Hey guys, I have an 88 na convertable with a s5 manual transmission. I had the s4 tranny replaced by a s5 tranny recently and shortly after that the speedometer and odometer stopped working. I looked under the car and the wires to what apears to be a sensor on the passanger side of the trans looks intact. Underneath that I see a hollow opening with threads on the outside and what apears to be a hollow needle on the inside of the opening. Looks like something can screw in there. I have never replaced a speed sensor and/or cable before so Im not sure what to look for. I tried to pull up diagrams on the web but the only ones I can find are black and white drawings of the transmission. I cant tell from the diagram were exactly the speed sensor, wires and cable should go. Does anyone have a pic of a manual s5 tranny with the speed sensor and cable hooked up properly? Please help. Thanks.

 

That hole w/ the threads and needle are where your speedometer cable are supposed to be. If your speedometer worked before then you should have a cable hanging around somewhere that will screw right onto there. Although I dont know if s4 has a differant size or something then the s5

 

Thanks somebody. were does the other end of the speed cable go into in case its missing completely? Does anyone have pics of the speed cable setup? If anyone knows if the s4 and s5 speed cable are different please let me know. Thanks.

 

fr4om the gauge to tranny. you should see it hanging

 

Try plugging that cable back in and see if the gauge works first. If the gauge still does not work you will have to take off the console where the speedo is and make sure it is plugged in the back. If it is plugged in and the cable at the tranny is plugged in and still does not work then the little cable that was inside the cable fell out (has happened to me before). You can fix that by getting a used one from the junkyard for about $15 and replace the old one.

BTW, I really doubt the cable has come unplugged from the back of the speedo, but who knows? I just knew mine had fallen out cause the cable was dragging for about 5 seconds before I could stop. That's why I replaced it.

 

Ok I think i just figured out what happend. My girlfriend drives the car more then I do and she just told me that the speedomter stopped working after picking up the car from the shop. They replaced the tranny but then we had to bring it back in a week later for a flywheel and clutch issue caused by the old tranny. So im thinking the tied up the speed cable somewere while removing the tranny and forgot to put in back in. Its too dark now so Ill take closer look at it in the morning. Thanks for your help

 

Get a better shop...

 

+1

 

If it only had happend 1 time then i wouldn't say that cuz we all make mistakes but they missed it even when you went back to get the clutch fixed so... either they are leaving it unhooked on purpose or they are just stupid.

 

I too am having this problem. I'm gonna go look under the car tomorrow. It's on the pass side right?

 

nope drivers side near the back of the transmission.

 

Mine fell off on the freeway on the way to the RX7 meet on treasure island last summer. I left the toll plaza and I hear this clanging and my speedometer is at 0.

I get to the meet and jack up the car (classic RX7 meet, someones car breaks in some way on the there) and I was able to secure the cable until I could replace it. You don't have to remove the gauge cluster to unplug and plug the new one in, it just takes some creative body positioning.

 

I'd like to know how you creatively position your body to get the speedometer cable into the back of the gauge without taking it off.
The idiots who owned my car last broke the clip off the back of the cable.

I switched dashes with another car and now my speedo is like 8mph fast, the odo ticks over 1.2 miles for every mile and the gas gauge is horrible off...

All relatively unserious things in relativity to what has been going on, and I don't mind dealing with it. Perhaps it will give me the impression of better gas mileage.. lol

I think I might take the dash off and try to get the cable in there better - but whatever...

Roarke

 

I don't know how to tell you to position body, I just know that it can be done since I have done it!

 

I took mine off (cluster not dash), but I've changed the bulbs back there a few times due to a bad short in an old 7 I had, I also have relatively small hands and can get most of the harnesses back on through the left side of the cluster after plugging in the speedo cable. Sucks for guitar, but great for dropped, hard to reach sockets in tight spaces.

I was thinking about this thread while at school and realized that you would not necessarily need to take off the cluster after checking the plug at the tranny unless inner cable was not missing. If it was missing then you would just need to replace it. Now, if it was still there, then you would need to check at the cluster to make sure that it was plugged in.