Hmm... what if you turn the car on, and attach a drill motor to the vss shaft.... spin that sucker up and and see if the odometer or speedo registers.

Good luck with looking into it this weekend! Let me know how it goes! I'm headed out of town next week, sadly a non-working odometer/speedometer isn't top on my list of things that have to get done.

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Good thought, is it safe to run the car with the VSS removed? Would transmission fluid come pouring out? If I had a spare VSS that would be an easy check that could prove useful.

How difficult is it to remove the I/P to check connectors and plug ins?

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Depends on your skill level. It's not an excessively hard job. Mostly a handful of screws, and taking the potentially brittle and fragile plastic trim bezels off takes time.

Cool. I have taken dashes apart in several different cars. Just wanted to make sure there wasn't a hidden challenge. Thanks again. Here goes........

How did it go/status update?

Haven't been able to play-work keeps getting in the way. Have some vacation time coming up soon so will get it then.

Great news. I looked under the car in the hopes of getting a look at the VSS and found one of the wires pulled out. Spliced it back in and now the speedo is working. Now onto pulling that dash for a look into the I/P.

Thanks to all for the pictures and Tech talk. You guys made it easy.

Nice man! So the speedo is working and the odometer isn't? Great job on fixing the speedo!

Much to my surprise they are BOTH working now. So my lesson learned here is that when the Variable Speed Sensor goes out it takes out both the Speedo and the Odometer, gives you a "24" code and the check engine light comes on because of the code.

Just hope the Instrument Panel is as easy a fix as this was...... Too cool.

Great news, Frank! Glad it all worked out with an easy fix.

Matthew

Nice! Now I guess I just need to find time to take apart my dash and figure out why my speedo isn't working.

Mine keeps fading in and out, acting like a short. After reading a couple of entry's in this forum I went to a sight (www.Batee.com)a couple of guys here recommended and found EXACTLY what we need to trouble shoot the Instrument Panels. This guy breaks down step by step how to do it. Pictures are included. Incredible. Well worth the "donation" he asks for.

How did you splice the wire back together? Any chance that is failing? Sounds like it could be an open circuit as well, not necessarily a short. Also, if there was enough damage to one wire to damage it out did you check the other wire in the same location to make sure it wasn't damaged as well?

Yea, I checked out the other wire and it is solid. These are definitely two separate problems. In fact I cut the other wire off so they would be be the same length and plug in evenly. I used wire splice couplings. Once I get everything working then I'm going to go back on put some shrink wrap as well.

While I was down changing oil I got a look at my oil pan for the first time. Ouch. Not leaking for now.....

My first action for the Instrument Panel is going to be to clean everything up and plug/unplug the main wiring harness.
If that doesn't work then I'm going to the Batee.com sight get the instructions.

Sounds like a plan. Good luck! Let us know how it goes with the instrument panel, sounds like thats where the problem is.

Some interesting news. I was driving up to Ventura last week and noticed a little shimy in the front end. I took it to a tire shop and had the two front tires computer balanced. Well this is one of those rare moments when you get more (in a positive) than you pay for. Not only did the shimy go away but my instrument panel came online and worked great. No blinking or fade. This tells me I probably just have a short in the wiring and instead of having to rebuild the I/P I just need to clean connectors and insulate the areas where the wires are close to metal. Love this car.

Thats great news! Good luck cleaning and insulating. I need to bite the bullet and take my dash apart. I was waiting to here your report and see if you had any tips on going about it but it seems like I just need to go for it. Glad things are working well!

Thanks. Another pleasant discovery is the MPG's I get with this car. I'm used to my truck that gets around 14-15 mpg's on a good day. This car is getting over 20.

Hope to get into the dash next week. I'll let you know if I find any hard to get to or hidden screws. I know I need to be extra careful and go slow because of the brittleness.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Frank