A lot of owners have issue with the speedo, power steering, auto box change etc.

All of these are related in as far as they are part of the speed sensor circuit, having seen many owners pondering on if the speed sensor is at fault then take a look at the picture below.

 

The speed sensor is rare in as far as it can be seen to be faulty by just looking at it provided of course you know what to look for.

 

The photo actually shows autobox sensors but the manual box sensor has the same issues.

 

The unit is a small pulse generator, as the cog is turned by the gearbox the stator is turned within the field windings which produces a small ac voltage of around 1 to 5 volts and as the unit is very unstressed there is very little that can go wrong with it.

 

However the unit is held together by the black plastic end cap, this end cap is where it all goes wrong, for reasons unknown the caps start to come adrift as seen in the photo.

 

This loosening of the end cap allows the stator shaft / field windings to move out of line not by much but enough to stop the output been produced.

 

Annoyingly as the cap originally starts to slowly moves out, the shaft end float is still small enough for it to move in and out of the correct position and so causes it to work intermittently.

 

So armed with this information all you need to do if faced with this problem is get the car jacked up and take a look at the end cap on the sensor, if it looks like the faulty one in the picture simply apply a layer of epoxy resin to the edge of the cap and push it back in, yes that simple, no need to even remove it, and you will have one fixed sensor for a tube of glue.

 

Hope that is of help.

 

Jeff TT

 

Edited February 9, 200916 yr by JeffTT

well that should help a few people

Jeff, your the man!:duffer:

Excellent post Jeff and hope to see more (not that we don't want you to take the family away on holiday :slap:).

 

:tongue:

Now this is the whole point of being a member on an owners club! Top stuff Jeff.

Brilliant stuff Jeff - pretty sure I have this issue as I have intermittent power steering problems (maybe I should get you to have a look while you have my car!).

 

Am I right in thinking that this sensor is on the passenger side of the gearbox? Had a quick look before but didn't find it...

Will you take a peek at mine on Saturday then please !

great tip I thought this was the problem with mine but turned out my jap clocks were flaky, everything worked fine bar the speedo which only worked when it felt like it. After fitting UK clocks its worked all the time.

great info jeff. i have a problem with my power steering tho and no other fault (speedo works perfectly etc)

its intermittent and the power steering generally becomes how it should (light at low speeds )when its humid-wet outside.

 

i have looked over all the connectors i can see and cleaned them but the issue still remains. what do you recon that could be??

 

cheers

gaz

The solenoid on the steering rack has a connector not sure if you have checked that, as its position is in the flow of rain water etc that is a real likely candidate, as the system works on around 5 volts with very little current hence it does not take a lot for it to play up.

 

Jeff TT

The solenoid on the steering rack has a connector not sure if you have checked that, as its position is in the flow of rain water etc that is a real likely candidate, as the system works on around 5 volts with very little current hence it does not take a lot for it to play up.

 

Jeff TT

 

i think i have . isnt that on the drivers side of the rack?

i think i have . isnt that on the drivers side of the rack?

 

 

Yes thats right, maybe the solenoid is at fault then, one way of testing the system is to monitor the power supply to the solenoid whilst driving the when the problem occurs.

To do this you need to run a cable pair from the solenoid ( use scotchlock to connect the cables ) tempory to inside the car and connect to a voltmeter, as you go faster the voltage should go down and rise back up to 5 volts at idle and car stationary.

 

If the problem occurs and the power supply is intact the solenoid is faulty if the power supply fails then more investigation is needed in to the wiring etc.

 

Jeff TT

Yes thats right, maybe the solenoid is at fault then, one way of testing the system is to monitor the power supply to the solenoid whilst driving the when the problem occurs.

To do this you need to run a cable pair from the solenoid ( use scotchlock to connect the cables ) tempory to inside the car and connect to a voltmeter, as you go faster the voltage should go down and rise back up to 5 volts at idle and car stationary.

 

If the problem occurs and the power supply is intact the solenoid is faulty if the power supply fails then more investigation is needed in to the wiring etc.

 

Jeff TT

 

thanks jeff your a legend! :bow:im going to give that a go. are they easy to change if it is faulty and do you have to bleed the system afterwards?

I may try that as i never got to the bottom of a hicas problem thats bugged me since getting my car.If i leave the car ticking over for a while the hicas light comes on and the steering goes heavy.Key the car and the problem goes.Checked all the basics(fluid level etc)and cleaned the connection on the rack solenoid and checked its continuity!! Im use to it but my missus struggles to get it off the drive.Would love to get to the bottom of it.

thanks jeff your a legend! :bow:im going to give that a go. are they easy to change if it is faulty and do you have to bleed the system afterwards?

 

 

Ok simple to change just three small fixings and no bleeding is required as only a very small amount of fluid leaks out of the port, one other tip, the power steering ecu resides in the passenger footwell and if the signal to the solenoid turns out to be faulty then next thing to do is check the output at the ecu, if it is ok there as it usually is, then there is a cable fault behind the dashboard which is very common.

Rather than spend hours looking for the fault just run a new cable only takes 20 mins that way. See how you get on first and if you need ore help just let me know and will go through it with you in more detail for the connections and wiring colours etc.

 

Jeff TT

Jeff, can you tell us were on the gearbox I can find the speed sensor ?

at the back on the drivers side

Ok simple to change just three small fixings and no bleeding is required as only a very small amount of fluid leaks out of the port, one other tip, the power steering ecu resides in the passenger footwell and if the signal to the solenoid turns out to be faulty then next thing to do is check the output at the ecu, if it is ok there as it usually is, then there is a cable fault behind the dashboard which is very common.

Rather than spend hours looking for the fault just run a new cable only takes 20 mins that way. See how you get on first and if you need ore help just let me know and will go through it with you in more detail for the connections and wiring colours etc.

 

Jeff TT

 

thank you

Jeff, can you tell us were on the gearbox I can find the speed sensor ?

 

Will post pics for the auto and manual sensor position tomorrow.

 

Jeff TT

Any thoughts on my conundrum??

A lot of owners have issue with the speedo, power steering, auto box change etc.

All of these are related in as far as they are part of the speed sensor circuit, having seen many owners pondering on if the speed sensor is at fault then take a look at the picture below.

 

The speed sensor is rare in as far as it can be seen to be faulty by just looking at it provided of course you know what to look for.

 

The photo actually shows autobox sensors but the manual box sensor has the same issues.

 

The unit is a small pulse generator, as the cog is turned by the gearbox the stator is turned within the field windings which produces a small ac voltage of around 1 to 5 volts and as the unit is very unstressed there is very little that can go wrong with it.

 

However the unit is held together by the black plastic end cap, this end cap is where it all goes wrong, for reasons unknown the caps start to come adrift as seen in the photo.

 

This loosening of the end cap allows the stator shaft / field windings to move out of line not by much but enough to stop the output been produced.

 

Annoyingly as the cap originally starts to slowly moves out, the shaft end float is still small enough for it to move in and out of the correct position and so causes it to work intermittently.

 

So armed with this information all you need to do if faced with this problem is get the car jacked up and take a look at the end cap on the sensor, if it looks like the faulty one in the picture simply apply a layer of epoxy resin to the edge of the cap and push it back in, yes that simple, no need to even remove it, and you will have one fixed sensor for a tube of glue.

 

Hope that is of help.

 

Jeff TT

 

 

 

I'm having problems with my steering, don't think I have any problems with the speedo, other than it's lazy. (been like that since i've had it)

In the last few days I have been have problems turning, the best way o describe it is that it's lumpy. Sometimes it's light then heavy then light, this is on the same turn. Hope it make sence:)

would this be the sensor??

Just had a look under there and it looks ok, would it be worth buying another one. would it be anything else??

GUTTED my power steering is really doin my head in and I was prayin this was the problem. Got the car up and had a look.......looks absolutely fine DOH!!!! gotta look for something else now...all advice very welcome!!

could this also make the mileage clock stop? mine stopped going up and im hoping its just a solder job

If your speedo isnt registering, then the odometer wont work either as it takes its signal from the back of the speedo

great stuff m8, many thanks