Topteke

Hi all,

Been a guest of this forum for a while but only now joined, member on ToyotaNation for a little while too. Been trying to figure out this problem for a long time but just haven't been able to.

Speedometer and odometer stopped working. Odometer is frozen and speedo goes wacky occasionally, jumping all over the place and then back to zero. Cruise light comes on but cruise control stopped working too. CEL says VSS. All signs point to bad VSS or gauge cluster is funky right? So I replaced the VSS, no change. That was expensive.

Today I thought I'd give it another go so I pulled the sensor out, sprayed it with contact cleaner, turned the ignition on and spun the gear down my arm to see if the needle moved, which it did - twice, but not with any consistency related to me actually spinning the gear. Tried the old one, same result.

94 5MT 22re 4x4 extra cab. Sat in sunny a dry dusty environment for 4 years until I got it back on the road. I liven near the ocean. I've been searching for answers for a while now but I think cause of the year there just isn't much out there. So gauge cluster contacts corrosion /removal, what're your thoughts?

Topteke

Found this post that describes some similar symptoms I've experienced as well. Part about not leaning out during deceleration, I've had little backfires here and there too.

scope103

The VSS fails by going intermittent; it will work for a while, the speedo will drop to zero for a few seconds then pop back up, then it just gets worse with time. I have read that some have resurrected a VSS by removing the drive magnet and cleaning out an excess of oil.

But if you're using a new (not junk) VSS, then dirt inside the VSS is probably not it. To me, it sounds more like a wiring problem. When you "test" the VSS on your arm, you're wiggling the wires. Also when you're driving.

My first try would be to remove the cluster, and pick up the VSS1 wire with a test light. Wiggle the wire and see where it makes the test light flicker.

Good luck!

Topteke

Thanks, I'll give that a shot next. I did have what I thought was gonna be a breakthrough today but no luck.

I went up the cable a little way and found that 2 of the 3 wires had been split and the one still intact was frayed. I repaired all three, but still no change in the speedo. I did scan for codes and now the vss code is gone.

I also forgot an important thing - while this has been going on for about a year already, the last couple weeks every so often for the first time I've noticed the tach jumping up for a second or two and then going back to normal.

Topteke

Just curious, does anyone know how to or if there's a way to test the vss with a multimeter?