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Vehicle speed sensor
Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2003 11:20 pm
by evolutionmovement
Was driving last night and after a few minutes over 80 mph, the CEL came on. When I slowed way down for a rotary it went out and didn't return until I was cruising at over 80 again. Went away on its own after another few minutes at relatively steady speed. Pulled the code under Read Memory to find 33 - Vehicle speed sensor. There are no driveability problems with this whatsoever - the car's running better if anything. Should I be worried about this becoming an issue in the future (like causing poor idle and take off from idle, perhaps?) or should I just leave it alone. CEL doesn't come on driving in traffic and speeds up to 50 to work and back. I don't feel like going through all the checks with a meter if I don't have to. Anyone have this issue before?
Steve
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2003 2:26 pm
by Legacy777
do you have an auto?
Over time, and if you continue to have problems with it, it will probably affect the shifting of the auto tranny.
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2003 8:26 pm
by evolutionmovement
That's what I figured it was for - to help the transmission determine shifting, but I have a manual. Still running fine, but the FSM says it can cause idle trouble. There was a slightly eratic idle at start up this morning, but the CEL wasn't on. Guess it's no big deal.
Steve
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:12 pm
by vrg3
I think the ECU also uses the VSS to decide when to turn on the radiator fan. If that functionality fails, it could be a big deal.
Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2003 10:50 pm
by evolutionmovement
Right. Forgot to mention the fans... Been keeping an eye on the temp all along (like pilots scan instruments) - below half mark as usual. It seems to take a hell of a lot to overheat these cars anyway.
Thanks.
Steve
Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2003 2:13 pm
by Legacy777
yeah forgot about fans too......mine were on all the time when my sensor was out, and it does affect idle some too.
Re: Vehicle speed sensor
Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 3:08 pm
by fishbone79
I know this is a long dead thread, but good info:
My speedo broke on Tuesday, no signal from the VSS caused CEL, fans to run constantly, weird idle (very high when cold, low when warm), random stalling and loss of power. This bad boy fixed the problem:
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... lebase.jpg
Never would have thought the VSS could make the car run like such complete crap.
Re: Vehicle speed sensor
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:23 pm
by sobe_death
Is that the transmission end of the cable?
Re: Vehicle speed sensor
Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:39 pm
by fishbone79
Yes, but it's a separate piece from the cable.
Re: Vehicle speed sensor
Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2012 3:58 am
by SaltyBeefCubes
Welp have somewhat if an update. I got all the gauges (gas,rpms, temp) to all work. However the
Mph and the odometer are still inoperable and the trans still won't shift out of first on its own. Are these by any chance related still?
Re: Vehicle speed sensor
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2012 5:48 pm
by Legacy777
Yes I would say they could be related. The speedometer is driven by a cable from the transmission, which in turn drives the odometer. Check to make sure the cable is not broken. There is a base piece on the transmission that typically breaks, and is pretty cheap & easy to replace.
Here's a picture of it.
http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... lebase.jpg