ConKuestador

I bought a 98 civic ex and found that occasionally the speedometer would drop to zero so I researched and changed the VSS - no problem. Except it still happens. Also I noticed that when it does, the Odometer and trip meter also stop working. This concerns me because now I really don't know how many miles are on this car! What should I check next?

tony_2018

So your next move would be to check the wiring for corrosion.

ConKuestador

Right. Do you think I will have to pull the instrument cluster?

tony_2018

On your engine harness first.

TomCat39

If the 6th gen is anything like the 5th gen, the board on the back of the speedo can also be the issue and will knock out the speedo, odometer and trip meter.

It's just spring crimp (breadboard style) connectors on thin pins on the back of the speedo. Corrosion can occur there too.

If your harness looks good at the VSS, under dash fuse panel, and the appropriate fuses also test out properly, look to the board on the back of the speedo.

ConKuestador

This has been driving me crazy for a couple weeks. I have changed the VSS, cleaned and greased the VSS connector. Changed the fuse just to be sure. Checked, and cleaned the back of the board (looks fine). Followed the Blue and White wire (according to Haynes) visually as much as possible.

Still no result.

Here is the symptoms.
Speedo and Odometer will stop randomly while driving. Not in coordination with any bumps or certain speed or anything just random off and maybe 20 miles later, back on. Sometimes it will flash on and off quickly. When it is off the cruise control still functions normally and the transmission shifts normally.

All I can think of is to pull the whole dash and see if I am missing a short somewhere that is not visible.

Is there another test I can perform to find the short easier?

FrostyEG

iTrader: (1)

I have a similar issue. If you don't want to hassle with all the wiring, you could try swapping clusters to see if it's the speedo. I swapped clusters first, different result, but still not working correctly. I then swapped the VSS. Worked perfect for 1 day, now it's back to intermittent. Next I have to check the wiring from the VSS to the cluster, since my VSS plug looked minty. Good luck and let us know when you solve it.

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

VSS - Vehicle Speed Sensor Troubleshoot, Repair, Replace - How To.

TomCat39

Just because the board looks good doesn't mean the components on the board are good. You can continuity test the wire harness from the VSS to the gauge cluster but I suspect it will test out fine.

I would go to the junk yard and pull a gauge cluster, then rip it open, pop out the speedometer and pull the board from it. Pay for the board and slap the board into your speedo.

You keep your mileage and likely fix your issue as it seems you've pretty much gone over everything else.

You won't be the first person the board has gone bad on.

The 3 common themes I've seen for this issue is the VSS, the connector to the VSS and the board itself on the speedo.

ThePooh

Have you checked the harness that's under the intake manifold? If not, I would. The harness gets rubbed and it can short out giving you a dead or intermittent cluster. If it has been worn through, best thing to do is clean the harness, put some corrugated engine tubing and wrap it with electrical tape. Then change the ELD out that's in the fuse box, and replace fuse 15 again. If it hasn't been worm through, swap another cluster (hopefully from a friend) and see if it changes.

BTW, there's a Honda TSB out that you can follow if you're unsure on exactly what you're checking for.
Found it - http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/tsb/civic/x99-029e.pdf

Former User

OP - Post the CEL codes.

ConKuestador

You guys are awesome, thanks for all the tips. I will check under the manifold as mentioned then head to the junk yard or Ebay for a cluster board if needed.

No CEL light on just a crazy speedo and odo.

I'll let you know what I find.

ConKuestador

I can finally end this thread. To get a new speedo I went to three salvage yards and looked at a dozen wrecks before finally just finding one in the mall parking lot (jk).
I only needed to change the speedo and not the whole cluster. I was glad because the only one I could find did not have the PRNDL indicator on it.
The best news is I instantly took 80,000 miles off my vehicle. (jk again)

Thanks everyone for the help!

TomCat39

Not Cluster Board, just the speedo board. You could have kept your mileage the same by just swapping the speedo board. I just did this to fix my issue as can be seen in this post:

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d.../#post50284431

F1_Racer

Now's the time to get that si cluster you've always wanted...... see if a new cluster works because the one you have right now is cluster fucc'd!

FrostyEG

iTrader: (1)

I finally got my speedo working again. Tried re-soldering all the spots on the original board, no joy. Tried swapping for a unknown condition speedo, still no joy. Replaced the VSS and it worked fine for a day. Re-soldered all the spots on the replacement speedo and YES, it's all better now! :-)

marcellatwin

I just came across this thread. I also have issues but my speedo works just fine. My odometer and trip will just stop turning randomly. I don't know where to start cause my speedo works just fine and have never had issues. I have a 94 EJ1. Thanks.

Former User

Replace the whole speedometer unit.

marcellatwin

Ok, is it possible to set the mileage to what my odometer reads now on the new speedo unit? At least it will be closer to accurate. And just out of curiosity, what might be causing that to happen? Is it tiny electrical components that fail on the circuit board or the tiny gears are striped on the actual odometer?