Speedometer Not Working

[iamchappy 1]

I have a 90 LS400, The speedometer stopped working last week, I heard a noise a type of a click sound coming from the drivers door side which sounded like a side mirror when they get stuck. the gauge is a dial style , how do you repair or replace the cable if its broken and how do you get in behind the dash. I know the car has a few speed sensors do they fail and could they create the problem, or is it most likley the cable.

[VMF 0]

tell me more about the problem, whole cluster has no lights and none of the gauges work or just the speedometer needle is not moving?

[iamchappy 1]

Just speedometer needle, I have been doing a little research on my own and found that the speed sensor on the tranny has been known to fail and can fail when exposed to water which it has over the past few weeks, there are also speed sensors on each wheel even though I do not have traction control.I was told that I can test the sensor on the tranny by unpluging it and run the car on a lift to see if it is putting out ac volts. Also was told to first check all the fuses. tomorrow I am going to get it up in the air on my lift and start probing around. The odometer and cruise control does work.

[VMF 0]

good luck with that, let me know of the result

[1UZ-FE 2]

i really have no idea what could be the problem with your speedometer but you have speed sensors on all 4 wheels b/c 4-wheel ABS comes standard and thats the reason why they're there.

[gameyer 0]

I also have a 1990 LS400, that I bought used 3 years ago. Two weeks ago the speedometer started to intermittently work and then not work. It has gotten worse to the point where it seems to work for about a minute and then not work for about a minute. It appears the odometer and the trip meter does not function when the odometer is not working (rests at zero).

Anyone have an idea what may have failed and what it costs to fix?

Regards, Glenn

[Dr. Henry 0]

Good Day, I own a 1991 LS 400 same problem with the speedometer not working, cruise control and odometer also out, the problem is the transmission speed sensor No. 1 failure. If your cruise control and odometer are working then it must be something else.

[90LS400Lexus 0]

My old 1991 Honda Accord LX sedan did this while I owned it. When the speedometer would stop working, or erratically- it would not shift into overdrive and the "S" (sport) light would flash. Owners manual made it sound like something severe. It said if the "S" light flashed- take to the nearest Honda dealer immedietly, because the electronics in the transmission were failing. I guess it could have been something severe, but luckily, it was not. After some research on the computer- I discovered it was the speed sensor on the transmission. If I recall, it was $275 from the dealer, but I got one at a salvage lot, off of a wrecked 92 Accord, with 52K miles for $20. Installed in about 10 minutes and all was fine. I also discovered it was a very common problem on the 1990-1993 (4th generation) Accords.

Likely, but not definitely the speed sensor. Good luck!!

[Lexls 0]

There are actually 2 speed sensors on the trans located on the drivers side of it. The part # is the same for both 89411-50010.

If you have a repair manual it tells you exactly how to diagnos this part. It does involve jacking up the car, rotating the tire and checking voltage.....it's lengthy.

[Travieso~13 0]

I had the same problem on my '92. The mechanic told me he had to change the speedsensor, but on mine the odometer was out and crusie control wouldnt work wither. After if was fixed everything worked fine, but now my AIR BAG light wont go off after i got it back from the mechanic.

My 2 cents.

[Lexls 0]

If your air bag light won't go out this is how to turn it off: http://www.lexls.com/airbaglight.html

All you need is a couple of wires and about 15 minutes of time...it takes a number of tries to get the timing correct, you have to switch the wires pretty quickly ;)

[louie1951 0]

I had the same problem on my '92. The mechanic told me he had to change the speedsensor, but on mine the odometer was out and crusie control wouldnt work wither. After if was fixed everything worked fine, but now my AIR BAG light wont go off after i got it back from the mechanic.

My 2 cents.

tried the paperclip method, then took to electrical shop, told it was old and error codes were off. easier to pull the bulb.

my 92 sc 400 had both cruise control and speedometer failures over the last two weeks. can you give me info on the sensor. located in cluster? it fixed everything?

[adnan133 0]

ok if your speedometer needle or any other needle sits under the zero its an easy fix but if it works sometimes and sometimes not it is because its sticky, remover the plastic cover from the cluster and place the needle back on the zero if the needle sits under the zero if it works sometimes and sometimes not than its sticky grease behind the needle

[camtu 0]

I have a 96 LS400, The speedometer 
Incorrect operation , how do you repair or check this case

[vissine 12]

Try to hit hard (with your hand) on the dashboard on the top of the odometer. Some times, the needle works again.

[The Wrench 4]

yes.

 

 

Smack the dashboard.

it will work. or you have bigger issues.

had this last week. smacked the dash. and it has been fine since. just old electrical connections.

[JJ ls400 0]

On 4/22/2017 at 6:02 PM, vissine said:

Try to hit hard (with your hand) on the dashboard on the top of the odometer. Some times, the needle works again.

Yes 👍 it worked for me,  it sticks from time to time,  today it didn't work at all usually about 10 20 minutes of driving it wakes up, this time it didn't,  looked on here, read the reviews,  taped the dashboard and it responded. 

 

[sha4000 50]

This is a pretty common issue.

[dmartn149 0]

Can anyone here tell me where the speed sensor is? Where to find both ends? I've looked on youtube and only found shaky useless videos. I'm interested in the one that controls the tach & speedo. Thanks

[paulo57509 6]

On 7/28/2020 at 1:05 PM, dmartn149 said:

Can anyone here tell me where the speed sensor is? Where to find both ends? I've looked on youtube and only found shaky useless videos. I'm interested in the one that controls the tach & speedo. Thanks

The speedometer speed sensor is attached to the transmission tail shaft housing on the diver's side  If the speedometer needle reads zero but the odometer is still incrementing, it's not the speed sensor.

The tachometer gets its signal from the ignition system.  I don't know exactly it ties into the ignition.

[dmartn149 0]

Thanks Paul. The speedo and tach both read 0 until I tap the dash with my palm. It seem odd that tapping the dash would cause it to read if the problem is at a sensor on the tranny. but I'm willing to try it as I haven't heard of any other potential fix.

Thanks again

[paulo57509 6]

22 hours ago, dmartn149 said:

Thanks Paul. The speedo and tach both read 0 until I tap the dash with my palm. It seem odd that tapping the dash would cause it to read if the problem is at a sensor on the tranny. but I'm willing to try it as I haven't heard of any other potential fix.

Thanks again

You're welcome.  The speedometer needle in my '98 sticks (rarely) depending on the ambient temperature.  I have read elsewhere that the problem is the instrument lube that's used in the gauge heads get sticky with age.  The only real fix is to remove the cluster and have an instrument repair shop deal with it.

There is a chance that he gauge cluster might have a bad connection at the circuit board ribbon cables, etc.