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Eric,
I have a speedometer on my 1997 Honda Civic DX 5SP 16B7Y that works intermittently. While driving, the speedometer will register and then intermittently drops out. There are no DTC’s reported on OBD-II. The car has 229K Miles.Would you “shotgun” this?
1) Assume it’s the vehicle speed sensor and replace it. If that does not cure it,
2) Replace the instrument cluster.Are there any tests to verify the vss is functional?
If I have to replace the instrument cluster, can I upgrade and get one that has an RPM gauge?
Do you know how to transfer the mileage from my old odometer to the new/used one?BTW. Thanks for the P0501 1998 Honda Civic Speed Sensor Diagnosis video that covers the “Dancing Speedometer” case. But this is not exactly the problem that I’m having.
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A quick easy test is to hook up a scan tool and watch the live data. If the ECU is getting the speed it will show when you are driving the car by seeing if the scan tool shows the speed. This will let you know if your Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) is working properly…
But if your VSS is giving you proper speed to the scan tool and your speedometer isn’t working, then chances are your problem is in the speedometer itself (or around it)
Karl
[quote=”ToyotaKarl” post=86573]A quick easy test is to hook up a scan tool and watch the live data. If the ECU is getting the speed it will show when you are driving the car by seeing if the scan tool shows the speed. This will let you know if your Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) is working properly…
But if your VSS is giving you proper speed to the scan tool and your speedometer isn’t working, then chances are your problem is in the speedometer itself (or around it)
Karl[/quote]
+1 on using the can tool to check the reading. Also know that VSS sensors on those vehicles go out all the time.
I have an update to this topic …
1) As ToyotaKarl points out, if the Vehicle Speed Sensor is OK, you can plug-in an OBD-II scanner with live data and it is able to display vehicle speed even though the instrument cluster’s MPH (or KM/h) has stopped displaying properly (wrong display, dancing or no display).
2) If there is a trouble code on the OBD-II scanner P0500, P0501, P0502 or P0503 it’s like that the VSS is not OK.
In my case, the VSS was fine and I needed to replace the instrument cluster.
I previously mentioned that my 97 Honda Civic is a DX with a manual transmission. Its instrument panel does not have an RPM gauge. I ordered a 96-00 Honda Civic MT EX instrument cluster (used) with the RPM gauge with 10K more miles. The new-used cluster has the same two (blue) connectors on top and the same yellow connector on the bottom, but it has an additional square green connector. A little research told me the green connector is for connecting the cruise control. The car’s wiring harness only has the two blue connectors and the yellow connector. There’s no cruise control on the DX model. I hooked-up the three connectors and it works like a champ.
I made a label indicating the date the odometer was replaced and the mileage reading at the time on the old odometer and the new odometer, and affixed the label on the driver’s door frame. When I sell my car, I will have to disclose that the mileage on the odometer is not the actual mileage of the car.
See FEDERAL ODOMETER REGULATIONS. 49 CFR 580. 814-824
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?rgn=div5&node=49:7.1.1.1.9
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