dhoop

1993 Del Sol S, 5 sp., stock. 148k miles. The speedometer/odometer stop working after about a 1/2 hr, especially after being up on the interstate and running @ 70-75 for 15-20 miles. The tach & fuel/temp gauges aren't affected. Park the car for 1/2 hr and it's ok again. So far, I've replaced the VSS with a new one, switched out the speedo cluster, checked all the fuses... anyone experience anything similar?

NotAJDMFanBoy

I had an issue with corrosion and the plug not staying in very well so I cut the end off and soldered 3 new pins on and put a new plug on and it fixed my problem. Look for corrosion, clean it and try again?

The speedo has 3 wires. a ground, 5 volt input, and a signal wire that is either 5 volts or 0 volts and it runs through the harness to the driver's side shock tower plug, under the dash and splits and goes to the cluster and ecu. Just trace the wires and look for a short or open somewhere using a multi meter and wiggling the wire around maybe?

dhoop

Sounds good. I suspect the wiring harness as a previous owner buggered the radio harness when installing an aftermarket radio.

Former User

Intermittent problems are the worst. Nevertheless, stop randomly replacing parts and start doing some electrical troubleshooting. Do tests only when the problem is occurring.

NotAJDMFanBoy

That's a good idea to test when the issue is happening, but when it's very intermittent, that can be a pain. My speedometer worked perfectly and after sitting a week while sorting out an ignition problem, it started acting flaky. Wet weather made it not work, I'd hit a bump and it would either start working or stop, I'd turn the car off and when I turn it on it would work or stop working, or completely randomly start or stop...

I run Hondata, so I was able to see that the ecu wasn't registering any VSS reading. If you have VTEC, it won't work without the VSS working.

Checking the contacts on the plug and checking for a good ground and 5 volts to the plug was where I started and worked my way back to the distributor. These are almost 20 year old cars, corrosion isn't uncommon.



The VSS wiring is not near the radio wiring, it runs through the engine harness and the thick under dash harness. The radio has it's own subharness if memory serves me right.

dhoop

Just took a look at Hondata. Very impressive but pricey. I hope to keep this D Sol as stock as possible and while the Hdata could be worthwhile, I'm going to weigh a trip to a Honda dealer. NotAJDMF is right about corrosion, though. I'm close to the Gulf and the salt air affects a lot of electrical things beyond auto issues. Hiding in there somewhere is a corroded connection, I suspect.

sidsick65

Im have somewhat of the same problem. the speedo has not worked since I got the car 93 eg coupe, gsr engine/trans. replace the vss and the cluster. was testing the three wires that go to the vss. black, black-yellow and orange. you guys say that I only should get 5volts to the sensor? I tested 12v on the orange and the solid black was ground and the black-yellow strip was jumping 8v to 10v. Is the ecu bad? Im stumped I have pin out chart, wire diagrams what should I test next? today out of nowhere the speedo started jumping around like crazy and it worked for like 10 seconds. this is the only time it ever worked. checked gounds, plug ends for corrosion.

sidsick65

can anyone help me out?

EsotericImage

iTrader: (8)

Start your own thread and dont threadjack

grsmnky06

does it set a cel when the speedo starts acting up?

i had quite a few problems related to this. the speedo not working was just the first. i was getting a vss cel code. i forget what the cel code is for vss but google it for honda technical service bulletins. it basically tells you that the aluminum bracket under the intake manifold that the engine harness sits in is known to rub through a wire or 2 and blow a fuse under the dash which controls the vss signal, alt output, and eld. i would start there.

suge-tafari

The connection is probably just loose behind the transmission. They have a tendency to rattle off under vibration