92 Honda Prelude Type S -- speedometer goes dead intermittently

Hello folks,

I have an unusual problem with my Prelude. When I start my car during
winter (I live in Toronto, Canada) and drive my car in the highway, the
speedometer goes dead and goes down to 0. I warm up my car for about a
minute or so before driving. In addition, this problem only happens when I
drive on the highway and it doesn't happen when the engine is warm. During
the course of driving and the speedometer is dead, the engine yellow light
on my dash goes on until I turn off my engine and restart it again, then it
goes away. It is a very intermittent problem. My tachometer works fine,
however. I really dont know much on cars so I really dont know where to
start. Does anyone might have an idea on what the problem is?

Thanks!

 

The '92 Prelude used a conventional speedometer cable from the tranny to
the instrument cluster, and an electronic VSS (Vehicle Speed Sensor)
mounted behind the speedometer. I am not sure if the speedometer is
mechanical or electronic, but from the parts drawing at
http://www.hondaautomotiveparts.com it looks like it is mechanical. If
this is the case, you probably have a problem with the drive gears in
either end of the speedometer cable (or perhaps the cable is binding and
just needs lubrication).

If the speedometer is electronic, I would suspect the VSS in addition to
the cable and drive gears.

The ECU needs to know the speed of the car, so if it does not get a
valid speed signal it will turn on the MIL (engine yellow light).

 

i had the same problem with my 95 accord, i had to replace the "chip" in the
instrument cluster that controls the speedo. had a hard time finding an
instrument cluster to get the part. however, perservered and found one for
$50 CAD at a junk yard.

ps-you don't need to change the whole instrument cluster, since the odometer
reading would not be "true", just the chip. once you get to the cluster you
will see what i mean. but getting there is probably the hardest part (lots
of hidden screws everywhere). good luck

RS