I was driving the other day, andthe 'Check Engine' light went on. I noticed shortly there after that my temperature gage on the dash wasn't working (now it says that it's 0C all the time), and my 'winter/economy/sport button was not lit, or working. I have an OBD II reader, so I rand the codes, and it came back as a P0500 which meanss that the probable causes were in the following order;

1) Vehicle Speed Sensor Defective
2) check connector and wiring
3) Signal roto chipped or defective (don't knw what that is?)
4) Refer to AZ commercial preferred customer (don't know what that means?)

Anyway to recap, it seams that my some of my sensors are not working, and it could just be coincidence... Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Is the ABS light on?

 

Hello Edward,

Greetings from Chicagoland.

As to your problem, with my tired head I can only give you some possibilities as to the temp gauge:
1. Faulty temp sensor
2. Faulty temp gauge
3. Loss of coolant

It isunlikely that more than 1 or 2 sensors go bad at the same time. Might be loose electrical connection around sensors/instrument cluster.


JPN

 

JPN, thanks, but where is the intrument cluster?

Tech; No, the ABS light is not on? What do you think?

 

Also, I don't have any cruise control anymore.

 

And one more thing that's interesting... when I turn the car on, the 'check engine' light is not on right away, but comes on after about 5 seconds.

 

Thinking bad ABS module.
Make sure the ABS light bulb works when you turn the key on.
Also sometimes the codes will be stored but no light on.

 

Hello again Edward,

The instrument cluster is the panel with speedometer, tachometer, etc... It is a self contained unit and access has to be done with the dash top cover removed. The procedure is not that difficult, but there are many torx screws and got to be careful with SRS.

Asfor the check engine light turning on about few seconds after starting, check also the codes for the gearbox (transmission). This requires OBD-II scanner.

Best wishes,


JPN

 

Both Trac and ABS lights come on when I go to start it. And, I just replaced the ABS module last year. Any other suggestions?

 

Maybe a trans. sensor or something like that.

The computer uses ABS,Transmission, and engine speed to make sure the speedo signal is correct.

Have the codes pulled from ABS and engnine.

 

Thank you JPN!!!!! First of all, I changed the speed sensor because that's the error I was getting from the OBDII reader. When I did this, the 'check engine' light went off, but the winter/sport/economy and temp sensor were still not working. I took off the very bottom of the dash on the driver side (3 torque screws) and started pulling on the connections, and one of them was loose. I pushed it in, checked all the others, and then checked it by starting the car, and everything works. You know, there's a whole crap load of connectors under there. So again, thanks JPN. I owe you.

Also, do you think that if I had checked the connectons first, that the speed sensor would have somehow started working, and cleared the 'check engine' light? I know it's probably highly unlikely, and I surely don't want to put the old one back it to see, but just asking?

 

Hello Edward,

Glad the problem has been solved. No, you don't owe me anything, you pretty much figured it out by yourself, and Mr. Tech helped you as well.

As to your question, I am not sure if it had cleared the check engine light. My aviation college's electronics instructor used to say that 80 to 90% of the time electrical/electronic problems are something simple, such as loose connector, poor/disconnectedground, poor soldering, etc...

I'm glad the problem was solved before Christmas, it would've been horrible togo under the dash on 25th, while families/relatives feast inside the house and leave you with half-eaten chicken in the end.

Best Holiday Wishes,


JPN