Wild Speedo and Power Steering In/Out

[Wilkstar]

This is my first post and looking for some other M3 owners with the same issues and some help. Please see my youtube video of the spedometer acting up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU9uZa6vB7c (the fun starts at 20seconds)

Slowly accelerating to 80 and then it drops in and out for a while, eventually staying at 0 and the power steering light turns on. Stop at light, power steering light off, speedo works, accelerate to approx 80 and same thing happens. (power steering light hard to see in video - speedo on/off happens 3 times in video). Today the check engine light is on.

I have checked power steering posts, but none have the related speedo issue.

Today in a 130km commute my speedo only registered 4.1 km!! Maybe I should just leave it:)

A little history, had the battery changed and all electrical tested just fine thursday (car would not turn over after stopping at a store). Friday the new problem! Dealer says it is conincidence. What do folks think? .

2005 2.0 3 GS Manual 185k

[TheMAN]

do you have ABS? if so inspect the speed sensor wires for any damage... it may not necessarily be breakage as no ABS or "CEL" light is on... but damaged wires will cause erratic signals that can cause improper speedometer functions

[hondaciviceg]

I have the same car with the same exact problem, speedometer goes crazy, power steering light goes on and the steering becomes hard, engine light is on, and i think its my speedo sensor which i will be taking to my mechanic to take a look at soon, but wat does this have anything to do with the eachother, (speedometer, and power steering)!
really weired that we both have the same exact problem, mine is a 05 gs manual, with 100 k

[Wilkstar]

I have had lots of help from a local mechanice since my last post. There is no easy answer. We reset the computer and retrieved several codes posted below.

hondaciviceg - Does the problem occur when you are using A/C and Audio?

TheMAN - Thanks for the clue, we examined wiring and connections which all seem okay. Current thinking is this is most likely a battery/alternator issue.

Other posts have indicated the battery is relatively weak. Even though I have a new battery I am going to test using a higher cranking amp battery next week and will post results.

Codes related to the battery / power steering issue also give some clues possibly related to lack of power?:
PO500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor malfuntion
U2023 - Steering Communication network fault

Other codes which I have not been able to get descriptions for include:
P0002
C3E00
P0200
P0238
P387E

I assume these 5 codes may also be related to the "power down" situation I faced before having to wait for the computer to reset, and then limp home wothout stalling before getting a new batter the next day.

Thanks for everyones help so far :)

[hondaciviceg]

ok i got the code the other day and i came up with p 0500 which refers to the speedometer. so i went in to the mazda dealership and they said that it has happend to other 3's before, and since my car is a manual there is only one sensor, so i will have to buy that and change my self ( i think it was about $150)

[-cj-]

Other posts have indicated the battery is relatively weak. Even though I have a new battery I am going to test using a higher cranking amp battery next week and will post results.


Shouldn't matter. Once your car starts, the alternator does everything. As long as your car is starting, you will be fine. Usually when ever your speedo stops working, it's the speed sensor inside the tranny. The ABS sensors aren't used to report speed to the speedo, only internally to the braking system.

[TheMAN]

wrong
ABS sensors are used for the speedo on these cars IF the car has ABS, otherwise a speed sensor in the tranny is used

[-cj-]

wrong
ABS sensors are used for the speedo on these cars IF the car has ABS, otherwise a speed sensor in the tranny is used

Wow, I must have got you all excited. Ok I stand corrected. Normally they are not the same sensor.

[stevenma188]

A similar thing happened on my friends 96 Civic. He solved the problem by finding out that there were a bunch of corroded wiring in his engine bay. He drove an automatic, and the transmission based shifts based the same source as the speedo, so it also caused him to have transmission problems. He just swapped out the wiring, and cleaned up the contact points, and the car as been running fine for almost 2 years now.

[willemk]

Resurrecting an old thread..

I'm having the same issue on my '05 3 GS manual.

I'm wondering what the part # is of the replacement VSS and possible a link to a place selling it online.

I do not have ABS to the best of my knowledge (no ABS light, never heard it come on).

In my haste, I have order this part: http://www.canadapartsonline.com/search/?N=0&uts=true&Ntt=W0133-1766492&searchType=global which seems to be only for the ABS version. :(

Thanks.
Willem.

[TheMAN]

http://www.protegefaq.net/tsb/mt000004586.html

[willemk]

Thank you

Willem.

[chub35]

Thank you

Willem.
Ok guys, my son's car is having these problems as well, power steering light, engine light and speedo drop out. I have done a lot of reading and went to my buds with the information I collected, we scanned but the codes don't really point exactly to the problem. What we do know is the speedo is on the same circuit as the power steering pump, which draws a lot of amps when under load, so we thought maybe battery, car has 170,000 Km with original battery, battery showed a poor load tests so we slapped in another battery, everything was fine for about a day then comes back the same problem. Not sure what to do next, all connectors look good, thinking we had some corrosion or something. I am not inclined to think it is the power steering pump and want to avoid that one due to high costs if at all possible. I noticed a lot of people with same problem but seems everyone did not post the final solutions. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[Noisy Crow]

What year is the car. There is a recall out on the steering pump for the 2007-2009's:
http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/mazda-recalls-215000-cars-for-power-steering-problem/

[xxSlidewaysxx]

I had the PS problem, but it only affected the steering, not the other peripheral items, just sayin'.

Although, if the load on the pump is high and does not shut off, it could impact the rest of the circuit.......

Do you notice anyting else with the car when the indicators come on?

[xxSlidewaysxx]

I have had lots of help from a local mechanice since my last post. There is no easy answer. We reset the computer and retrieved several codes posted below.

hondaciviceg - Does the problem occur when you are using A/C and Audio?

TheMAN - Thanks for the clue, we examined wiring and connections which all seem okay. Current thinking is this is most likely a battery/alternator issue.

Other posts have indicated the battery is relatively weak. Even though I have a new battery I am going to test using a higher cranking amp battery next week and will post results.

Codes related to the battery / power steering issue also give some clues possibly related to lack of power?:
PO500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor malfuntion
U2023 - Steering Communication network fault

Other codes which I have not been able to get descriptions for include:
P0002---P0002 Fuel Volume Regulator
Control Circuit Range/Performance
C3E00
P0200---P0200 Injector Circuit
Malfunction (http://www.torontomazda3.ca/p0200)
P0238---P0238 Turbocharger Boost Sensor A Circuit High
P387E---P0387 Crankshaft Position Sensor B
Circuit Low Input
I assume these 5 codes may also be related to the "power down" situation I faced before having to wait for the computer to reset, and then limp home wothout stalling before getting a new batter the next day.

Thanks for everyones help so far :)

see red text, there seem to be some generic codes for all cars.

[chub35]

Ok this is a 2005 standard transmission, I have done some more investigation on this problem, and decided to use an expert on JustAnswer, a Mazda mechanic I guess in the States with high approval rate, I gave him all the information and his reply back was that they have seen this problem many times and everything checked out A-ok in the battery and charging circuit and the codes some of which don't relate made no sense, they reset codes and send the car out and it comes back in a few days with same problem, the fix has always been replacing the alternator. He said there is no real explanation or codes which define this fix, it must be intermittent failure of the alternator. My thought is this, the power steering is high load, it is on the same circuit as the speedo, so when the car stops charging, the power steering load draws the voltage down too far causing the computer to throw codes, some not related to the problem, possibly because some circuits having low voltage throw codes because of this. I am inclined to change out the alternator, $230 Canadian. Its my son's car, he is in university and needs it, so he has my wife's car now, she is not impressed driving the beast with the lowered suspension and Cat Back exhaust system, LOL. I will keep you guys informed when and if I do this and the results. I am waiting now for the car to throw the codes again, two days now and no codes.

[chub35]

Ok, so here is the situation so far, reset codes, drove car for half day, power steering light comes on, speedo drops out, so I run it to my buddies, we hook up scanner without stopping car and take it for a drive, voltage is all over the place , his recommendation, alternator replacement, with respect to the speedo, codes come back as being bad VSS, so we ordered both parts and will install, see what happens. This time unlike other times the speedo did not come back when computer was reset, thus a failure hopefully of VSS.

[xxSlidewaysxx]

The issue may not be with your alternator but the voltage regulator inside it. See if you can replace only that, odds are you're stuck changing the whole thing thou.

But, that would explain why you are seeing so many issues at once.

Good luck.

[chub35]

The issue may not be with your alternator but the voltage regulator inside it. See if you can replace only that, odds are you're stuck changing the whole thing thou.

But, that would explain why you are seeing so many issues at once.

Good luck.

The car has 175,000 Km's, my buddy says he has done 3-4 alternators on 3's and says could be about time, for $230 I am ok with that. He also noted that he has seen a lot of junk aftermarket rebuilds and parts, he said here in canada he would not buy alternators from UAP, he has had 3 premature failures, he said with these cars there is a risk of messing up the computer if things don't work out, I was originally thinking to just rebuild the unit myself, parts are like $100. I am also seeing the P0661 code, holy cow another problem. Oh well, there is a lot on the internet on this issue as well. My boy will be a happy camper and I can get my wifes car back, LOL.

[xxSlidewaysxx]

The car has 175,000 Km's, my buddy says he has done 3-4 alternators on 3's and says could be about time, for $230 I am ok with that. He also noted that he has seen a lot of junk aftermarket rebuilds and parts, he said here in canada he would not buy alternators from UAP, he has had 3 premature failures, he said with these cars there is a risk of messing up the computer if things don't work out, I was originally thinking to just rebuild the unit myself, parts are like $100. I am also seeing the P0661 code, holy cow another problem. Oh well, there is a lot on the internet on this issue as well. My boy will be a happy camper and I can get my wifes car back, LOL.

175,000 eh??? I'm about to turn 176K... I'll keep this in mind

[chub35]

Update, New alternator installed, voltage now running consistent, no more power steering light. Speedo problem, sporadically stops working, DC signal sometimes not present at VSS, decided to replace VSS haven't drove car enough yet to see if this is final fix. The error code P0661, I checked the solenoid that this code refers to, coil had no resistance, apparently you can only order the pair of solenoids together, there are two valves the VIS control solenoid and the Tumbler solenoid, we will do this today. I am thinking that when alternator starts to go the voltage readings we were getting sometimes hit like 16-17 volts, maybe kicked the crap out of the coil on the valve until it eventually failed. All seem to relate back to the Alternator possibly even the VSS failing. So maybe when your car hits about 150K Kilometers it might be a good idea to have a scanner attached and take the beast for a ride and watch your voltage, making sure it doesn't pass over the 15 volt range.

[chub35]

Ok, finally all problems fixed, so, here is the final results

PROBLEM #1- Speedo not functioning all the time THE FIX- replaced VSS possibly this was damaged with over voltage from alternator, DC output signal not always present.

PROBLEM #2- Power steering light on- Alternator sending out between 16-17 volts. THE FIX- replaced alternator, not sure why this affected power steering but by replacing the alternator fixed the problem. I was advised by a Mazda mechanic that they had seen this before and were not sure why either.

Problem #3- P0661 code was thrown by computer. FIX- changed VIS control solenoid valve, must be bought with the tumbler solenoid as a pair. Suspect possibly the failure may be due to Alternator producing too high of voltage and possibly frying the coil on the solenoid. Coil showed no resistance.

The first thing we checked was the battery condition, even though it had never failed it proved bad when put through a load test. With that in mind, the car has like about 175,000Km's on it, it is a 2005 model so maybe the whole start of the problem was the battery putting a high load on the alternator, then causing the alternator to fail and putting out to high of voltage and possibly causing the VSS and VIS to fail, who knows but it is finally fixed. So keep that in mind guys, if you have a high mileage car with original battery maybe for the few dollars it cost get the battery load checked and see how the load to voltage checks out and maybe avoid all these other problems.

[andrewwick4]

I had the same problem after that heavy snow on february 8th got stuck getting out of the driveway even with snow tires, not sure if that caused it or just helped it along. Replaced alt and batt still no speedo and power steering light comes on just as im exiting 3rd gear into 4th (manual trans) trying to put a speed sensor in but cant get the old one out it unscrewed and unplugged but wont move?? Anybody have trouble getting there vss out? And if so what did you do to get it? Its all taken apart and i really dont want to put it back together without fixing this.. Any suggestions??