I have a 95 nissan pickup V6. The speedometer stopped working today and engine light came on. truck sat there while I was working and went back out to it. Started truck back up and engine light was still on. As soon as I put it into gear the engine light went off and speedometer started working again. Any ideas of what it could be. It’s a 2wd not 4wd
Even with the CEL off, the code can be pulled. Probably a VSS on it’s way out. I’m surprised it came back. But the Vehicle Speed Sensor is prime suspect. The code can verify that.
Okay I will try that. I’ll run it too autozone and see if it puts out a code. I’ll follow up, thanks bustedknuckles
UPDATE: went to take it to autozone to do a test and speedometer wasn’t working again. Check engine light was not on yet. Hit the dash a few times and guess what. Speedometer started working again… and because it was a 95 they didn’t have the right tester For it. Could it be circuit board or something more now?
Probably bad or corroded connections on the back of the gauge cluster if striking the dash helps. I’d remove the dash cluster and clean every wire connector I could reasonably reach, then coat each of those connecters with dielectric bulb grease before reassembling it. I had a similar problem with my tachometer going in and out and also had a couple of bulbs blown. I did that and replaced all 7 illumination bulbs and the airbag warning bulb. That was 5 years ago and no issues since.
The speedometer output is an input to the ECM (computer) and that parameter (vehicle speed) is used in part for emissions control, so when that input fails to show up the CEL will come on. That’s the most likely explanation for these symptoms.
Could be a problem with the speedo output as mentioned above. But it could be the speedo input also. The input to the speedometer is usually a cable attached to the top of the transmission. Or could be a loose or corroded connection there, or maybe the sensor inside the transmission is kaput. Depends on whether the connection from the transmission to the speedo in this vehicle is mechanical or electrical.
The speedometer on my 95 Nissan pickup does the same thing. I just slap the top of the dash to get it working again.
The computer for your truck is located under the passenger seat. The seat has to be removed to gain access to the computer so the code(s) can be retrieved.
Here’s how to retrieve the code numbers and their definitions.
Tester
Thanks all for the help. Will be doing all this to check. And didn’t know it was under the seat. Nice to know lol