Okay, so awhile back, when my VSS failed, I got a code 17. Eventually i got around to replacing the VSS, that was almost 6 months ago. Duralast unit. Worked great. Only off by 1 or 2 mph from the satellite. Today, the CEL popped on again. I listened closely for any strange sounds. None. Gauges were clear. 14.1 volts, a little under half on the coolant temp, etc. When i got home i jumped the service connector. Another code 17. In these six months I have unplugged the battery many times, and even scanned the thing about 4 weeks ago, with no codes. The speedometer works fine. No jumpiness, very accurate. Odometer works too. I shut the car off, drove it later. No CEL at start, but after a few miles it came on again. Got to work, jumped the service connector, code 17. So i opened the hood to look at the connector. There wasn't any water on the plug, the plug was seated firmly in the unit, so I don't know what it is.

Please help.

1995 Civic EX D16z6 5 speed.

 

Where the wires go into the plug are they still good ? they're known to get corroded/dry rot. my 2nd suggestion grab one from a pick n pull any 5MT one from a 94-01 teg or 92-00 civic will work and more too afaik but don't quote me on that.

 

It was hard to see, and due to all this snow/sludge/melted snow it seemed to be covered with sludge. But as far as I know the connector wires are not frayed. One was green i think. Maybe all this humidity and fog messing with stuff?

 

wipe it off and see you never know sludge and salt will take a toll on the wires/plug in time.

 

I'm gonna get up in there tomorrow and use an airhose to blast that **** out. Remove the VSS and clean it, sand down the tranny around it, etc etc. then reset the ecu. Hey can i just unplug the ecu from the car rather than the battery? or is that a bad idear?

 

that or pull the 15/7.5A fuse out from the under the hood fuse box.

 

Oh **** i forgot about that. That's even easier. Sure beats undoing all the ground wires i have rigged up to the battery, then setting the clock and stereo back up.

 

If the connector is green moisture is getting inside the plug and corroding them. It's really common on these connectors to either get moisture in there or for the wires to corrode. You might be able to get away with just taking a wire brush and using some electrical connector cleaner.

 

I said I THOUGHT one of the wires going into the plug was green, but wasn't sure. IDK what all this is that you said.

 

You do know your basic colors correct? I'll break it down for you since evidently you can't read plain English.

UNPLUG VSS CONNECTOR
SPRAY ELECTRICAL CLEANER INSIDE
IF NEED BE REMOVE THE PINS AND BRUSH THEM OFF WITH A WIRE BRUSH
CHECK THE WIRES TO SEE IF THEY ARE BROKEN OR CORRODED
THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH VSS PLUGS

Seriously since you've entered this forum you've contributed nothing but complaining, whining and trolling. That might work with your crap threads in GDD but in this sub forum we are actually here to help people and add something to the community. Try it sometime or peace out.

 

I applaud you sir!

Anytime this issue has happened to me, it has indeed been the plug, just as said above.

 

THE PLUG IS FINE, THE WIRES ARE NOT BROKEN.
like i said. the speedo works fine.

I had a duralast unit in, so I decided I may as well replace it under warranty. Lifetime warranties rock. I reset the ECU and no CEL thus far.

 

Did you remove the white clip in the connector to see if the pins are clean? It's only going to throw that code for a few reasons. One is that the connector is bad and even though the speedometer works it will throw the code after a few errors due to improper voltage readings.

 

If it gives me more issues i will do that. By replacing the VSS I have ruled out the VSS as the cause if I get another code 17. The metal contacts in the plug werent' brand new, but they certainly didn't look dirty.

 

The VSS sends the speed signal to three components - the speedometer, the cruise control unit, and the ECU. Code 17 is only thrown when the ECU does not receive the speed signal. Therefore, code 17 could be thrown if the speedometer/odometer works fine but the ECU does not receive the speed signal.

 

So I need to rip out the harness and inspect the wire from the VSS to the ECU?

 

no just get a test light and find the signal "pin" on the ecu and use the testlight on it, or a multi-meter.

 

The wire of interest is the section of Yel/Blu wire that uniquely branches to the ECU. Use a multimeter to test for an intermittent open in connectors of that section, including the ECU connector. I don't have detailed circuit diagrams for your car, so I can't tell you exactly which specific connectors to focus on.

 

This will be quite hard, because in order to detect an open in the wire I will have to rig up my test light to stay in one spot while attached to the wires, and then drive around, while looking at the test light. Also, I'm quite uneasy at messing with the wires on my ECU, because i have no experience with that, and I'm afeard that I will mess some **** up. Is there a better way to do this? Do i even need to drive around?

 

First off, you would only test for an open when code 17 is thrown. When this happens, unplug the VSS and the ECU connectors and use a multimeter (not a test light) to test for continuity between the 2 connectors with the key off. There are other tests to do, but this is where you'd start.

 

Okay. So I'd stick a long *** wire in the ECU, and a long *** wire in the VSS, and touch them together at the mutlimeter. But which port in the ECU? I'm guessing there's only one blue/yellow wire running to the ECU? So i would just find that port, right?

 

The ECU connector terminal is B10 (Yel/Blu wire).

The VSS connector terminal is for the Yel/Wht wire.

You could ground the Yel/Wht wire terminal to the transmission and then test for continuity to body ground at B10.

 

Well, now I'm screwed. The CEL came on tonight, and the speedo stopped working completely. IDK what's wrong. I'm gonna have to figure this one out because I don't have a multimeter.

 

Get an inexpensive multimeter at Harbor Freight Tools.

But your new observation slightly changes the diagnosis. As mentioned, the VSS connector may be bad or there's a short in the circuit. In both cases, the multimeter should help pinpoint the issue.

 

That's why i replaced the VSS under warranty. i figured it would be a surefire way to rule it out. Also, someone mentioned earlier that there are metal tabs? Are these the metal tabs that are visible when you look inside the plug? Or do I have to take apart the plug itself to reach these alleged metal tabs? I'm thinking of the contacts. if that's the case, I can remove the plug and clean the tabs with electrical connector cleaner. Otherwise, wouldn't it just be cheaper to replace the plug than to buy a multimeter and THEN replace the plug?