Home › Forums › Stay Dirty Lounge › The EricTheCarGuy Video Forum › P0501 1998 Civic Speed Sensor Diagnosis
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November 5, 2012 at 7:42 pm #474294
If you have comments about this video feel free to share them here. Yes I did top off the oil before it left.
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November 5, 2012 at 9:33 pm #474309
At the beginning of this video you said someone commented that you should be saying “viewers” plural instead of “viewer” singular. Technically they are wrong or at the very least, it can be done both ways. Since this is the internet and we are not collectively viewing this together but individually, you may address your audience in the singular form because I am viewing it alone and am in fact one person. My perception is that you are speaking to me therefore I am the “Viewer” and not the “Viewers”. What a small thing for this person or persons to criticize about. Anyway, keep up the good work, this is an awesome channel or is that “Channels” lol. Stay Dirty!! 😛
November 6, 2012 at 2:15 am #474375Yea it’s funny I got that comment. To me it doesn’t matter as long as people are watching and enjoy the videos. Thanks for your input.
November 6, 2012 at 5:12 am #474554You say it’s a common problem, would you think the problem is usually the corrosion? How about packing some silicone in there before you plug it?
November 6, 2012 at 7:31 pm #474792Viewers Vs Viewer, it’s rather anal, lets just say I don’t care!
Another fine video though.
November 7, 2012 at 2:13 am #474851Many have suggested the silicone in the connector. To be honest this is the first time I’ve seen corrosion be the cause of a problem like this and I may have been the cause. When I looked at the connector when I first removed it it looked like the rubber was not properly positioned, I suppose it’s possible that when I put the engine in one of those times that seal may have been dislocated. There is a version of the video on this site for Premium Members where I cover in detail my repair of the connector and I believe when I was done I got the rubber seal in the correct location to keep out contaminants. Time will tell I suppose.
November 7, 2012 at 7:09 am #474917Hi Eric, long time viewer, first time poster here.
I just thought that I would share my experience with a similar issue on my ’95 Honda Civic EX automatic. My speedometer was always either bouncing around, working fine, or not working at all at random for a long time. I had cleaned the sensor plug hoping it was that and I wouldn’t have to shell out money for a new sensor. After the issue persisting, I discovered that if I pushed or tapped the trip reset button while moving, the behavior would always change (mostly it would start working fine again for a few miles) but that obviously wasn’t a permanent fix so I tore into the dash. To my suprise, I did not find any loose wires or cracked solders. However, behind the speedometer there are pins (8 I believe) that connect the speedometer to the circuit board. I believe that the pins had just become too worn to maintain proper connection. I tried dielectric grease, bending them slightly both of which worked but only for a few months at a time. I finally ended up going to pull-a-part and purchasing a new (to me) speedometer for $15 and haven’t had any trouble since. I thought that this information may become useful to someone wants to eliminate one more possibility before they shell out close to $100 on a sensor that they may or may not need.
Thanks and Stay Dirty my friendsNovember 7, 2012 at 4:49 pm #474933What kind of grease do you use on the o ring?
November 7, 2012 at 9:02 pm #474973[quote=”mcconnell.202″ post=36865]Hi Eric, long time viewer, first time poster here.
I just thought that I would share my experience with a similar issue on my ’95 Honda Civic EX automatic. My speedometer was always either bouncing around, working fine, or not working at all at random for a long time. I had cleaned the sensor plug hoping it was that and I wouldn’t have to shell out money for a new sensor. After the issue persisting, I discovered that if I pushed or tapped the trip reset button while moving, the behavior would always change (mostly it would start working fine again for a few miles) but that obviously wasn’t a permanent fix so I tore into the dash. To my suprise, I did not find any loose wires or cracked solders. However, behind the speedometer there are pins (8 I believe) that connect the speedometer to the circuit board. I believe that the pins had just become too worn to maintain proper connection. I tried dielectric grease, bending them slightly both of which worked but only for a few months at a time. I finally ended up going to pull-a-part and purchasing a new (to me) speedometer for $15 and haven’t had any trouble since. I thought that this information may become useful to someone wants to eliminate one more possibility before they shell out close to $100 on a sensor that they may or may not need.
Thanks and Stay Dirty my friends[/quote]Yea this is the other possibility. 2 things though. The first is that in your situation you won’t get a P0501 because the speed sensor IS sending a good signal. The second test in that situation which I wish I would have mentioned in the video now was to try and set the cruise control. If the cruise control sets then the sensor is NOT the problem, if it doesn’t’ set then the speed sensor is the problem or it’s wiring. There are some known issues with those clusters similar to what you describe but not as common as bad speed sensors themselves in my experience.
November 7, 2012 at 9:05 pm #474977[quote=”aaronac8″ post=36878]What kind of grease do you use on the o ring?[/quote]
I would not recommend using grease as grease would actually break the ‘o’ ring down. If you did use something I suppose silicone paste or dielectric grease which is made for that application. That said I don’t think you need to put anything in there at all so long as the ‘o’ ring is properly positioned, that IS it’s function after all. As I stated in another post I think the reason this one had issue was because of me when I took the engine and transmission out.
November 7, 2012 at 9:26 pm #474992[quote=”EricTheCarGuy” post=36901][quote=”aaronac8″ post=36878]What kind of grease do you use on the o ring?[/quote]
I would not recommend using grease as grease would actually break the ‘o’ ring down. If you did use something I suppose silicone paste or dielectric grease which is made for that application. That said I don’t think you need to put anything in there at all so long as the ‘o’ ring is properly positioned, that IS it’s function after all. As I stated in another post I think the reason this one had issue was because of me when I took the engine and transmission out.[/quote]
I meant the o ring on the speed sensor, not the connectorNovember 8, 2012 at 2:11 am #475144You could use grease there, I just used a little silicone paste.
November 8, 2012 at 6:55 am #475235Makes sense that you may have created an issue with the connector when you did the engine swap rather than an inherent moisture problem. Any theories as to why these sensors fail fairly regularly on a Honda? I would guess that the sensor is a hall effect device so no moving parts on the pickup itself. At one time a VSS used a reed switch activated by a magnet, they seemed to be reliable.
November 13, 2012 at 7:10 pm #476603[quote=”SludgeMan” post=37048]Makes sense that you may have created an issue with the connector when you did the engine swap rather than an inherent moisture problem. Any theories as to why these sensors fail fairly regularly on a Honda? I would guess that the sensor is a hall effect device so no moving parts on the pickup itself. At one time a VSS used a reed switch activated by a magnet, they seemed to be reliable.[/quote]
Honestly, probably a bad run of them. Keep in mind Honda doesn’t make every part for the vehicle, the purchase from outside vendors. If the design specs weren’t right or there was a problem in production it would become what we call a “pattern failure”. I suspect this speed sensor issue is a classic case of this.
June 25, 2014 at 5:31 pm #601762Do I need to disconnect the battery when I replace the speed sensor?
June 27, 2014 at 2:53 pm #602149[quote=”abianco” post=102198]Do I need to disconnect the battery when I replace the speed sensor?[/quote]
As long as the key is off you should be fine.
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