UPDATE 4/6/2011 Car is fixed!

[JDwhite98gt]

So, for the 6th time in 2 weeks I swapped out my intake manifold, but this time it wasn't to try and jerry-rig a solution...I finally replaced it. I also swapped my tapped crossover onto the new manifold and let it sit overnight (to let the rtv set) on saturday and then filled it up with coolant and burpped the system on sunday morning. The car fired right up and ran for a 1/2 hour just fine while I filled her up with coolant. The car sat for the rest of the day untill I had a chance to take her out around 6 pm. When I started it, the car had a severe miss and the exhaust sounded really hollow like one of my mufflers became detached. Its very hard to explain but the exhaust tone is very deep and sounded like I had a mild cam. I could also smell extra fuel like the car was running uber rich. So I take off hoping it was just some fluid I had to burn off. I got the car to operating temp and ran her through the gears....the car pulled like a freight train :dontknow: BUT , now the speedo and the ODO arent working. I have never had an electrical problem with this car. Could I have done something in the engine bay to cause the speedo to quit? The batt was unpluged while I worked and I havent driven over anything to damage the VSS. Where are the fuses for the instrument cluster? I do have a speedcall and never had an issue and it is tapped into my cig lighter or some hot/key on wire thats back there. I havent checked anything yet becaue my CEL came on last night too. I will get back to u guys later on the cell, hopefully it has something to with my magical cams and even the speedo, but u guys have any other suggestions let me know.

 

[Javi]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

RIP.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

Care to say a few words before I burry it in the back yard next to Fido?

 

[Javi]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

Is aything else not working beside the speedo?

check fuses?

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

Speedo and odo...thats it. Tach works as well as all the other gauges. All the lights work, windows, acessory ports (I have 2). Where are the fuses located, in the cabin or in the engine compartment?

 

[mygreengt]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

speedo gear in the cluster? i know they go out

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

Yes but if it was a mechanical failure I think I would of had some signs. It might have been a little sketchy/jumpy but nothing....just dead one day when it was fine the previous day

 

[Shane]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

Does your car have a speedcal wired into it some wheres?

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

So, for the 6th time in 2 weeks I swapped out my intake manifold, but this time it wasn't to try and jerry-rig a solution...I finally replaced it. I also swapped my tapped crossover onto the new manifold and let it sit overnight (to let the rtv set) on saturday and then filled it up with coolant and burpped the system on sunday morning. The car fired right up and ran for a 1/2 hour just fine while I filled her up with coolant. The car sat for the rest of the day untill I had a chance to take her out around 6 pm. When I started it, the car had a severe miss and the exhaust sounded really hollow like one of my mufflers became detached. Its very hard to explain but the exhaust tone is very deep and sounded like I had a mild cam. I could also smell extra fuel like the car was running uber rich. So I take off hoping it was just some fluid I had to burn off. I got the car to operating temp and ran her through the gears....the car pulled like a freight train :dontknow: BUT , now the speedo and the ODO arent working. I have never had an electrical problem with this car. Could I have done something in the engine bay to cause the speedo to quit? The batt was unpluged while I worked and I havent driven over anything to damage the VSS. Where are the fuses for the instrument cluster? I do have a speedcall and never had an issue and it is tapped into my cig lighter or some hot/key on wire thats back there. I havent checked anything yet becaue my CEL came on last night too. I will get back to u guys later on the cell, hopefully it has something to with my magical cams and even the speedo, but u guys have any other suggestions let me know.

 

[stprorolla49]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

It's very possible that the speedcal either bit the dust or something came loose behind the shifter when you were bangin gears. Take the shifter bezel out and take the cover off the speedcal. If the indicator light doesn't turn on, then that's your answer. That light will NOT turn on if any of the wires are loose, or if the unit is malfunctioning.

Those unit's are notorious for being hit or miss, I went through 3 of them before I got one that worked properly. Good luck man :thumbsup:

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: Speedo and Odo are dead

It's very possible that the speedcal either bit the dust or something came loose behind the shifter when you were bangin gears. Take the shifter bezel out and take the cover off the speedcal. If the indicator light doesn't turn on, then that's your answer. That light will NOT turn on if any of the wires are loose, or if the unit is malfunctioning.

Those unit's are notorious for being hit or miss, I went through 3 of them before I got one that worked properly. Good luck man :thumbsup:

Thanks bud. I will check that out tonight. Strange though that I have had this Speedcal for 6 years and never had an issue.
Anyway, I had my codes read at autozone yesterday after work. The code came up as a faulty VSS or VSS circuit so I picked up a new one since its only 20 bux. I fiddle with the wiring tonight and make sure everything is ok before I swap the sensor.

One more question though. Since the mani swap and the broken speedo w/ a CEL, the car has been running really rich and pops and gurggles really bad on decel. Will a faulty VSS cause that?

 

[stprorolla49]

Re: UPDATE POST 10 - Bad VSS, car running rich

It's very possible that the speedcal either bit the dust or something came loose behind the shifter when you were bangin gears. Take the shifter bezel out and take the cover off the speedcal. If the indicator light doesn't turn on, then that's your answer. That light will NOT turn on if any of the wires are loose, or if the unit is malfunctioning.

Those unit's are notorious for being hit or miss, I went through 3 of them before I got one that worked properly. Good luck man :thumbsup:

Thanks bud. I will check that out tonight. Strange though that I have had this Speedcal for 6 years and never had an issue.
Anyway, I had my codes read at autozone yesterday after work. The code came up as a faulty VSS or VSS circuit so I picked up a new one since its only 20 bux. I fiddle with the wiring tonight and make sure everything is ok before I swap the sensor.

One more question though. Since the mani swap and the broken speedo w/ a CEL, the car has been running really rich and pops and gurggles really bad on decel. Will a faulty VSS cause that?

I honestly think you're dealing with 2 separate issues. Take a look at this link though from the Dallas Mustang site which gives instructions on how to install one of their Speedcals:

http://www.dallasmustang.com/pages.php?pageid=37

After reading this, it makes perfect sense to me that your speedo doesn't work. The Speedcal is essentially wired between the VSS and the speedometer. If the VSS sensor is loose, or is broken, no signal will be sent through the Speedcal which will in turn make the speedo fail. I'd get under the car and check out to see if the connector is loose. If not, chances are it is shot. I'd be willing to bet after you change the sensor, the CEL will go away and the speedo will work again. Good luck man.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: UPDATE POST 10 - Bad VSS, car running rich

Yea, if the speedcal was shot then the speedo would still work but wouldnt be calibrated correctly...I think. I have a feeling that I'm either not getting power to the VSS sensor (its shot) or the a wire in the trans harness is shorting out. I'll update u guys tomorrow with what I find.

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Re: UPDATE POST 10 - Bad VSS, car running rich

Car is fixed. Changed out the VSS last night took about 15 minutes becasue I thought I was going to break it trying to pop the new one back in. So weird that a bad VSS makes the car run so funny. Oh and car will most likely be sold to the new owner by the 16th. It will be out of my hands but the car will still be on these boards.

 

[vermilion]

boooya.

 

[stprorolla49]

Glad you figured out the problem. I'm looking forward to seeing who's purchasing this car. It's always nice when the car is bought by someone on the same forum. Good luck :thumbsup:

 

[JDwhite98gt]

Glad you figured out the problem. I'm looking forward to seeing who's purchasing this car. It's always nice when the car is bought by someone on the same forum. Good luck :thumbsup:

:angel4:

 

[Naptown_Stang]

thats good news man. always liked your car. hopefully shes not going too far!