dukkhnter

My '88 Prelude (5 speed) started acting up on the way home from work today. The symptoms started as a slight hesitation while accelerating and them became more of a stutter or chugging while accelerating. Then the check engine light came on. I wasn't far from home so I just drove it the rest of the way. When I got home I checked the ECU codes and I am getting code 17 (Vehicle speed sensor).

Could the VSS going bad cause the described symptoms?

Anyone else had similar symptoms?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Brad Waite

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dukkhnter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My '88 Prelude (5 speed) started acting up on the way home from work today. The symptoms started as a slight hesitation while accelerating and them became more of a stutter or chugging while accelerating. Then the check engine light came on. I wasn't far from home so I just drove it the rest of the way. When I got home I checked the ECU codes and I am getting code 17 (Vehicle speed sensor).

Could the VSS going bad cause the described symptoms?

Anyone else had similar symptoms?

Thanks in advance for any help.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did you happen to notice whether the speedometer was doing anything when you first noticed the issue? You're describing *exactly* what happened to my '91 but my speedo dropped dead at the same time.

According to the service manual, you could have a bad ECU or just a bad connection on the VSS plug. I'd reseat the connector on the VSS and see if that helps. To be honest, everything I've read says that the VSS going out is a common issue and if it's acting up it'll go out soon.

The VSS should be above the passenger-side axle on the top of the tranny. I could barely see the sensor itself, but the plug shouldn't be too hard to find. It's got yellow, black and blue wires running to it. Here's a link to the shop man if you don't already have it:

http://media.honda.co.uk/car/o....html

The VSS location is shown on page 16-2.

HTH.

dukkhnter

My speedometer didn't drop dead, but it did maybe bounce a little. I took for a test drive the next day and it seemed alright. I drove it to work today and it had a couple of the little hesitations.

When you changed out the VSS did all the symptoms go away? I could see it being the VSS that effects the speedo, but it is weird for me that it causes the stuttering. Is the VSS simply Honda's name for a throttle position sensor?

What did the VSS cost you?

Thanks