305civictyperaw

Guys,
I replaced my VSS about 2 months ago for one in working condition since my MPH needle wasnt working. I plugged the new one in and boom! everything was working fine. However, for the past 2 weeks or so the needle was bouncing around while trying to read the speed.

Last night, it decided to completely stop working. My RPM's are reading fine tho. I noticed there is corrosion inside the plug and VSS. Could this be it?
Im tired of spending money on things like this. please help!!!!

SpoonfedCivic

Check fuse # 15 under your dash, if it is out then you have a short in the engine harness under the bracket holding your intake manifold up. Hope this helps.

With the corrosion just get some electrical contact cleaner, it will clean that up.

305civictyperaw

thanks man. so the sensor might still be okay right? no need to buy one?

Tunerrr

If its fuse 15 then you are fine.
But I doubt you'll be that lucky.

305civictyperaw

okay. ill check it out on my lunch break, thnks

SpoonfedCivic

Fuse 15 is pretty common actually... It has happened to me on 2 different Civics. I would not worry about buying a new VSS just yet. Check the fuse first, after than then I would test the VSS to make sure it's getting power. Problem with most places, if you buy a VSS and it turns out to not be the problem. You just wasted $110 because they will not take it back. Happened to me...

305civictyperaw

damn that sucks. i have my old VSS also n its probably good too. how can i test it out to see if its good?

do i just tap the metal pieces on the sensor to see if it lights up?

SpoonfedCivic

I'm sure somebody else could chime in on this one better than myself. But if you jack the car up to where the front wheels are off the ground. And get a voltmeter, I "think" you should get a 12v reading. And if the VSS is working and the wheels are in motion while off the ground, the VSS will "pulse" and send intermittent reading. If it is doing that, then the VSS is fine. But that is only what I've heard so maybe somebody else can chime in on this who has actually done it.

SpoonfedCivic

One thing to keep in mind that a lot of people forget to think about is, always start with the simple and work your way up to the more complicated. I find if you keep that mind set and check the simple possible problems first, and work your way up the latter. You can save time and money, because at least for me it is typically something simple that is wrong.

305civictyperaw

i appreciate the input n thats exactly what i will do. i will start by checkin fuse 15 in a few mins and get back to u guys with the outcome

DSMAddicted

Guys... I've had similar issues on my Hatch.
Is this fuse 15 issue common for 92-95 Civics as well?

Thanks,

-Walter

305civictyperaw

just came back from the car. FUSE 15 is good!

SpoonfedCivic

I would test the VSS then.

305civictyperaw

can i just tap the voltmeter onto the sensor with the ignition open or do i have to jack it up like u stated in post# 8?

SpoonfedCivic

I could be wrong, that is why I hope somebody who knows for sure would respond to this. But to my understanding, the wheels need to be moving to know if the VSS is fully working. Because when the wheels are moving the VSS will, "pulse" in voltage signifying that it is working properly.

305civictyperaw

yeah it makes sense. thanks for the input

SpoonfedCivic

Good luck friend, if your VSS checks out okay the next thing I would do is see if you can borrow a known working gauge cluster from a friend. Install it in your car and see if it works or not. After that then the only thing I can think of is a wiring issue. Get a wiring diagram for both the engine harness and the cabin harness. Start tracing wires and hope you find your culprit.

305civictyperaw

sounds good. thanks!

DSMAddicted

I've always had "bad speedometer needle performance".
I too went through changing the VSS with a brand new one.

In my case, it was the actual speedometer. When I changed my entire cluster, it worked much better (but still likes to get stuck every now and then).

-Walter

94BlkCivicEx

My way of fixing this annoying problem was just getting a GPS that reads your MPH ha works just the same, and doesn't have a VSS to go out on ya

305civictyperaw

yeah but my vtec stopped workin cause of this i can careless how fast im going

EGgmannate81

Did you swap in a new VSS or a used one? The new swapped one could have went bad as well. Try a friends VSS if you have a friend that has one.