Ohmster

I have a 1995 Honda Civic Del Sol car with 121K miles on it, I bought it used and it is a great car, I love it to death. The car was in good shape when I got it, the fellow told me that the horn did not work but it was nice and I bought it for $2,500. I put tires all around and the horn should not be a problem, I am an electronic technician of 25 years so this should be simple, right? Checked the fuses, no. Checked voltage going to the horns (2 of them) and no complete circuit to the horns when the steering wheel button was depressed. Another thing, the cruise control master lamp would come on the dashboard but the control would not activate with the steering wheel buttons. The SRS light never came on for the air bags, not when key was inserted, not ever. You all told me it was the clock spring and I got marvelous details on how to change it with pictures. I ordered the right one on ebay for $21 and installed it on a Monday night, took me four hours as a complete novice. That fixed it, the horn now works, the cruise control now works, but still no SRS light.

Recently, the cruise control started malfunctioning, it would not accelerate the car and I noticed that the speedometer was going from 60MPH down to 30 and back to 60 again. Now it entirely drops out and does not work much of the time. I don't think that the cruise control can work without a functional speedometer so I stopped by several local auto parts stores to get a new speedometer cable. None of the local stores listed one. A mechanic buddy recommended Cam Import Auto Parts in Deerfield Beach and I call them. The fellow there says that for the '95 Del Sol, they list a Speed Sensor for $61.14, says it is a common part and they sell a lot of them, and that they also have a Speedometer Transmitter for $46.12, in the warehouse, can get it in hours, do not sell many of them. He said there was no speedometer cable listed.

Does this car not use a speedometer cable that I can replace myself? I want to accurately know how fast I am going and for the cruise control to work so I need to fix this item. Money is tight so I would rather buy the part and put it in myself like I did the clock spring if possible. The symptoms were classic of a bad cable, intermittent and jerky speedometer and I thought for sure it was a bad cable. Can somebody please tell me how the speedometer works in a '95 Honda Del Sol and what I need to do to check what is bad and how to replace it or at least supply some helpful links or info on this procedure?

Since the speedometer started cutting out, I am not getting an intermittent "Check Engine" light on the dash that comes and goes. It may be related, I am not sure. The Honda book says that light means there is a problem with the engine emissions and if left ignored for a long enough period of time, could be the cause of some costly repairs. Might this also be related? The engine light is not on when I start the car but after driving ten minutes with the speedometer cutting out, it comes on. Shutting off the car for a while will make it go out again.

Somebody please help. Thank you.

sirtef9

iTrader: (4)

if you have a speed Cable in there, somethings odd. You have a electronical speed sensor on the top of the trans, next to the rear motor mount braket. It Itsself is prolly bad,

Ohmster

Ooooooooohhhh! That is probably why no auto parts store has one of these speedometer cables then. The man at the imports parts store said they sell a pretty lot of them, not many transmitters though. That must be what is bad. Is there a way to test it? I am very good with electronics, tools, skills, meter, and scope. I would like to know if it is bad before buying a new one as I believe that electrical items are not returnable at most auto parts stores.

Thank you for the very fast reply. Thursday I have to leave work to go to the doctor's office and the drugstore is inline with Cam Import Auto Parts so I can jump off the highway, go a few blocks, and pickup the part.

I do not have a full set of mechanics metric tools, any idea of what tools might be necessary to replace the speed sensor and how much of a job it is? The clock spring really did not need many tools. I bought a T30 ratchet tip, small ratchet, and extension, a 19mm socket, small extension and already had the ratchet for it, and the phlips screwdriver I already had.

Any advice, links, pictures, detailed instructions, etc. would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again, sirtef9.

Cheers,
~Ohmster

Hippo393

Ohmster, my condolences!! Your symptoms sound awfully familiar.

IMO, I've never seen, had, or read about any speedo cable going south on this generation Honda (not that it doesn't happen), but I have read many 'o posts like yours that point to a common prob in the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS). I've even contributed several such posts, lol.

If the culprit's indeed the VSS--which is conveniently accessible atop the tranny--, you won't be able to function much in cruise control, and may notice your speedo "waving" at you with perhaps a bogging-down/downshifting tranny (as was the case in my '92 automatic). And yes the check-engine light may or may not come on with each episode (mine only came on once). For me, it was a $127 fix via replacement part from AutoZone. It's very easy to get to & replace yourself.

Here's a couple linkey-poos to some pics which may help point you in the right direction:
http://www.zornmasonry.com/images/speed.jpg
http://www.superhonda.com/phot...5.JPG

Ohmster

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hippo393 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ohmster, my condolences!! Your symptoms sound awfully familiar.

IMO, I've never seen, had, or read about any speedo cable going south on this generation Honda (not that it doesn't happen), but I have read many 'o posts like yours that point to a common prob in the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS). I've even contributed several such posts, lol.

If the culprit's indeed the VSS--which is conveniently accessible atop the tranny--, you won't be able to function much in cruise control, and may notice your speedo "waving" at you with perhaps a bogging-down/downshifting tranny (as was the case in my '92 automatic). And yes the check-engine light may or may not come on with each episode (mine only came on once). For me, it was a $127 fix via replacement part from AutoZone. It's very easy to get to & replace yourself.

Here's a couple linkey-poos to some pics which may help point you in the right direction:
http://www.zornmasonry.com/images/speed.jpg
http://www.superhonda.com/phot...5.JPG</TD></TR></TABLE>

Hippo393,

Yep, that sounds like what I need alright. The import store sells them for $61.14, in stock. I get my CEL (Check Engine Light) coming on now sometimes and this may be the reason for it. There is even a CEL code for it to see if this is what the problem is, check this link...

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=682412

It shows how to check the CEL codes and right there is my code:
17 VSS - speed sensor

So I am going to do that test and if I get that code, I will know for sure and just grab the part on my way to the drugstore on Thursday morning as I will pass right by the CAM import store.

Dam, these are nice cars. The clock spring would have cost $326 for just the part at the dealer, learned how to do it here, spent about $20 on tools I needed, and got the job done in 3 hours as a complete novice. It works great now. I am so happy with this car and this forum that I could just crap my pants right now!

Thank you so much for your help and the pictures, I will try and locate this VSS and then let you know how it goes.
~Ohmster

Ohmster

Okay this is what happened...

I printed out the CEL info and took it to work with me. Scott and I (We are TV technicians) looked it over and it sounded doable so we found that green rubber cover under the passenger side dashboard, on the side panel. I looked in there and found a two wire blue connector. I put a U shaped wire in it to short it out, turned on the key, and Scott and I anxiously waited to see what would happen. There was one long flash and 7 short ones, the exact code for VSS, the vehicle speed sensor! We knew we were on target.

Our driver was going North that day and there is an import car parts store there called Cam Auto Parts and they had a VSS4, vehicle speed sensor for $64.81 total, he got it on his credit card and brought it back to us. We found the sensor at the rear of the transmission, near the passenger side windshield, it was a small metal thing with two 10mm bolts holding it down and a wire clip at the top. We took out the bolts and put the new one one, it had a round hole that had to line up with a small post that came out of the transmission, it was square on the end so we had to turn it a bit, back and forth, to seat it. Then we bolted it back down and put the wire back on it again, very easy and quick to do.

Now it works perfectly, no more check engine light, speedometer always works, cruise control works just fine. Could not ask for more, especially all for $64.81.

Your pictures and encouragement were a big help Hippo, thank you very much. Now that makes two hard things I fixed on this car with the help of this forum. The speed sensor and I even replaced the clock spring (Cable reel) under the steering wheel! All of this was cheap which is great because I am so broke I cannot pay attention. I got more questions but you guys rule man. Thank you Hippo393 and sirtef9.

Hippo393

Great news! Glad it worked out for you.