I've got a 92 civic hatchback, 1.5b7 motor, automatic. heres what its doing I can put it in drive and accelerate but it has a hard time shifting out into 2nd, 3rd, and 4th!!! I literally have to almost redline it before it'll shift out into the next gear, and it's also downshifting to soon. I tried starting out in 1st and manual shifting and its the same scenerio will not shift out unless in a high rev. I'm totally stumped, Ive searched over and over and have found nothing. PLEASE HELP ME!!!!! Could it be a vss, shift solenoid, ?????????? it doesn't slip or anything, fluid is nice and pink no dirt or shavings. Also my speedo stopped working, all other gauges are working properly.

 

Is the CEL ON? Do you pull code 17 and possibly other codes? If so, fix the VSS problem and also consider draining and refilling the transmission with Honda or Honda-recommended ATF.

 

It comes on periodically, I was goin to run a jumper and read it but whe i turn the car off into the accessory position the lite goes off???? And i can't run the jumper to read it while its running can i?

 

You can jump the connector with the engine still running.

 

I checked it and got #17 VSS would that cause it to shift like it does?

 

Well yes. Proper gear shifting by the transmission depends on the ECU knowing the car's speed, which is determined by the VSS atop the transmission. Repairing the VSS or its circuit should solve your gear shifting problems.

 

thanx bro.

 

ok i replaced the VSS and no codes now, but speedo still doesn't work and tranny still shifting like crap. Any other ideas????

 

Does the odometer also not work?

The facts that the speedo doesn't work and that the transmission shifting is off suggest that the ECM/PCM is still not receiving the VSS signal. The next step is to troubleshoot the VSS circuit:

 

yeh the odometer doesn't work either.

 

There's still a problem with the VSS circuit. The diagrams in my previous post show you how to troubleshoot.

 

to check the ground do i just use a test lite and have the car off?

 

With key off, use a multimeter to check for continuity (= no resistance = low Ohms) to body ground.

 

Ive got a multimeter but idk how to even use it. hahaha, I put the red lead in the end of the harness on the black wire and then touched the ground to a chassis bolt???

 

it just acts like it doesn't want to shift out until i rev the hell out of it, like at least 5500 I'll let off the gas and it'll just stay in the gear and when it does shift its hella hard.

 

That's correct. What was the Ohm reading? What scale?

 

it wasnt anything constant it'd bounce up and down.

 

Did you set the multimeter to measure resistance? What scale? Repeat the test and be sure to hold the probes steady.

 

I set it on "ohms" is that correct? It said to start it at 200??

 

Yes, set the multimeter to Ohms. Set at the lowest scale, for example 20 Ohms if possible. Hold the probes firmly against the connector terminal and ground to get a steady reading. The thermostat housing is a ground source. Post the Ohm reading.

 

thanx for all you help. And i'll check it again and post it

 

ok I set the multimeter on 20k being the lowest ohm setting, placed the red lead on the black wire pin in the harness and then held the black lead on the thermostat housing to ground it and it read 0.00

 

can i run another ground and splice into the harness?

 

The resistance measurement for a good ground wire should be close to 0 Ohms, suggesting that your VSS ground wire is okay. Nonetheless, you probably used the highest Ohm scale in your test: 20K = 20,000 Ohm scale. To verify that the VSS ground wire is good, redo the test using the lowest Ohm scale (Do you have a 20 Ohm scale?). If the resistance is close to 0 Ohms, then the ground wire is fine so move to the next test in the diagram.

 

I checked the yel/blue wire and it was 12.34 or something close to that. and on my meter it says, 2000k, 200k, 20k, 2000, 200 for the ohms, and do i use the DCV or ACV to check yel/blue and yellow?