Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Vehicle Speed Sensor Problems

Well, the car does drive good, but it's the VSS that is giving me problems. Right from after the fix, I noticed that to maintain an indicated speed, I felt a little slower than usual, and the RPM is about 250 Rs less than usual at all speeds (for example, normally I have 2500 RPM at 65 MPH. Now, it's 2250 for that same speed).

Today, I compared speeds with my car against my mom's car. My mom was doing 30, and I was reading 35. The RPM at that speed did seem normal, thus proving my conclusion that my VSS is off and that the tranny works fine.

AND, normally I can start using cruise control at 25 MPH, but now I need to be at 30 to start using it.

Is there a way to calibrate the VSS? Well, I would assume that there is, but how would I go about doing it?

Where does speedometer needle sit when the car is off? Also, check speed against another car first, I would. Maybe find a "your speed" radar sign to check against.

i think the cruise minimum is 30 mph.i got a 1995 and i think thats what the manual said..

Sitting off, 8 MPH, not on the rest. When it turns on, it gets back on the rest and needle twitches a little.

There was one near me, but they've moved it. I don't know where there is one. If anyone here in Palm Beach County (I know of at least one other than me), please direct me to one?

Is there a specific process to do it? Or do I take it to the dealer to have them do it?

I checked our 2 "ice cold" Mystiques: 1998 sits on first white mark below 10, 1995 sits about 1/4 inch below 10, car off. Based on that, I think your speedometer might be out of calibration, but I have never fixed one. Maybe search for "indiglo gauges" you might be able to pull the needle off, reposition, or swap a speedometer (gauge cluster). Do you have stock size tires?

Tires are stock and at normal inflation. I always check that.

I was under the impression that it could be the needle, but it is a problem that emerged from when the first VSS crapped out. I was leaning on maybe removing the needle and reinserting it while resting on its rest. It might work, but do you think I may need to take it to the dealer?

Does anyone know where I can go to calibrate my VSS?

I looked on the Ford CD there is a tester called the NGS tester, that can read VSS system speed to be compared with speedometer speed. If system speed is different than indicated speed, the gauge is off. I imagine a dealer could do it for a fee, or a more sophisticated obd tool ($$$) code reader might show the speed, temp, rpm, etc.