Hi all, new to the forum. I have had a 2000 Toyo Tundra V8 and tired of paying $85 each time to fill up and getting 16mpg I decided to get a used Civic. I have had 2 other Civics before the truck (81 hatch and 89 hatch) which were awesome cars. Also had an 89 Prelude. My family has had around a dozen or more Hondas since the early 80's and my wife and dad both currently drive Pilots.

Having said that I was really looking forward to the day my mechanic buddy found a 92 LX 5spd. He had to replace the head on it as one of the pistons weren't firing. Got it running, replaced the timing and did several things to it.

I have some problems and have been able to read up on the car running rich and am thinking that even though he replaced the wires I think he needs to go with new plugs and maybe even distr. cap. Anyways, I have read plenty on that so unless you have more ideas, that's not the answer that I am looking for.

The speedometer didn't work and actually the needle would go all the way around to the other side of zero. I bought another VSS off ebay (new) and the needle is now at zero. Every once in a while the needle will start working and appear that it is keeping the right speed but it seemed a little high. Using my GPS unit it looks like the speedometer is registering almost 5 mph too high. Then the needle goes back to zero and the odometer and trip meter stop working also.

I read a post on Honda Tech.com http://www.honda-tech.com/zeropost?cmd=tshow&id=2280567 and I found one post that instead of replacing the whole instrument cluster, I can replace just the chip. Here is what he said:
when speedometer is bouncing i say it's the chip located behind the speedometer. many will tell you it's the vss, but you can also check that first. barrow a spare from someone, see if that fixes it. but in my experience every time it bounces, it's the chip, when a vss goes bad it stops working all together.
the chip is easy replaceable, you do not need to change your original mileage at all. you just find a cluster from a 92-95 honda civic. does not matter what model or trim. you then remove the chip behind the speedometer and replace it with the one on your speedometer. clip behind the speedometer req u to take out ur clustr and take it apart to replace the chip

Can someone confirm this for me? He has a diagram showing what it looks like but I want to hear from someone else that has done this. Let me know what you think. I tried calling the dealer and they said there is a printed circuit board and gave me a part number that he said was it. Costs around $60.

 

there is a small piece of equipment that goes into the transmission that checks the speed. i forget what its called and where its located but thats the culprit. that or the wiring that goes into it. umm.. check your transmission, there will be a black thing that goes in, one bolt holding it down and right on top goes a plug with 3 wires. its called a speed sensor. check on that.

its this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/96-00...spagenameZWDVW

 

Hey just as a follow up on this. I got a new VSS and swapped it out. Still intermittent speedo. Went and got an instrument cluster, opened the back and there was a chip as I mentioned above. 3 screws and some plastic pins holding it in place. Swapped with the one in my Civic, and it works great! The one thing I have noticed is that it's about 3 mph off (according to my GPS). I've read that this is common with Civics. Any thoughts on that?

 

^First of all good job on the fix :goodjob: and nice of you to follow up in case someone has a similar problem.

It's normal for most cars on the road to read a little high on their speedometer, to my knowledge. At higher speeds, even tire wear can have a considerable effect.

 

Be happy that you are only 3mph off.

I have been trying to figure out my problem for a while. I am 4mph off at 35mph (35=39mph) and 7mph off at 75mph (75=82mph). I also gain about 1/10 of a mile per mile.

It is a pain having to do math every time I drive. Odd to me that an all stock 93 Si would do this.


michael

 

Personally I wouldn't trust most GPS units to be the final answer for speed accuracy. Depending on how many satellites you're talking with, the accuracy of your location (and speed) can vary as well as the quality of the unit overall.

If you're curious about how accurate your car is traveling, try checking your odometer against the federal mile markers that are on highways to see how much it might vary between the two.