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ok i have a 95 honda civic the problem im having is this the speedometer will be reading the right speed and then all of the suddin its reading 0, then jumps back to the right speed and then back to 0 at which time the odometer and tripometer cease to work, also the gas gauge doesnt work.
i also have a spare cluster in which the speedometer works just fine no probs and the gas gauge works as well the only problem is the odometer will randomly quite working especially once the tripometer gets to 0000.
so i was wondering could it be 2 bad clusters or the vss any help would be greatly appreciated. p.s. odometer is a must have i have to record milage for work
I am currently having the same problem with my '93 Civic DX. Worked fine yesterday (and everyday before) and then this morning it would stay at 0, pop up to my current speed for a half a second and drop back to zero. After doing this for a while, it all the sudden when up to my current speed and actually tracked my speed for about 15-30 seconds and then dropped to 0 and has not moved since. Odometer no longer works as well.
Was going to look at it tonight and let you know what to look at, but guess I am driving my co-worker's '77 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow home tonight to do the brakes. Will let you know when I have a chance to work on my speedo issue and what works or does not work.
A few places to start:
1. Unplug and clean the connections on the VSS (if you are not getting a CEL then this is probably not the problem, but does not hurt to try).
2. Check any of the harness wiring for rubbing/chafing.
3. Check the harness connections behind the cluster.
4. Chech the solder connections in the cluster itself, known to crack and sometimes can just be re-soldered.
5. If none of that works, look for a new cluster.
If the CEL pertains to the speedo sensor, ding ding ding, it's probably just the sensor located ontop of the transmission.
If CEL is NOT on....
Problem: The speedo doesn't work but the odometer works.
Solution: Replace the cluster or just replace the speedo gauge
Problem: The speedo doesn't work AND the odometer doesn't work.
Solution 1*: Bad Sensor - Replace the speedo sensor in the transmission.
*CEL should be on
Solution 2: Bad Gauge - Replace cluster or just replace the speedo gauge
IF Neither solution above fixed it.
Solution 3: Check all wiring from the sensor to the gauge. Because the signal is disrupted somewhere.
this usually happens when there is water in the VSS plug. It doesnt throw a CEL becaues its plugged in, but it creates a short which makes the speed read as 0. take out the VSS and dry/clean the terminals, that should fix your Speedometer problem. If not then you hvae a short in your VSS.
If the CEL pertains to the speedo sensor, ding ding ding, it's probably just the sensor located ontop of the transmission.
If CEL is NOT on....
Problem: The speedo doesn't work but the odometer works.
Solution: Replace the cluster or just replace the speedo gauge
Problem: The speedo doesn't work AND the odometer doesn't work.
Solution 1*: Bad Sensor - Replace the speedo sensor in the transmission.
*CEL should be on
Solution 2: Bad Gauge - Replace cluster or just replace the speedo gauge
IF Neither solution above fixed it.
Solution 3: Check all wiring from the sensor to the gauge. Because the signal is disrupted somewhere.
To add to this. My CEL was not on. My trip to work is only about 10-15 minutes each way. Today I had to take my pistons to the machine shop (for my '68 Montego/Ford 302) and it was about a 30 minute trip each way. After about 20-25 minutes my CEL would trip, but then after you turned off the car it would reset and no light would be on.
To confirm what was said, code number 17 is being thrown on my car (VSS). So if you have not taken your car on "longer" trips you might not have tripped the CEL yet.
i have a 95 civic DX hatchback and this might be a no brainer but recently i had an issue with alternator outputting 18+ volts and upgraded my 70 amp alternator to a 130 amp H/O one. i then traced down the short that caused my fuse to blow on park lights. Anyway all thats fixed however now my spedometer is not working and my SRS light is constantly on. any ideas?? my guages and other lights work fine.
Last edited by Steve Olive; 11-22-2016 at 11:26 PM.
Reason: forgot to mention year make and model
this usually happens when there is water in the VSS plug. It doesnt throw a CEL becaues its plugged in, but it creates a short which makes the speed read as 0. take out the VSS and dry/clean the terminals, that should fix your Speedometer problem. If not then you hvae a short in your VSS.
+1. Unplug VSS and spray sensor connector and harness connector with electronic cleaner/lube: (for ex: https://www.radioshack.com/products/...nt=20331824261) then reconnect. If, that doesn't work try a $15 junkyard VSS but make sure you match it up with the old one as there are some variences... transmission type specific and two different OEM manufacturers.
My speedometer doesn't work so the first thing I checked was the speed sensor but it looks just fine to me, I could be wrong though. I will try checking the soldering points on the back of the cluster and see if that's the issue.
11-01-2009, 05:13 PM
95 civic speedometer problems
