Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Speedometer/Dealers Don't know Squat!

First of all, I wish to thank everyone for helping me out with my issue. Per my prevoius post, my speedometer is not working all the time, especially in the mornings. I replaced the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) and the problem still exists. I have spoken to three different Ford dealers. They have said the following:
1) Could be a bad automatic transmission. (It shifts OK)
2) Could be a bad PCM
3) Could be a bad instrument cluster

Questions guys,
Is there a separate control for the speedometer, or does the PCM control the dashboard speedometer? Where does the VSS signal go? It seems to me that is where the problem is.
You see, my son drives the car (he's 19) and I don't want him to get a ticket and then tell me, "Well the speedometer wasn't working!)
The dealer is quoting $350.00 to $500.00 for the cluster work!
The car is a '98 Sport w/auto tranny.

The VSS signal goes straight to the instrument cluster.

The PCM has nothing to do with the speedometer, at least on the Contour. The PCM does get a VSS signal, but it doesn't send anything to the speedometer.

It sounds like a problem with the instrument cluster to me..I'd get a used one from a wrecking yard.

I see them on ebay all the time!

Make sure the cable is tight, my contour had the speedometer cable on the back (i think it is 95's only with the speedometer cable)

Thanks,
So on Fordpartsonline-there is a "speedometer head" for $128.00 listed, and a "Printed Circuit board w/tach at $28.00.

Is this what we are talking about?
THANKS!

I see them all the time on Ebay for $15 to $25. Also, make sure the wiring doesn't have a short somewhere. Wiring connectors are always getting a little corrosion on them and a little brass wire brush work can save you some big headaches.

Hello,

Wondering if you (or any other readers!) might share your 95 Contour speedometer experience? I've checked the VSS by interrogating the PCM engine light codes, and it didn't mention the code for the VSS (just the EGR circuit, but that's for another day) - and also the cruise works OK, so I believe the VSS is fine.

The speedometer started acting funny after having my alternator replaced - it started wobbling, and eventually died after having my timing belt replaced (it's been a good year!).

Because of when the problem occurred, I'm thinking the cable came loose on the VSS side, but I can't actually find the VSS - I have a Chilton manual, but it doesn't give me more than telling me it's near the power steering fluid reservoir.

Any chance you can give me directions to the VSS so I can tighten things down? Thanks!

The VSS is nowhere near the power steering reservoir. The VSS is at the back of the tranny, down low. Between the tranny and the firewall. The best way to get to it is to crawl underneath the car, with your head just behind the tranny, and look upward between the tranny and the firewall. It's not really easy to get to, but it's not really bad either. The vss will be a small plastic dohickey, maybe an inch or so tall, and maybe an inch or so in diameter. It will have two or three wires attached to it (the wires are inside a plastic cable). Depending on whether you have an early model or a late model 95, you may or may not have a mechanical speedometer cable that attaches to the vss. The early model 95's had the cable, and the later models were all electronic.