had this on a tomtom - it was coz the "home" position was set incorrectly.

Click to expand...

There is no such thing on this. It's a bit old

brian47 said:

To be honest, I didn't think that the speed wire fed to then HK (Becker) radio system was anything to do with the sat-nav.
Sat-nav can and will get its speed information from the GPS signals anyway.

The speed wire is more for volume setting (believe it or not) so that the volume is automatically turned up or down to compensate for vehicle/road noise when travelling at speed; the HK system is after all supposed to be a "bells and whistles" system.

Click to expand...

The volume is an important part of this for me, I have no sound proofing, headlining, or carpets at all so when I'm travelling at 60 I crank it up and when I slow down I deafen myself.

According to the docs it is used for the sat nav as well and some say it isn't needed, some say it is. Just wondered if anyone else had installed one into an old vehicle with pre electronic speedo. And if they had, did it work.

What I don't want to do is go and shell out over £100 on cluster and sensor only to find the damn thing is broken.

brian47 said:

To be honest, I didn't think that the speed wire fed to then HK (Becker) radio system was anything to do with the sat-nav.
Sat-nav can and will get its speed information from the GPS signals anyway.

The speed wire is more for volume setting (believe it or not) so that the volume is automatically turned up or down to compensate for vehicle/road noise when travelling at speed; the HK system is after all supposed to be a "bells and whistles" system.

On the Disco 2, the speed wire signal is provided by the SLABS ECU and fed to the following units:

1. The air temperature control unit (ATC)
2. The instrument pack
3. The ICE power amplifier
4. The active cornering enhancement ECU (ACE)
5. The engine control module (ECM)
5a. On the V8 it's also fed to the cruise control

This is for the Hi-line ICE and also the HK system.

Click to expand...

What are these mystical things?

Mine's 26 years old and has a wire to turn the injection pump fuel supply on and off, that's about the sum total of 'ECU' I have. Speedo is driven by a spinning cable what breaks occasionally.

Cant you install a transducer on the propshaft,
Pretty sure warrior did on his pug 205/6 conversion for an electronic dash.

timtheenchanteruk said:

Cant you install a transducer on the propshaft,
Pretty sure warrior did on his pug 205/6 conversion for an electronic dash.

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I can but I'd have to buy one first There is a standard LR part that just goes into the transfer box but you then lose the cable drive to the speedo.

If it's needed I'll do it as I get the advantage of the speed linked volume. However, fitting the transducer means changing the speedo as I'd lose the mechanical cable drive, that means TD5 speedo so then I'd end up getting the TD5 cluster to get the better lighting etc Ah, the snowball effect of buying a radio that doesn't have a disco lightshow

I could do with borrowing a transducer to test it with. Like I say, no point going to these lengths if the unit itself doesn't work.

the cable for the speedo may not just be for volume, it also calculates where you are when signal is lost, as an example going into a tunnel, the sat nav "knows" which road you are on, and that you are travelling at 50mph, so can work out how far into the tunnel you are etc.

OK, to be clear. I know how sat navs CAN work. The instruction suggest, and others have said, that this unit needs the speed signal to work at all but others say it doesn't.

This isn't a tomtom or any modern sat nav but an oldish system. I know that the speed signal is used to drive the volume as well.

I have one of these units and whist it see's satellites and has the correct latitude and longitude for it's location, any routes are calculated from Kent and not the current position, which it knows.

My problem is, have I bought a duff unit or do I need to hook it up to speed signal for it to work. Has anyone already done this in a vehicle that doesn't have an electronic speed signal and, if so, did they need to add one to make it work.

If I need it, I'll add it but would rather make sure it's not duff before spending more money on it. If I don't then the unit is duff and I'll send it back.

Well thanks for clearing that up.

I re-iterate my point that the speed signal may be used to dead reckon location when gps signal is lost, and the lack of it may cause the sat nav to think the vehicle is stationary. It understands that the GPS co-ordinates are changing, but it cannot calculate what this means, rather than an progressive journey, it will be in a series of jumps to each location.

I appreciate that it knows the current location, and this may be a separate fault from the speed sensor, where it is always starting from the same location. This is undoubtedly due to a setting within the system.

Optimus Prime said:

Well thanks for clearing that up.

I re-iterate my point that the speed signal may be used to dead reckon location when gps signal is lost, and the lack of it may cause the sat nav to think the vehicle is stationary. It understands that the GPS co-ordinates are changing, but it cannot calculate what this means, rather than an progressive journey, it will be in a series of jumps to each location.

I appreciate that it knows the current location, and this may be a separate fault from the speed sensor, where it is always starting from the same location. This is undoubtedly due to a setting within the system.

Click to expand...

It doesn't 'jump'. It doesn't move at all. Trouble is, I need definate "Yes I put this in mine without a speed signal and it worked" rather than a bunch of guess's as to how this unit actually works. "It May work this way or that" doesn't really answer my actual question but thanks anyway.

I'll see if I can scrounge a transducer to test it with.

Just in case anyone else searches for this in the future I have an answer.

Yes it does need the speed signal and the reverse signal, or at least the reverse signal earthing. As soon as I fitted the transducer and put the signal into pin 1 the sat nav sprang into live but insisted on telling me to turn around whenever I was headed the right way. The sensor test option told me that the unit thought I was going backwards as I hadn't hooked up a reverse signal, you'd think it would default to forwards.

Ground pin 2 and it all works.