betsy Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Hello, I am searching for someone who can supply me with a MPH speedometer converter to fit over the KPH dial fitted to the 2003 Fiat Ducato based motorhome that I will be importing from Germany next week. Deepcar supplied me with my last one but they can no longer help. Have tried companies life Speedograph etc all without success. Any ideas? Thanks, "Priscilla" PS Have read the previous thread on fog lights/MPH speedos/headlamp converters and would really like to convert my speedo to read in MPH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixters other half Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Its your choice to change, but I had my motorhome MOT'd with a KPH speedo and no issues. I personally would bother 30mph is 50kph, 50mph is 80 kph. Its easy enough to remember and anyway you will be spending ( hopefully) more time looking out the windscreen than at the speedo, so why waste money? The speed of the vehicle is controlled by your right foot not whether it is in kph or mph. VoH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globetrotter Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 That is what I used to think, until it was pointed out to me by a Police officer that passing the MOT does NOT make a vehicle legal for use on the road. Apparently, although it will pass an MOT with a KPH speedo, if the van is ever involved in an accident, the Police will be checking things such as speedos as speed is so often a factor. If they find a KPH one, they WILL prosecute as the vehicle is not to UK road use standard. After this, I went to a scrapyard and got an MPH setup for mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Checking vehicle instrumentation is not part of the MOT test that applies to motorhomes, so it's irrelevant as far as the MOT test is concerned whether a motorhome's speedometer has a mph or km/h scale (or is even in working order). However, there is a requirement when a vehicle is UK-registered that its speedometer has a mph scale and, as I understand it, the DVLA now physically confirms that an imported vehicle meets this criterion and will refuse to register it if it doesn't. In fact, if we're being picky, the speedometer of a UK-registered vehicle should have a km/h scale AND a mph scale. Obviously there is also a legal requirement that, when the vehicle is being driven, the speedometer should work. Protech (http://protech-uk.co.uk/speedo.html) claims to be "able to offer a MPH speedometer conversion for any vehicle from any market", so you could try them. I recall there was a company in the Bristol area that offered a range of converters and would custom-make a speedometer mph/km/h overlay if provided with the original dial to work from (cost was around £50), but I can't find any trace of them now. GOOGLE-ing UK websites on "speedometer converters" produces plenty of hits, but mostly for Japanese car imports and motorbikes. Private motorhome importers tend nowadays to have the km/h instrument replaced completely, which can be expensive but does mean that the speedometer fully complies with UK legal requirements. If you can't find a suitable overlay (or aren't in a position to make one) this may be your only option. I believe the DVLA may be prepared to accept a paid invoice for a replacement speedometer as sufficient 'proof' that the replacement will actually take place and will then agree to register the vehicle despite it still having the 'wrong' speedometer. However, it would be sensible to check whether the DVLA office through which your motorhome will be registered would go along with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fetch Carry Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 So does this mean that the dealer who sold us our Hymer last November with a KPH speedo is breaking the law? Or have we some come back on him as he is selling un-roadworthy vans? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 There is a very simple solution that will cost a few pence. It is as follows: 1. Get a sheet of thickish film - the sort that used to be used for overhead projection transparencies. 2. Use a piece of this film to trace out the shape of your Speedo as seen through the instrument binnacle glass by the driver. Best to use a permanent marker pen (available in WHS, etc., rather than a water soluble one and one that will show up against the instrument panel colour (such as white, light grey or luminous orange). 3. Mark each 10 kph division onto the same piece of film. 4. Because you've done this in cramped conditions, the result won't be brilliant. So trace it onto a fresh piece of film BUT leave the mph divisions off. 5. Now use a protractor to put the calculated mph values onto the circle outlining the speed on film 2. All you need is to know that KPH * 0.62137 = MPH. So 50 KPH = 31 MPH; 80 KPH = 49.7 MPH, 100 KPH = 62.1 MPHand so on. Do the sums for every 10 KPH. 6. Next place film 2 over film 1 so you have the KPH marking as a guide and use the protractor to help you get the MPH markings in the right place. (EG., if the angle between 0 and 100 KPH (0 and 62 MPH) is, say, 140 degrees, then every 10 mph is 140*10/62.1 = 22.5 degrees. 7. Finally, write the MPH figure neatly over the key figures: 0, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70. Then apply a small amount of moisture to the back of the film and it will adhere to the instrument glass. This is almost completely legal (see below) and is acceptable to DVLA inspectors. No where does the law state that the numbers cannot be neatly hand-written. The only problem is that the MPH figures have to be readable after dark. With some instrument panels this is not a problem. If it is with yours, a tiny LED wired into the cigar lighter and shielded from the driver's eyes does the job. A lot cheaper than driving miles or telephoning yet another 087 premium rate number! Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 F & C, Yes your vehicle contravenes the Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations 1986 and its many amendments. This makes it illegal for road use in the UK. If you do have an accident, you may well be charged by the police as already mentioned. More important, your insurers will use it as a way of reducing or zeroing any payout. Best get back to the dealer and threaten him with the local Trading Standards Officer - that usually works. This is not something you could reasonably have been expected to know as a buyer, so the dealer is clearly at fault for selling an unroadworthy vehicle. Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 Mine's in KPH. Do I care. No. Took speedo out (5Min job). and marked MPH for 30 40 50 60 70 MPH on dial in white pen. Job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I took a digital photo of the speedo. then imported it into a draw package on the computer. Then using the draw functions put marks on at the MPH 10, 20 30, etc positions in yellow with the numbers next to the marks (avoiding the numbers on the original 'photo. Next removed the original photo leaving behind the marks and numbers. The result was printed by my inkjet on to acetate which I cut out and stuck on to the speedo face with a couple of drops of superglue. The yellow showed up well against the black speedo dial and the clear acetate didn't stop any light getting to the original kph speedo. Problems were not many - just a bit of fun getting the speedo out and apart but fairly easily dooable by a reasonably competent DIYer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 betsy: Someone in the motorhome sales/servicing trade has just informed me that Hymer(UK) - Tel: 0845 603 4828, Website www.hymeruk.com - may well be able be able to supply a speedometer overlay for a 2003 Fiat Ducato. He said that his company (that I know handles lots of LHD imports) has obtained overlays from there. Worth a try and, if you do contact Hymer(UK) about this - and I strongly suggest you phone rather than e-mail - please confirm on the forum whether or not what I was told is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betsy Posted October 12, 2007 Author Share Posted October 12, 2007 Many thanks to all of you for the advice/help offered. I was aware that a working speedo, even one in KPH, is not an MOT requirement but that a speedo that shows MPH is a legal requirement - that is why I am going to fit a converter. On my last imported Hymer I managed to buy one from Deepcar but they are no longer selling them. I will try protech and Hymer UK and, if unseccessful, will then probably go down the mark-it-out-yourself route. Will keep you all posted. In the meantime, thanks again. Betsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjphillips Posted October 13, 2007 Share Posted October 13, 2007 Because the cost was so high at the time & it meant removing & posting off the speedo unit I simply stuck letroset numbers on the glass covering the unit in the correct position from my line of view when sitting in the seat.Its passed 4 M.O.T's since & looks perfectly professional,nobody's commented on it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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