Paging Pete M - re Mondeo problem

Remember the problem, no reading on the speedo at any speed, auto would not change up to top gear and any gear changes were "clunky" for want of a better expression.

Well my mate, who is not a mechanic but considerably more use than me, took off the VSS and took it to the local Ford dealership. You may recall that they said (a) the VSS never goes on those automatics and (b) there aren't any of those in the country. Well he asked them to order him one, and it arrived yesterday. Swapped it over - no change.

So I'm at a loss to what the answer is now. We found out that the auto gearbox oil is low, could that affect the VSS reading? I have no idea how the transducer works.

Also, there is another module on the gearbox, with 7 or 8 connectors on it. Do you know what that does?

Now we know that VSS hasn't changed anything, have you got any other suggestions or am I just better off splashing out on a diagnostic?

That's unusual. Apologies if I've sent you on a wild goose chase.

VSS basically replaces a speedo cable with a sender that can talk to the engine / gearbox management, but the oil level shouldn't make a difference.

Not certain, but it could be the gearbox brain. Clean the connectors. Worth a try.

Check every connection, is the box behaving better with the right oil level in? When this happens on Focuses (Focii?) the usual "next suspect" is the speedo, but I'm sure they're a different set up re: wiring.

If you can find a garage which has "live" datalogging equipment, they'll probably be more use than Ford dealerships - a lot cheaper anyway. Mac Tools are doing a rather good little datalogger for the trade which is cheap enough for most good garages to invest in. Basically it's a little gubbin that plugs into the car diagnostic socket, you take the car for a spin and it records everything that happens. You then plug the gubbin into a laptop and it shows you everything, freeze frames etc. Shouldn't cost more than £35 to get it read.

I'm amazed the VSS hasn't fixed it though.