tmimitz92

Hey i have a 96 accord LX 2.2 Lt manual. I have had it a couple months and now when i drive it both the tachometer and speedometer freak out. They will drop down to 0 and then up to the correct reading and everything in between. Could this be a bad VSS? My cruse control is not working either and the temp never makes it to the worm spot it should? Can anyone help?

fubuallstar

Any performance loss or stuttering?

jdmcertified909

OR IT COULD JUST BE THE IGNITER AND VSS

tmimitz92

It has some lag when shifting in low gears and sometimes it shakes a little. Where is the vss located? Is there anything else it could be?

jdmcertified909

sounds like a bad ground somewhere actually. does it act as if it has low power? my cousins ef tach and speedometer were freaking out and it was a chaffed ground wire that was corroded and barely hanging on and he did have a lil bit of bogging out

dglassmyer

Vss is under the thermostat housing on the transmission with a 3 wire hookup.
You should be getting a code for vss malfunction.
You can test the rpm signal from the icm via the tachometer test connection to determine if the rpm fluctuations are a gauge related issue or are actual faulty signals coming from the distributor.

tmimitz92

Just was driving and now the temp gauge is flipping out too it gets real hot and drops low quickly. It does feel low on power, the light and clock often dim and brighten and radio shuts off and turns back on as well. The guy who had it before me put a radio deck in it and It seems like a bad job could that have something to do with it? How would I check to see if its a bafd ground.

dglassmyer

The ground responsible for your gauge cluster is the G401 ground, it is a junction that grounds several different accessories.
Check it to make sure it is still solidly fastened to the chassis.
It is under the left side of the dash, attached to the main harness near the interior fuse box and icu.

tmimitz92

I can't seem to find it the fuses are under the hood.

jdmcertified909

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nus_dogg

IMO, this tech/speed issue would be a ground issue. My speedometer one time went from 50mph to 0mph out of nowhere. So I was like "WTF?" Later on, I found out the battery cable on the inside where it wraps around battery posts were dirty even though both the battery posts look good on the outside. So I sand them off, and it was all fine now.

FurryBalls

I'm stabbing in the dark here, but just a question, did you happen to check the voltage coming from the alternator? I'm telling you this because mine had a bad alt connection. Every now and then the alt would lose contact and stop charging, thus discharging the battery. It not always reported the red idiot light on the dash. When the battery reached a critical level and turned on anything else or sometimes not even that the cluster would go nuts. Needles going up and down to their readings to 0 and back. This problem accentuated every time I steped on the gas. Might be a long shot, but you may want to give it a look. It's simple enough... At least simpler than disassembling the inst cluster.

Hope it helps.

cts92

question could this be the same problem if just your rpm gauge is bouncing?

scubacamper

RPM & Speed bouncing: My '90 DX 5-speed did this (but also ran horribly) - turned out to be the VSS - I would replace that...

Check your local salvage yard for the part - MUCH cheaper there than at your local parts store

cts92

Ok thats located where? And another question my windshield leeks bad could that also ruin the connection? Its just the rpm

Caddiman

iTrader: (2)

speed sensor maybe?

scubacamper

Speed sensor is located near the intake manifold on the backside of the motor. If you're leaning on the driver's side fender, peering over the engine, look down just beyond the master cylinder, just on top of the transmission.
There, you will see a device with wires coming out of it, fastened to the tranny with 3 bolts - this is your VSS.
Do a google image search for this part - there are plenty of pictures of what you're looking for.

Just be real careful when removing/installing this part - there is a tiny metal shaft that spins - this is not connected to anything; it just sits in there. So, when you remove it, it will very easily fall out and it's so small, you'll easily lose it.

Best of luck - let us know how it turns out.

scubacamper

check out this video - around 10:00, he states the tachometer may bounce around a lot if the igniter is bad within the distributor:
Perhaps your igniter is bad?