mikaleda Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Okay this is strange one, my mom has this 91 legacy (2.2 auto) and the speedometer went out. It works up to about 20 mph and then drops off, the check engine lights will come on and comes up with a code 33 vehical speed sensor code. The speedometer is cable driven on this year (yes I visually checked this) and I assume that the VSS and the speedo going out are connected since they happened at the same time. What I don't get is I thought the cars with a cable driven speedo didn't have a VSS and even if they did I didn't think it would affect the speedo. I would appreciate some insight on this, I'm going to try and look this up on identifix tomorrow at work and see what I come up with, but I would still like to get a thread going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolskaterkid Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 (edited) It has a speed sensor in the gauge cluster, dont know wht its affecting the speedo, its partly controls the idle air control to let the ecu know car coming to a stop. check the speedo cable also. Edited August 28, 2013 by coolskaterkid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodsWagon Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 VSS is in the speedo head. So when the cable broke/gear stripped/whatever went wrong and the speedometer stopped working, the vss stopped sending a signal to the computer, so that's what sets the code. Hopefully just the cable is broken, because if the gear stripped inside the transmission it requires a complete dissasembly to replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 if the cable turns when the wheels turn, i think it is more likely that the speedo head (w/VSS) is bad. replace it. they used that type 90 - 94?, in the lego. i know the 95 lego did not have a speedo cable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted August 28, 2013 Author Share Posted August 28, 2013 (edited) im going to start with the cable, but i think that the speedo head is toast since it was working a little. the speedo doesnt work at all now i really doubt the speedo gear is stripped in the trans, thats really uncommon Edited August 28, 2013 by mikaleda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted August 28, 2013 Share Posted August 28, 2013 Here are some pictures of a disassembled gauge cluster. You can see where the reed switch (VSS) is located behind the speedometer and where the cable hooks up. They may be useful if you need to take it apart. http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/combmeter/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolskaterkid Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I have a 90 gauge cluster You can have for shipping has 224k miles on it, from an auto. hopfull y just the cable. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 I have a 90 gauge cluster You can have for shipping has 224k miles on it, from an auto. hopfull y just the cable. good luck nice, thank you. i may do that if the cable doesnt fix the problem, ill find out tomorow, hopefully. not quite sure when ill get to this car since my step dads plow truck just lost the rear end and thats more of a priority than my mom having a speedomiter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolskaterkid Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 nice, thank you. i may do that if the cable doesnt fix the problem, ill find out tomorow, hopefully. not quite sure when ill get to this car since my step dads plow truck just lost the rear end and thats more of a priority than my mom having a speedomiter Also have a speedo cable i could yank out of a donor car, if it would help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 (edited) i have not done a speedo and / or a cable 90 - 94, but i'd be willing to bet that the speedo is easier to replace. i know you can replace one in a 95 in less than an hour. when you do the cable , i would try and lube it before install. Edited August 29, 2013 by johnceggleston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubieTrav Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 which picture shows the VSS. Here are some pictures of a disassembled gauge cluster. You can see where the reed switch (VSS) is located behind the speedometer and where the cable hooks up. They may be useful if you need to take it apart. http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/combmeter/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 i would not bother swapping just the VSS in the speedo head. just swap the whole thing. and if you are worried about the mileage on the odo, just change it. it's not hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 which picture shows the VSS. The round silver & copper thing is the reed switch, which is the VSS. http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/combmeter/images/IMG_5856.JPG I honestly don't remember if you can replace just the rear section with the reed switch or if you have to replace the entire speedometer section....or just the entire gauge cluster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 The other thing to keep in mind is that the base piece that the speedo cable connects to for the automatic transmissions is a common failure point. the shaft inside that piece breaks. It's pretty inexpensive to get a new one, and easy to change. Here's a pic of the base piece. There is a bottom washer and rubber piece that sometimes gets stuck in the hole, so you need to make sure and dig that out when removing the old pieces. http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/speedocablebase.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 The other thing to keep in mind is that the base piece that the speedo cable connects to for the automatic transmissions is a common failure point. the shaft inside that piece breaks. It's pretty inexpensive to get a new one, and easy to change. Here's a pic of the base piece. There is a bottom washer and rubber piece that sometimes gets stuck in the hole, so you need to make sure and dig that out when removing the old pieces. http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/subaru/images/speedocablebase.jpg Nice that was the problem, I pulled it and found that where the cable goes in was striped, I'm jb welding it together now for a temporary fix then ill try and get a new one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy777 Posted September 11, 2013 Share Posted September 11, 2013 Good to hear that was only the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikaleda Posted September 11, 2013 Author Share Posted September 11, 2013 yep and the jb weld is working so good, im not too worried about replacing the part Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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