i have an 89 sedan, swapped in a 90 b18a and ecu, with cable tranny. cel is on because i do no have a vss. it is a mechanical speedo. is there any way other then pulling the bulb to shut off the cel. i guess is there a way to chip or progam ecu to not look for the vss signal?

 

Simple solution. Put the speed sensor back in. Why are you runnng without one? Don't you find it odd to not to know what speed you are traveling at???

 

he has one...but its a mechanical cable not an electronic sensor unit. therefore he has a cel for it.

 

if you have the ecu from a 90 teg there shouldnt be a cel for the vss...90 tegs are cable drivien speedos

 

It might not be obvious at this moment, but these are the questions that get you to your solution.

Does your speedo work?
Did you swap clusters?

 

speedo works just fine. stock cluster from 89 civic. i just bought another motor with the stock ls harness so i might try to finagle in the sensor and kill my speedo?

 

Since your speedo works, then it's an easy fix.
On the back of the cluster where the speedo cable attaches to the back of the cluster there is a ring.
This is the pulser that sends the speed sensor signal through a Yellow wire to pin B16 on the ECU.
If you have done any work behind the dash or at the ECU then you may have cut it.

Do a continuity check from the back of the cluster to the pin on the ECU.

Also check grounds at the cluster.
The speed sensor sends a 'ground' pulse to the ECU.
As the sensor rotates, it closes a 'switch'.
One side of the 'switch' goes to ECU and the other side to ground.
If the ground wire is not properly attached to ground then no signal gets sent.


Don't just remove the bulb for the CEL.
Your car will run MUCH better if you properly clear this particular code.

 

^^ he speaks da troof!

 

and this is why i love this site. thank you for helping in this matter. i will check into this tonight when i get home.

 

buuut his cluster is cable driven....no wiring going to the ecu for a speedo

 

You are incorrect, maybe if you read a lil and educated yourself, he explains what, where, and why... The cable driven vss still sends a signal to the ECU to tell it the speed at which the car is traveling.

 

hmmm....if i remove my speedo cable. im def not gonna get a cel for it in my si cluster..weirdd

 

perhaps cause i have a pm6 and not a pr3....

 

What? It doesn't matter what ECU you have.
All of them get a signal for speed.

There are two systems for getting this signal to the ECU.
The cable driven version uses a gear assembly in the tranny to spin a cable drive.
This cable drive snakes through to the back of the instrument cluster and plugs into the back of the speedo.
If you take off your cluster you will see a round sensor - this is the speed pulser - that sends a signal to the ECU.

The other version is the tranny mounted VSS.
This has the gear assembly in the tranny just like the cable version, but it also has the equivalent of the speed pulser built right into it.
No cable is needed and there isn't a speed pulser on the back of the cluster.
The signal is sent directly to the ECU and splices to another wire that goes to the cluster.
Obviously the cluster needs to be swapped out for one that has a speedo that uses the wire with VSS signal rather than a cable drive.

 

Yes you will.
You will get a code 17 on the ECU too.

 

4drEF would know considering he had a HUD installed in his car. Thank you for explaining because I'd have gone off on the n00b... lolz

 

so does anybody have a pick of this ring. i just pulled the cluster, and i do not have anything on the back it. just the cable going into the cluster with the clip on the cable.