it works when it wants to.
its an aftermarket cluster but i dont know what brand, was on the car when i bought it. rpm/fuel work, just not the speedometer. i already took it apart and the cables to the cluster are fine
what do i need to do?

 

what year and make and model car? duh

 

one of my friend's integra speedo did that (gsr cluster in an LS integra). we had a spare vss that was known to be good, and that didn't change anything. i think that particular speedo was sticking or something. yours sounds similar. take out the speedo itself (out of the cluster) and check to make sure nothing is crapped up in there.
also, if you have vtec, does it ever not engage?

 

Check the connector to the VSS. Make sure it's not damaged and tight. Just take it off and put it back on and make sure it clicks in. My speedometer use to do that, but that was because the connecto to the VSS is damage and the ground kepted getting loose and popping out of the connector itself.

 

my EJ2 did this, changed the cluster, it works fine now

 

oh sorry, its a 93 civic coupe ex 1.6l sohc i dont think its vtec, but i'm not sure.

 

its just my work car(delivery for pizza hut) i own a cobalt but i put too many miles on it, so i bought this car for 500

 

lol if it's stock, it has vtec. should be a d16z6 motor, but anyway....
once it warms up, does it rev limit at around 7200, or early around 5800? if it limits early, vtec isnt engaging, and the ecu isn't getting a signal from the vss (this is all assuming you aren't throwing a CEL code). if vtec engages all the time no problem, it's most likely your cluster

edit: shouldnt he be throwing code 17 if the vss was messing up at all?

 

no i can hit 7k easy. like i said though i took it out and it plugs in fine and everything. occasionally the speed comes on but its mostly off. where does the other end plug into? the tranny? maybe thats loose. because one time the second i shifted into third(which btw the synchro is messed up on, grinds unless i rev to 3k before putting it in) it went off.

 

sounds like you got a bad connection somewhere in the vss wiring my old hatch did the same until i swaped out the harness

 

Mine is still like this, everything but the speedo. I took it to the shop because i couldnt figure it out and they said it is either the wiring harness for that is fried or the speed sensor itself is fried