Driving a '93 Accord SE 4dr with KA transmission. It has just under 200k miles. Some weeks back, after hearing a noise in the instrument cluster, the speedometer needle started behaving erratically. At first it jumped up then came back down. Now it is registering very low speeds. The difference between registered speed and actual speed (as gauged by a Garmin GPS) does not remain constant. By that I mean that while driving long distances, the gap between actual and registered speeds will change going either greater or less. Also, the speed difference is not predictable from one drive to another. Sometimes it registers 30 mph slow other times only 8-10.

I purchased and replaced both the speed needle and the speed sensor unit. It made no difference. Because the speed sensor connects electrically (instead of via a mechanical cable as old speedo's used to), I can only conclude that there is something in the instrument itself causing the problem. That is pure conjecture on my part but I don't know why the electrical connection would be altered between the instrument and the speed sensor unless there is something in the master control module that could possibly be involved. Also, I wouldn't expect an electronic variable to cause the needle to behave so erratically.

My first inclination was to replace the speedometer instrument itself; however after replacing the connector needle and the speed sensor unit without improvement, I thought I should seek other information.

I've looked at several online parts sources (Majestic, et al) but their parts lists do not include the speedometer instrument (or at least I haven't found it). Ebay has whole instrument clusters but that can be an expensive crap shoot - especially because I don't really know what the problem is.

Can anyone suggest a solution, a diagnostic process, or a web page where I can get information that will pinpoint the problem for me? There are no "Check engine" or other indicators and from the little I know about it, the control module is not telling me anything either. (Of course I don't know how to properly query the control module and this model pre-dates standard diagnostic devices.)

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We are retired and living on a fixed income that inflation is eating into every day.

Thank you!

-rh

 

I suspect the problem is in your instrument cluster. If I understand your post, you replaced the speedometer needle. Why? This is only an indicator and has no bearing on the function.

The VSS will present a Check Engine Light code; 17 or 4, when an electrical fault in VSS is detected.

I would suggest a used replacement gauge panel or sending your panel off to a repair shop for repairs.

good luck