Adapting a 3-wire gear driven VSS to a 2-wire electronic VSS harness?

So i recently did a 5-speed swap on my 97 Limited and i kept the Auto ECU. I have tricked and solved all the CEL's except for one involving the VSS that was in the auto tranny i removed ( CEL P1700 )

I found a gear driven sensor that will plug straight into the back of my T/C but it has three wires and I'm not sure how to adapt it to the existing system. The old sensor had only two wires and was the electric type that used an exciter wheel and magnetic pickup.

Can i use the two wires from the old sensor i removed to connect the new 3-wire sensor? do they send similar signals? pulse width?

I'm thinking the electronic sensor was sending power, getting interrupted, and sending back a pulse signal so the new gear driven sensor has a power, signal, and ground wire?
 
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This is an interesting one. And probably not an easy fix. The rear transmission output shaft speed sensor is either a magnetic pickup or a hall effect pickup - probably magnetic since it is a multi-toothed metal wheel.

I was originally thinking you might be able to use a Dakota Digital speedo interface, but it really only goes the opposite direction of what you need.

Also, even if you do get the output shaft signal there, then it'll look for the input shaft speed sensor, etc.

-Charlie
 
So i recently did a 5-speed swap on my 97 Limited and i kept the Auto ECU. I have tricked and solved all the CEL's except for one involving the VSS that was in the auto tranny i removed ( CEL P1700 )

I found a gear driven sensor that will plug straight into the back of my T/C but it has three wires and I'm not sure how to adapt it to the existing system. The old sensor had only two wires and was the electric type that used an exciter wheel and magnetic pickup.

Can i use the two wires from the old sensor i removed to connect the new 3-wire sensor? do they send similar signals? pulse width?

I'm thinking the electronic sensor was sending power, getting interrupted, and sending back a pulse signal so the new gear driven sensor has a power, signal, and ground wire?
I got you boo.

Give me a few.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
Now, this is for a '99. I'm not sure what the wiring will look like or be like on a 97. Maybe [MENTION=10169]TheDurk[/MENTION] can help out with that one.

So, I added the SGI- 5 speed corrector.

Now, mine is a few years old, and Dakota Digital upgraded the SGI- 5, so how I wired mine up might not help you.

I can take pics of how I did it if you'd like.

The blank space on the blue connector is for a ground. You can ground it out anywhere, suck as the 10mm but on the dash right behind the gauge cluster.

The SGI-5 will come with instructions, so it's pretty easy to figure out what you need to do.


Here's another write up for you guys.

This is the Speedo Mod.

Basically, what Toyota did, and don't ask me why, was to run the speedo sensor through the ABS. How it works, I really don't know, but I do know it has something to do with the pulses of the ABS ring. And that's all I care to know, honestly.

When I did my Manual Hub Swap, and my 8.4" in the back, I completely lost my ABS, so there went my speedo. Drove around for a while with no speedo, using an app on my iPhone, and the RPMs of the truck to gauge how fast I was going.

Finally, I found the parts I needed from a guy who was willing to them off of a wrecked Taco.

When I did this mod the first time, I didn't realize what a half-assed job I did, until I got under the truck today to replace my wiring harness. (Special thanks to [MENTION=78895]DeathCougar[/MENTION] for having the right harness, and his timely delivery of it!) Hopefully that will fix my CEL that I've been having a problem getting rid of. :shrug:

Here we go:

Parts needed:

Speedo sensor out of a Tacoma. Any year will do. If you're running different gears like I am, then you don't really need to worry if the gear is right. My speedo is 16% off because of the 4.88s that I'm running. If you're running stock gears, see if you can get one from a Taco with your gearing. That should keep your speedo pretty damn accurate.

18ga Wire, a lot of it. You can use one color, or you can use three seprate colors. The choice is yours.

Wire cutters/strippers. :girl:

Butt-Connectors or Soldering Iron and solder.

Shrink Wrap- again, lots of it.

Now, first thing you want to do is to take your gauge cluster out. If you don't know how to do that, then I'm sorry. I didn't take Pics of taking all the crap off.

Once your Gauge cluster is out, you'll have your plugs resting on the steering wheel. You can see here how I already had this done, just a craptastic job, so I re-did it.

img1698d.jpg


The wires you're going to need from the gauge cluster are going to be on the small blue connector, and the brown connector. They are the Blue and Grey wire on the Blue Connector, and the Black and Yellow Wire on the Brown connector. These need to be cut so you can splice your Speedo Sensor into them.

On your speedo sensor, there should be a Green wire with a Red stripe, a Blue wire, and a Pink wire. On mine, the Pink wire is the Position One wire, the Blue wire is the Position Two wire, and the Green w/ Red stripe is the Position Three Wire.

These wires are going to be extended, and then spliced into the gauge cluster.

The Position One wire(Pink, in my case), goes into the Black and yellow wire.

The Position Two wire(Blue) goes into a blank space in the Blue connector.

The Position Three wire(Green w/ Red Stripe) goes into the Grey wire with a Blue stripe.

I used some "weather Proof" butt connectors from the speedo sensor to my extension wire. These things are pretty nifty. They're basically butt connectors, that are convered in shrink wrap, with a glue in them to seal the wires off.

img1699k.jpg



A closer shot of the glue in there.

img1701zk.jpg



Then, to keep the wires all together, I shrink wrapped them all together. This was a PITA. I basically had to cut a section of shrink wrap about 18-24" long, and feed the wires through it one by one. Now, I had only one color wire at the house, and really didn't feel like going to the store to get more, so I just tied knots on the end of them, to remember which one was where. One knot for the Green w/red, two knots for the blue, and three for the pink. Here's a Pic:

img1703wkt.jpg


The shrink wrap wouldn't go over all three butt connectors, but, like I said, they're weather proof, so I'm not too worried about it.

The Speedo sensor needs to go on the transfer case, at the back. ON the 4Runner, there is a plug where it needs to go. A Pic for reference. That one bolt is all that holds it onto the t-case.

photomar17155652.jpg



I plugged mine in, and ran the wires over the transmission along the wiring harness to keep them out of the way. Then I ran them into the grommet where the body ECU somes out at the fire wall. Then up behing the dash, just by feeding them up, and pulled them through where the gauge cluster sits.

Now, remember how I said the Blue wire needs to get put into an empty slot in the blue connector? Yeah. It's this one. It's right next to a solid green wire. You can also see the grey wire with a blue stripe that I cut.

img1707lr.jpg


Now, all that's left, is to splice the wires together. I took my extension wires, and twisted them to the wires that were NOT on the connector. Then, I put a normal butt connector on them, and crimped it down.

For the Blue wire in the empty space, I just stripped it, fed it through the slot, and bent the wires up so they wouldn't fall out.

Here's a Pic of all the wires connected. You can see what I did with the butt connectors.

img1709r.jpg



After that, All you have to do is plug it in, and you're all set.

Keep in mind, that if you're running aftermarket gears, you're speedo is gonna be off. If you didn't get a speed sensor from a Taco with your same gear ratio, your speedo is gonna be off.

Buy this, and it'll take care of that. I'm about to buy one so I can adjust my speedo.

Universal Speedometer Signal Interface

That's all there is to it, guys. Any Questions, feel free to ask.



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Very interesting!! So I'm gathering that the output signals from the two different types of sensors are different so i cannot just wire the new one into the existing wires...

It would be really badass if i could just wire the gear driven electronic sensor through the ABS...

Is it possible to tag people on this forum? [MENTION=10169]TheDurk[/MENTION]


edit: that answered my question about tagging :)
 
Very interesting!! So I'm gathering that the output signals from the two different types of sensors are different so i cannot just wire the new one into the existing wires...

It would be really badass if i could just wire the gear driven electronic sensor through the ABS...

Is it possible to tag people on this forum? [MENTION=10169]TheDurk[/MENTION]


edit: that answered my question about tagging :)
You can wire it into the speed cluster, but your Speedo will probably be off.

The Dakota digital sensor allows you into adjust the Speedo for tires/gears.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
You can wire it into the speed cluster, but your Speedo will probably be off.

The Dakota digital sensor allows you into adjust the Speedo for tires/gears.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk


Thanks. Good to know it can be done. Ill try to figure out the wiring in the next few days and then determine how much the speedo is off so i can get the appropriate replacement gear for the sensor. I currently have a 31 tooth gear and a 33 tooth gear... Time to take it all apart again!! Lol
 
determine how much the speedo is off so i can get the appropriate replacement gear for the sensor. I currently have a 31 tooth gear and a 33 tooth gear... Time to take it all apart again!! Lol

The Dakota Digital SGI-5 will allow you to change the Speedo, without changing the tooth count.

Really comes in handy for gears or tires, when your Speedo will be off again.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using Tapatalk
 
Help! Manual Swap issues

So i recently did a 5-speed swap on my 97 Limited and i kept the Auto ECU. I have tricked and solved all the CEL's except for one involving the VSS that was in the auto tranny i removed ( CEL P1700 )

I found a gear driven sensor that will plug straight into the back of my T/C but it has three wires and I'm not sure how to adapt it to the existing system. The old sensor had only two wires and was the electric type that used an exciter wheel and magnetic pickup.

Can i use the two wires from the old sensor i removed to connect the new 3-wire sensor? do they send similar signals? pulse width?

I'm thinking the electronic sensor was sending power, getting interrupted, and sending back a pulse signal so the new gear driven sensor has a power, signal, and ground wire?

I appreciate the tips for making the 3 wire hall effect sensor work on my rig from this thread! I was wondering from the initial statement how you were able to "trick the Auto ECU" so you no longer had any trouble codes. I currently have a few solenoid codes and would like to not have a CEL. If you have any tips i would greatly appreciate it thank you!
 
I appreciate the tips for making the 3 wire hall effect sensor work on my rig from this thread! I was wondering from the initial statement how you were able to "trick the Auto ECU" so you no longer had any trouble codes. I currently have a few solenoid codes and would like to not have a CEL. If you have any tips i would greatly appreciate it thank you!


Either resistors; or a 5speed computer/harness.


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