milkmanLCA

ok, i have a 93 honda civic sedan as my DD. its a 5 speed d15 with 72k miles

heres the problem:

my speedo jumps around, it is sometimes correct but sometimes, im obviously going like 80 and it says 20. even worst, sometimes its dead. as long as its jumping around the odometer works great (mile marker right on target) but if the needle died, the odometer doesnt record the miles. weird. it only died 3 times on me (the needle), so like 30 miles werent recorded.

things i have done:

i took off the cluster looking for any type of short or corrosion or loose wires, nothing was found.

i bought a vss (vehicle speed sensor). easy install, put it in just now. went around the block, the first couple blocks, it worked great, i was very please. then it jumped. i dont know what else do do, what can cause this?

im stumped.

BlueIntegraBoy

iTrader: (5)

Retighten the speedometer screws.

milkmanLCA

you mean the 2 on the face of it? what will that do?

BlueIntegraBoy

iTrader: (5)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by milkmanLCA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you mean the 2 on the face of it? what will that do?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, the three behind it. Loosen them, then retighten. Perhaps the connection isn't 100%.

Also, clean the connections on the VSS plug.

milkmanLCA

ok, the ground, im pretty sure i found it, its a black wire that leaves the rest of the wires and runs off by its self. it has a single connector where the male is attached to dash frame and the wire has a female connector. i took off the female connector and squeezed it tight, the male was already tight. put it back together.

3 screws behind the cluster should loosen and tighten. i did that also.

took it for a spin. its better but still jumpy.should i remove the male connector ( i dont think i should) or any other ideas

milkmanLCA

bump

milkmanLCA

i need a reply

black0hatch

same **** happened to my old eg. my problem was the plug that conects to the vss was missing a little white peice on the inside of it and the wires were coroded. so i just hacked it off and soldered a better condition plug on there. pop the plug off and see if its coroded.

rSol93

bad cluster?

milkmanLCA

the plug isnt corroded, there are 3 pins and they are all there, nice and snug. im gonna test a new cluster soon. i was thinking this was more common.

lv6l

Replace the chip behind the speedometer. You can take it off any cluster within the range of the year of your car. The chip looks like a board of circuits the size of your palm. Very common on Honda.

milkmanLCA

the curcuit board is flimsy tho, right? i was looking at it and i think it is just one big one

Dead CIVIC

iTrader: (1)

bump for a solution cause i hate confusing proplems like this one.

spooled-r

i see this issue in honda clustes all the time like it or not the easiest thing to do is just buy a new cluster should be less then 100 thats what i do those thins can be a pain when they go bad

lv6l

It's a one piece board the size of your palm. It is located behind your speedometer; between the speedometer gauge itself, and the odometer mechanism. Normally this problem people always go straight to the VSS but I highly doubt that, when the VSS malfunction it most of the time stops working completely. It will not cause your needle to bounce all around. I myself have had this bouncing problem and many others, so far all of them replace the circuit board and the problem went away. You can find the board off any cluster within your car's range. Example, if you have a 94 Civic CX. You can get it off any Civic within 92-95. It does not matter about the cluster; whether it's EX, DX, CX, VX, or Si. They have different looks but all run on the same circuit board.

*note* You DO NOT need to change your original millage when changing out the circuit board.


Modified by lv6l at 11:55 AM 7/1/2008

milkmanLCA

damn, i wish it didnt come down to this cuz my civic only has 72k miles and when i resell it i dont want to act like im lying. oh well i guess

lv6l

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by milkmanLCA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">damn, i wish it didnt come down to this cuz my civic only has 72k miles and when i resell it i dont want to act like im lying. oh well i guess</TD></TR></TABLE>

You post it before I could got a chance to edit. But you can change the board out without anyone ever knowing. Your millage will not be touch. You will know what I mean when you see it.

encarn

Yeah I'm having the same thing happen with my 93 honda accord. It'll jump to 90 then die. Someone suggested that it was a loose cord to the Vss chip but I can't seem to find the chip itself. Can anyone tell me where its located simply.

asianman139608

hey i've got a similar problem. i had put tin foil in the back housing of the gauges to make the lights shine brighter. but the contacts on the back of the speedo and the rpm gauge made contact with the foil and burnt those two gauges out. you think i could just swap out that board your talking about or do i need to get a new cluster and just swap the speedo and the rpm out?

milkmanLCA

so the flimsy circuit board is what you think is the problem? if so, i wont lose my milege or anything, let me know what you think

lv6l

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by milkmanLCA &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so the flimsy circuit board is what you think is the problem? if so, i wont lose my milege or anything, let me know what you think</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yes, if you change the board I promised you it will not change your original millage what so ever.

lv6l

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by asianman139608 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hey i've got a similar problem. i had put tin foil in the back housing of the gauges to make the lights shine brighter. but the contacts on the back of the speedo and the rpm gauge made contact with the foil and burnt those two gauges out. you think i could just swap out that board your talking about or do i need to get a new cluster and just swap the speedo and the rpm out?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I am sorry but I do not quite understand what you mean. Can you please explain a bit more. Thank you.

1sick740

bump for this my cars speedo does the same it stays at 20 and jumps for the most part but sometimes it functions normally...so is a new cluster the best fix for it??

lv6l

Not to be mean, but this issue has come up a lot. And I tried my best to reply to each person each time someone ask, but it seems like nobody is reading what I suggest. If you want to replace the whole cluster go for it. But a cheaper and smarter method is just to replace the circuit board that is located behind the speedometer.

The circuit board can be taken off any 92-95 Civcs any model. (that is if your car falls within those year.

milkmanLCA

i read what you said, im getting my hands on one soon, but the gauge its self is possible at going bad also, although its rare