legacycentral bbs

Hello, my 1990 legacy awd AT recently threw a code 33. I figured the cable to the transmission was bad so I pulled it and noticed the flathead piece would pull out. I thought this was the problem until I noticed my speedometer and odometer pagstopped working. When i plugged the cable back in it started working again. If the cable isnt the problem then does my guage cluster need replacing

Welcome to the BBS.

With the cable back in does your speedometer work? If the speedo works, I'm not sure why it's throwing a VSS2 code. I'd try clearing the codes and see if it comes back.

Thank you for your reply. Your posts have helped me tremendously.

The speedometer works when the cable is plugged into the transmission yet the cel for code 33 persists, even after I cleared the codes. My thought is the actual sensor in the instrument cluster isn't working. However, will this disable my AWD? I recently bought the car and have been fixing its problems so I don't even know if the AWD has ever been working.

Cruise control won't work and if its a auto it uses that to determine shift points and idle . I don't think awd is affected.

Yeah the cruise hasn't worked since I bought the car, figured it was because the abs doesn't work. It does also idle and shift funny. So many problems to track down... Thanks for the replys though!

The speedo & reed switch are integrated together. So it's unlikely that the reed switch isn't working. It's possibly, but not too likely. My suggestion would be to verify the wiring from the speedo reed switch to the ECU.

Also, before doing that, I would suggest running the green diagnostic connectors only and see what comes up.

How are you clearing the codes, disconnecting the battery or using both the green & black connectors? If you haven't tried both the green & black connectors following the procedure on my site, I'd give that a shot first.

I cleared the codes by removing the fuse for the ecu/tcu. I'll try the method you mentioned though. Thanks for the advice, I'll report backwith my findings.

Okay, I cleared the codes like you said. However, while driving with both green and black cables connected the cell would flash 04(1,2,3,4, pause then repeat). The same thing would happen when I was driving with just the green connectors hooked up. After my d-check drive I disconnected the cables and restarted my car, no more cel. Some more driving and the cel will probably come back like it did when I cleared the codes the first time.

Ok, well keep us posted on whether it comes back.

Indeed the CEL has returned for the vss 2. However, at first the CEL would only come on intermittently.

Here are the wiring diagrams for the 90 Legacy. I would suggest checking the wiring between the VSS output on the gauge cluster to the ECU. Also, you may want to check the ground connections on the chassis & engine.

http://www.main.experiencetherave.com/s ... agrams.zip

Thank you for the help, I really appreciate it!

So I located the ecu and the terminal where the vss wire connects. From what I have researched the ecu only receives a signal if the transmission is in motion so I have to either have to drive the car on jacks or spin the cable manually correct? Also, probably dumb question but how am I supposed to test the wire? Do I just jab the positive cable from a voltimeter( should be either 0 or 5v from what I read) into the terminal and the negative to a ground while the cable is spinning?

Also a question about grounds. I checked the two on the strut towers, the large one behind the intake, the one by the drivers side headlight, and the one going to the chassis below the battery(near the external AT fluid filter). Most are in decent condition except the one below the battery. Are there any others I should check?

Thanks again!

Yeah, you will either need to run the car on jack stands or spin the cable by hand.

To test the voltage output, put one of the probes into the back of the VSS pin at the ECU, make sure your voltmeter is on volts, and then touch a ground source with the other probe. The ECU will need to be powered up to test this, so the key will need to be in the ON position. Jacking the car up and SLOWLY spinning the wheels seems like the easiest option.

As for the grounds, you've found the majority of them. There are a few others scattered around the chassis, but unless you are having a specific problem, they are likely fine.