Speedometer Intermittently Fails

[DKRC-2003]

A friend of mine just bought a 1994 LS 400 with 98K miles, in great shape!

Anyways, the only problem that he has noted on the car is that the speedometer needle has quit working on him twice, where it will drop to reading zero (the needle lights are fine). It will stay that way for 15-30 seconds and then go back to working normally again.

All the other needles (tach, temp...) work fine when this occurs. Unknown if the cruise control is affected.

Does this sound like a bad capacitor prob on the cluster circuit board, a bad sensor or some other issue?

[Lexls]

I think it's probably either the No. 1 or No. 2 speed sensor. When one of these fails the speedo stops working. It sounds to me like one of these sensors is about to fail. There is a test to see if the sensors are functioning properly in the repair manual, check that out.

[obergc]

The way to find out if it is possibly a speed sensor causing the problem is to check your Cruise Control and odometer while the speedometer is not working. If they still work, then the speed sensor is NOT defective. If the cruise control stops along with the speedometer, then it might be a speed sensor or even possibly the associated wiring. If your cruise contol and the odometer continue to work, then you have an internal cluster problem.

[CUMan]

I have an intermittant problem with the speedometer and tachometer needles on my 93 LS 400.

Some days, when I crank the car, neither needle will move. After driving a few miles, the tachometer needle will jump to the correct reading. Usually, when I drive a bit longer, the speedometer needle will jump to its proper position. However, there have been several times when the speedometer needle never did get off zero. Usually, when the needles both start working, they are okay the rest of the day.

Other days, both needles work fine when I crank the car and work fine the rest of the day.

Mileage does accumulate on the odometer when the speedometer is not working.

This is a problem in the cluster that was not solved by the capacitor replacement Jim Walker did on my cluster last November. I have communicated with Jim about this and he indicated that he was aware of the problem and was trying to find a solution.

I would hazard a guess that the difficulty in finding a solution to this involves the intermittant nature of the non-working needles.

[kcpth]

My problem with the needle is a bit different. On my 92LS, my temperature Gauge needle will shoot from normal to the top and back down . It will stay at the top for 2 seconds at most. N drops back down to the temperature it was originally on. I'm kinda worried :cries: . I had a coolant change @ jiffy lube back in September in hopes of solving the problem. I even changed one of the caps @ the resevoir tank but still happened yesterday. It comes and goes. It might go fine for 2 months, and then pop its ugly head 2 times a day n never show for a week. I just hope that it's not a serious problem. Is my problem related with you guys?

[90LS400Lexus]

I agree. It sounds like the speed sensor. My old 1991 Honda Accord did the exact same thing and that was the culprit. Not sure about the Lexus, but I know on the 90-93 Accords, it causes bizarre transmission operation. The "S" light will flash (meaning failure). The "S" light serves as a transmission malfunction (when flashing) or indicates that you have it on "power" mode. Also too- when the sensor is malfunctioning, the transmission will not shift into 4th (overdrive). It was a very easy and simple repair on my Honda. A new sensor was going to be $120 at the local Honda dealer. Went to a junk yard and got one off of a wrecked 92 Accord with 29K actual miles for $20. It worked perfectly. These seem to fail on most of the 90-93 Accords around the 190K-210K mile mark. Good luck.

[ca12losR]

It could very well be the speed sensor but recently a few guys on ebay have claimed to fix this for a hefty price, it is also on the cluster circiut board.