speedo cable ?

[94formula]

i was wondering if the speedo cables on the 94 firebirds are just the cable or do they have some sort of electric wires running with it. and does the a4 need this cable plugged in to work correctly? the reason im askin is my buddys speedo/odometer stopped working so we are gonna check it out and i wanted to kno where it is on the tranny and if it was just the cable or it was a clip with the wires and ran electricly..my old 95 mustang had an electric set up, kinda weird, when i pulled my tranny out i forgot to plug it back in and the car wouldnt drive right without it b/c between shifts it would go back to idle very quickly b/c of the strain on the motor and the cable was thinking the car isnt moving cause its not registering,, very weird, but anyways thanks for the help.