New speedometer cable

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patcal
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 11:43 pm
Location: Portland, OR.

Help! No speedometer, engine light

Post by patcal »

Ok, last night on way home after work, doing about 65MPH on freeway. All of a sudden the speedometer goes to 0MPH & my car just revs free. No drive in any gear but still running. I am coasting & hit the manual switch & now I have 3 gears. I manage to get off the freeway & stop. I pull the FWD fuse I had installed (torque bind issues) and the car drives & shift fine, just no speedometer. About a mile from home the check engine light comes on but still driving fine. I am going to start by checking codes & the speedometer cable. Not sure what the cable would have to do with shifting but it's a start. Any thoughts on this? Thanks.

Pat
Pat Callaghan
94 Legacy Ti Wagon
Alphius
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Re: Help! No speedometer, engine light

Post by Alphius »

Speedo cable broke and the ECU threw a code for VSS.

Not sure about the shifting, but fix the problem you know about first and see what happens. These cars are very dependent on the VSS signal to drive properly.
patcal
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Location: Portland, OR.

Re: Help! No speedometer, engine light

Post by patcal »

I pulled code & got code 33 which makes sense considering my problem. I tried to reseat the cable at the speedo head. I now get a little speedometer wiggle at speed. I have to work again tonight but tomorrow I will pull the cable at the transmission & see what I can find. Pretty sure it's either the cable of the part that plugs into the tranny.
Pat Callaghan
94 Legacy Ti Wagon
patcal
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Location: Portland, OR.

New speedometer cable

Post by patcal »

I did pull my speedo cable & it was broke. Trying to get the replacement in. Have it seated into the cluster but for the life of me, the part that screws into the tranny will not thread in. It is like it sits up too far for the threads to catch. My questions are has anybody had this & what to do about it? Also can I drive it this way or will tranny fluid come shooting out? I really need to get this going to today. Thanks.

Pat
Pat Callaghan
94 Legacy Ti Wagon
bcmaxx
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Re: New sppedomter cable

Post by bcmaxx »

Undo the spring clip on the tranny side. Unclip the cable. Carefully install the lil adapter stub. (Make sure the flat lines up with the slot) then reinstall the cable onto the lil stub adapter
mike-tracy
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Re: New sppedomter cable

Post by mike-tracy »

I recently had to 'excavate' broken pieces of the speedo plug from the my latest tranny. Try and see if there's anything stopping you from pushing the plug down far enough for the threads to engage. With brand new speedo plugs, I usually get 3 or 4 installs/removals before they break. And old crusty ones usually break when I try to remove them.

Last but not least, make sure the flat rod on the plug is aligned with the gear it mates to inside the tranny. This alone could be causing you to not be able to seat the new plug in.
1992 Legacy SS 5mt, build in progress
Josh Colombo wrote: Mon Jan 14, 2002 10:23 am Wait....I'm confused now.
patcal
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Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 11:43 pm
Location: Portland, OR.

Re: New sppedomter cable

Post by patcal »

I ended up ordering a new part that goes into the tranny. It will not be in until Wednesday. Will try again with the correct part. The replacement cable I had was from a 91. It was one piece. Mine is a 94, that has the cable that detaches from the part that screws into the transmission. My cable section appears to be ok. Thanks.
Pat Callaghan
94 Legacy Ti Wagon
Legacy777
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Re: New speedometer cable

Post by Legacy777 »

I merged your two threads since they are continuation of each other and it'll help someone searching for similar issues.

Thanks
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
patcal
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Posts: 66
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2003 11:43 pm
Location: Portland, OR.

Re: New speedometer cable

Post by patcal »

No problem. Sorry about the double post. I had to dig the old rubber piece out of the tranny then the new adapter fit perfect. My old cable assembly was OK, just the adapter was broken. Thanks for the help.

Pat
Pat Callaghan
94 Legacy Ti Wagon
Legacy777
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Re: New speedometer cable

Post by Legacy777 »

Glad you got it working again.
Josh

surrealmirage.com/subaru
1990 Legacy (AWD, 6MT, & EJ22T Swap)
2020 Outback Limted XT

If you need to get a hold of me please email me rather then pm
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