Re: 93 Legacy Turbo Speedo prob

> The 'Cable' in front of or right at the firewall goes to

>> the dashboard speedometer. The electrical >> connectors go to the computer. >> >> Ol' Rep > >OK, call me dumb then ... what exactly is the "firewall"? And is it >the top transducer or one of the two small ones on the RH side? >

IMO, the only dumb people are those who think that everyone is born with this information already in their head.

To add to my previous post, "The electrical connectors go to the computer" assumed that you did NOT mean either of the 2 large, multiconductor electrical cables which are (1) the transmission shift lever position switch cable or (2) the transmission electronic control cable.

The 'firewall' is the (usually) vertical metal panel which separates the engine compartment from the passenger compartment. It is a little less well defined these days with the compaction of car bodies such that the firewall and the 'transmission tunnel' have melded into each other by design.

The speedometer 'cable' is a mechanical cable that does not use electricity. The faster the car goes, the faster the center of the cable spins and the more the needle moves in the speedometer gauge in the dashboard panel.

This cable plugs into the transmission very far forward in the transmission and in fact is plugged into the 'front differential' portion of the transmission. It connects vertically from above and is held in place with a spring clip. No transducers are involved unless you have an oddball conversion of some kind or a car made for another country, AFAIK. There is always something I haven't seen.

This cable is hard to see but is near the front 'differential' oil level checking tube/stick (NOT the same as the 'transmission' oil level checking tube/stick) and is on the right side (passenger side on American cars). Since the cable connects directly from above, it will be the upper most connector on the transmission, except for air vent hoses.

Climb in the engine compartment, get your head as close to the firewall as possible, look straight down on the right side of the transmission (passenger side), and you should see both the differential oil filler check tube/stick and the speedometer cable connection.

You symptoms sound exactly like a failing speedomter (mechanical) cable since usually the square end of the cable rounds off with wear and begins slipping.

Hope this helps.

Let me know how this turns out or if you have other questions,

Ol' Rep (not Subaru)

Reply to
<Rep
Loading thread data ...

ger side), and you

I think I'll change my name to "always a Noob". I asked the local garage to price a "vehicle speed sensor" as per the Subie Manuals CD and they came back with a whopping =A3230 (US$450?). I wonder why it needs so much gold. Also the Speedo is electronic and the Engine Computer Unit obviously receives speed signals since it 'knows' the speed information is missing by illuminating the "Check Engine" light. Since this warning only began to appear as the Speedo failed I am assuming the two are connected - p'raps something else is the cause? If it doesn't snow later and the temperature gets above -40 I'll follow your instructions. Thanks, Pete

Reply to
fopetesl

side), and you

Sorry, Ol' Rep, I missed your other question - I was guessing that from the three transducers on the rear of the gearbox viewed from underneath, one was the Vehicle Speed Sensor but I didn't know which. Two of the sensors have three way connectors and the top rear one just a cable traveling up towards the front of the "firewall"(?) - the top larger one without any plug & socket connector I assume is to indicate the position of the Gear (Shift) Lever but the remaining ones are a mystery - I couldn't find any mention in the Subie Manuals CD. By "multipole" connectors I am assuming you mean many more than three so haven't looked that far. Yet.

Reply to
fopetesl

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.