Power steering failure + crazy speedometer and dashboard lights

[vincenli]

Hi all,

Mine is a 1991 from the UK. It all started a couple of months back one day and the EPS warning light came on when I was driving but the actual EPS continued to work so parking was all fine.

However, once I restarted the car, the EPS warning light immediately came on as soon as I started the engine and power steering was GONE! Needed to use the car that day so I kept on driving with a bit of brut force and 5mins later weird things started to happen to my dashboard:

1.)the speedometer would jump back to zero every couple of seconds...sometimes it just sit at 0 for a few mins
2.) mine is an automatic (don't laugh.....) so the "D" gear light started flashing and
3.) Occasionally.. the back light of the dash would switch off randomly or get very dim and then go super bright again.

I have been reading here that pulling out and plugging the clock fuse back in helps so I did that. It worked and it was all smooth again but 30mins into driving the car, EPS light came on and the dashboard started going weird again and once I restart, there is no more EPS so I pretty much had to do the clock fuse "reset" every time before I do a journey and learn to make reasonable guesses of my speed.

It's been this way for a few months and I noticed that the 30mins of "healthiness" after a clock fuse reset gradually declined and now it is somewhere between 5-10mins if you are lucky on the day you get 15.

Please help!

Thanks
Vincent

 

[Hagasan]

Hi, are you in the UK? Why not check Kaz's blog at nsxcb.co.uk

The two probable causes of your problem are a faulty vss signal from the speed sensor on the gearbox and/or a faulty battery.
You might try disconnecting then reconnecting the connector on the gearbox to make sure it's all the way home. Have you had a new clutch recently?

Also check your battery terminal leads are securely attached. My eps played up 5 years ago and it was purely an iffy battery that was fine in warm weather but not so good as it got cooler later in the year. The eps would cut out randomly even during driving

 

[A.S. Motorsport]

Hi all,

Mine is a 1991 from the UK. It all started a couple of months back one day and the EPS warning light came on when I was driving but the actual EPS continued to work so parking was all fine.

However, once I restarted the car, the EPS warning light immediately came on as soon as I started the engine and power steering was GONE! Needed to use the car that day so I kept on driving with a bit of brut force and 5mins later weird things started to happen to my dashboard:

1.)the speedometer would jump back to zero every couple of seconds...sometimes it just sit at 0 for a few mins
2.) mine is an automatic (don't laugh.....) so the "D" gear light started flashing and
3.) Occasionally.. the back light of the dash would switch off randomly or get very dim and then go super bright again.

I have been reading here that pulling out and plugging the clock fuse back in helps so I did that. It worked and it was all smooth again but 30mins into driving the car, EPS light came on and the dashboard started going weird again and once I restart, there is no more EPS so I pretty much had to do the clock fuse "reset" every time before I do a journey and learn to make reasonable guesses of my speed.

It's been this way for a few months and I noticed that the 30mins of "healthiness" after a clock fuse reset gradually declined and now it is somewhere between 5-10mins if you are lucky on the day you get 15.

Please help!

Thanks
Vincent

This is a faulty VSS, the do fail from time to time.
It's located on the differential housing of the transmission, and has a wiring harness with a plug coming out of it.

 

[posterchild2]

Ignition switch can make all kind of funny stuff happen on your dash, similar situation I had with my EPS light and also some flashing dash lights, check the battery and the terminals as well. Good luck.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Especially check the ground lead on the battery as well as the ground leads in the engine bay.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[A.S. Motorsport]

Especially check the ground lead on the battery as well as the ground leads in the engine bay.

HTH,
LarryB

Very true, I've encountered random issue due to grounding issues before.
As for the main relay I have those on the shelf that i'll test on a nsx that's acting up just to be sure that isn't the cause.