Reason why I ask is that seems like all the 5th gen trannys come with CAPs on the tranny where the speed gear would be on the 4th gen trannys. I noticed on my auto that I removed there is also a cap in the same location.

Just wondering with the few people that have done 5th gen swaps, how does the car get the speed?

I remember seeing a thread awhile back like 6months ago of some person doing a 5th gen swap and i think i remember him saying the speedo didnt work or he was freaking about where the speed sensor goes? I know a few recommended removing the cam and putting one in there.

I tried to look in the FSM but doesnt seem to show where the speedsensor is or where it picks it up from. I can only think it gets it from the abs rings.

Dixit

 

My FSM says that the VSS (revolution sensor) detects the revs of the idler gear parking pawl lock gear. That's on an 02 SE auto.

 

According to the 02 FSM, its gets the speed from the ABS actuator/electrical unit. So that means it gets the speed from the abs rings on the driveshafts.

I guess the same applies to the 2k1 then since I didnt have a speed gear on the auto when i removed it.

Dixit

 

I believe that what you are referring to is the speed sensor providing input to the VSS circuit to modulate the ABS when the vehicle speed is above 19MPH. Any speed below that will probably prevent the ABS from functioning. I'm thinking that the SRS also has speed sensors to ensure the airbags do not deploy in low speed collisions. Just my interpretation of the FSM.

 

Well im actually talking about how the odometer gets it input for what speed that car is moving at? On 4th gen trannies there is actually a speed gear that attaches to the final gear/differential where it measures the speed. On 5th gen trannies, that speedsensor is not there, there is a cap in its place. So Seems like the speed is read from the ABS ring on the driveshaft and that is used by the ABS actuator as well as the Unified Speedometer unit.

I just want to make sure this is true, cause the auto has so many harnesses, thought maybe it was getting its speed some one of the 3 harnesses it is connected to. If it gets it from the ABS ring them in set when I put the 5spd in. If not, then I need to make sure where it is getting it from and wire that crap up.

Dixit

 

Dixit-
The 5th gen 5-speed does have a speed sensor- In fact it shows to be the same part # as a 4th gen- It's on the backside of the bellhousing portion of the trans. I could send you the diagram, or go out to my car & see if it's accessible enough for a pic.

 

Dave this is what I dont get though, how come the auto I took out didnt have a speedgear on the bell housing? Also Ive looked at 3 5th gen trannies and they all dont have the speed gear either, they all seem to have a cap on them.

Looking at the FSM it seems to show that it gets the speed from the ABS actuator and electrical unit, and if the car comes with TCS then there is a physical speedgear on the final gear it gets the info from.

Dixit

 

I hear you- It seems the FSM and the parts catalog don't agree- I'll have a look at my car and a '00-'01 A/T & see what they have. I don't have the FSM on my home computer, so that part will wait till Monday.

 

No problem, you will probably notice the caps on the trannies you look at that dont have TCS. Hopefully.

Hopefully monday when the big box of parts you sent arrives I can get moving on getting the 5spd back together and also start doing the clutch cylinders, brake pedal, clutch pedal and shift rods and stuff. In the meantime order the shims for the diff once we figure out which ones we need.

Dixit

 

The vehicle speed sensor is a permanent magnet generator mounted on the transaxle case. It produces an AC voltage sine wave, the frequency of which is proportional to the vehicle speed. It is connected to the PCM via an electrical connection.

 

Your wrong on it being a permanent magnet generator. It can be removed. Its a speedgear that has one 10mm bolt on the tranny (the ones that have them) and it pops out. Below shows the description of it and it is a gear that can be removed as I did off my 4th gen tranny.


Now to help other people understand why the 5th gens (some of them as you will see below) dont have this speedgear is shown below in this wiring diagram from the Factory Service Manual.

See in the upper right hand corner where it shows a TS and a OT for the wiring legend? That shows that the speedsensor gear ONLY exists when you have a tranny (auto or 5spd) with Traction Control System. Otherwise it gets the speed off the ABS Unit. Which gets its speed from the ABS rings on the driveshafts.

Hope this helps.

Dixit

 

It was my understanding that permanent indicated that it was a fixed/non moving magnet. The picture you provided of the sensor matches the one I have of the sensor, but the information I have does not mention the required Traction Control System or otherwise getting a speed indication off the ABS. My 2000 SE has this sensor, and I do not have Traction Control. Your information seems much more detailed than what I have on this subject, and I think it is likely that your last message would explain the absence of the sensor on some 5TH Gen trannys. I would be interested in knowing how this issue is finally resolved.

Thanks for the reply.

KJ

 

It was my understanding that permanent indicated that it was a fixed/non moving magnet. The picture you provided of the sensor matches the one I have of the sensor, but the information I have does not mention the required Traction Control System or otherwise getting a speed indication off the ABS. My 2000 SE has this sensor, and I do not have Traction Control. Your information seems much more detailed than what I have on this subject, and I think it is likely that your last message would explain the absence of the sensor on some 5TH Gen transaxles. I would be interested in knowing how this issue is finally resolved.

Thanks for the reply.

KJ

 

Hey Dixit,
That was me a few months ago that was b!tching about the speed sensor problem when i did my vlsd 5spd conversion. Im still running around with no speedo or abs unfortunately. Both my auto tranny and the 5spd AE tranny had that cap on them, but the wiring wasnt the same. I got a pinion type speed sensor but my mechanic (who is very good and has done lots of maxima 5spd conversions) could not wire it up and make it work. There are three wires for the speed sensor on the auto tranny but only two on the pinion type speed sensor, and no combination of wires works. If you find a way to wire it into the auto harness or some other solution, please let me know. I hope we get to the bottom of this very soon.

 

*bump*
Any updates? Did you get your parts? I haven’t been dealing with this lately…been busy with school and other stuff. But after finals I will resume trying to fix my speedo/abs problem. I’m thinking I might have to get a 5spd ecu and harness from a maxima with a speed gear. Here’s my old post about this problem btw: https://maxima.org/forums/showthread...sor+conversion

I’m pretty sure the speed gear doesn’t correspond to the TCS trannys. My 2000 GLE auto tranny had a pulse type (magnetic) sensor attached to it. My ecu got the signal from the sensor, not the abs actuator or a speed gear. But my AE tranny had a cap and no pulse sensor. So I got a speed gear and installed it but it would not work when we tried to wire it into the ecu via the 3 wires from the pulse sensor. Perhaps some models get the speed off the abs actuator. If the speed signal comes from the abs rings, then shouldn’t the abs work even if the speedo doesn’t? I’m just curious because my abs doesn’t work without the speed sensor. Hope you get your speedo/abs working when do the conversion. Let us know how it all works out