Valvoman

My 1993 SR5 extended cab's speedometer needle works intermittently. I say intermittently, because after about 5 miles, it starts working. Trip meter, odometer all work fine. Pretty sure it is an electronic speedo.

The vehicle is not hacked and little to zero electrical work has been done.

One thing, the passenger front running light bulb is out .

Any help or commentary would be appreciated.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

i am gonna say that the speed sensor is failing, mine started doing the same thing a couple of weeks ago...doesn't wanna play for a short distance than works. it works fine the rest of the time- odometer, trip is no issue
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-block-252544/

scope103

I'm with dropzone; sure sounds exactly like a failing VSS1.

RockAuto has them for $50 to $250 (I wish RockAuto had been around when I replaced mine; dealer price is considerably higher.) Remember that you are very unlikely to be able to return electrical parts (if you could, a certain kind of person would regularly return the defective part and claim they were returning the new one). So at a minimum, pull your sensor so you can compare it to the photographs. The link provided by dropzone has a procedure for testing the sensor; for that kind of money I'd recommend trying the test as well.

Valvoman

Thank you both. So, it's a manual transmission.

Is the replacement procedure difficult? Could I do it in my garage? I replaced the rear pinion seal last year. That was easy (no leaks!).

scope103

The replacement procedure is trivial. Disconnect one connector, remove one bolt, wiggle the old sensor out, swap the nylon gear to the new sensor, replace in reverse order. Depending on the clearance you have, you might not have to jack up the vehicle.

But, just like with the pinion seal, you should be prepared for the unexpected. That's another reason to pull the sensor before ordering a new one; you can look at the gear, the o-ring, etc. Then you'll know.

Valvoman

Thank you.

93 Toyota 4x4

Mine went south some time ago and wasn't the speed sensor. There is a small electric part inside which goes out...do a search on here I think you may find it. There are places to rebuild the speedo, or you can try to source a used one on Ebay, what I did but mine was equiped with a speedo only so I took this time to upgrade to a speedo/tach unit had to add on oil pickup in the block and adjust the pot on the tach for a 4cyclinder Lost the low fuel light in the conversion though.