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Ford WindstarIntroduced in the mid-1990s, the front-wheel-drive Ford Windstar minivan campaigned with an emphasis on, and reputation for, safety. And in the hotly contested family minivan market of the time, that was an especially solid piece of ground to be on. As long as buyers didn't need to haul adults in back on a regular basis, the Windstar served a family's needs just fine.
just recently the speedometer needle on my van started acting crazy. sometimes the needle jumps around while i'm driving a steady speed, and usually when this happens it will drop down all the way to 0 mph, all while the car is still in motion. after a short time, it will begin acting normal again.
does this completely intermittantly. seems to happen most when i'm traveling at slower speeds 30 mph or less, although it has happened on the freeway too. the good thing is that no other guages are doing this, and the engine and transmission still seem to operate normally while all this is going on. the bad news is that it's extremely annoying and it will probably get me pulled over soon without having a properly functioning speedometer to rely upon.
anyone else experience this problem? any thoughts?
i think there is a speed sensor onn each front wheel, should i start by checking those?
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'98 Windstar GL 3.8L, traded in 8/4/08 for an 05 Saturn Vue
should have mentioned, check engine light is not on, and there are no codes stored in the PCM.
do you think i should be looking at replacing the speedometer guage itself, or start with the vehicle speed sensor? also, are the sensors on the front wheels for the ABS, and the vehicle speed sensor is on the back of the transmission? does this sound correct?
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'98 Windstar GL 3.8L, traded in 8/4/08 for an 05 Saturn Vue
I'm having a similar problem where intermittently (but only immediately after being started and shifting the first time into 2nd gear under light throttle), the engine feels like it revs slightly (I don't think it's slipping though) just before/during the shift, and the speedo needle drops a few mph and then rebounds.
Do you notice certain times/events that seem to influence your speedo acting up?
I'm having a similar problem where intermittently (but only immediately after being started and shifting the first time into 2nd gear under light throttle), the engine feels like it revs slightly (I don't think it's slipping though) just before/during the shift, and the speedo needle drops a few mph and then rebounds.
Do you notice certain times/events that seem to influence your speedo acting up?
not at all. it does it completely randomly. sometimes it will just die and rest at 0 mph, and sometimes it will bounce all over the place.
i've done too much work on both mine and my girlfriend's car is the past couple of weeks, that i don't even feel like looking at it right now. everything else is still operating normally, so i figure when i have a day off work and i find myself really bored with nothing to do, then i'll take a gander at the speed sensor. although i think if the speed sensor was bad it would cause the transmission to act up. but i don't know, i'm stumped.
does the speedo in these things operate electronically according to the signals coming off all the sensors, or does it operate mechanically with a cable?
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'98 Windstar GL 3.8L, traded in 8/4/08 for an 05 Saturn Vue
a short update:
so i've been continuing to drive the van lately regardless of the problem, but now when the speedometer acts up, the transmission behaves differently. not as bad as before the rebuild, but it doesn't quite know when exactly to shift.
i'm going to keep the van parked for a couple of days and replace the vehicle speed sensor when i get a chance later this week and see if that does anything. i'm starting there because it seems logical, and the part is cheap. i'll post again with any updates after that.
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'98 Windstar GL 3.8L, traded in 8/4/08 for an 05 Saturn Vue
the vss at the r/frt of the trans is all electronic ie wires to the pcm best to replace when cold,they usully act up hot with high miles, the other speed inputs are abs tss oss and are all electronic. the other thing at the back of the inst cluster the connector may not be fully seated, intermitant operation, have fun .
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speedometer going crazy 
Linear Mode
