speedometer issue

[9shorty20]

my speedometer isnt reeding right i recently bought new tires(P185/65 R14)and now its a 8 mile diffrence..ex:if im going 53 the actual speed is 45.i had the spare on the front tire(T105/70D14) a week ago and it was a 10 mile diffrence..is there any way to adjust the speedometer or is there some other reason for it being wrong...the right tire size on the car is 195/60R14..thankyou ahead of time for any help

[nswst8]

It's probably a prelude that you need to replace the speedo cable. Mine is doing the same thing.

[DBMaster]

I don't really get that at all. Doing the calculations, I come up with an increase in circumference for the 185/65 tire of only 1.01 inches. That translates to an increase of 1.4% over the 195/60. I actually stacked a 185/65 on top of a 195/60 at Sam's when I was looking at tires. They appeared to be almost exactly the same diameter. That would mean that if your actual speed is 45 your speedo should read 46, tops. Older cars used to have interchangeable speedometer drive gears in the transmission, but ours read from the speed sensor. Replacing the cable won't change a thing unless you are talking about reducing noise and/or needle wobble.

[nswst8]

I don't really get that at all. Doing the calculations, I come up with an increase in circumference for the 185/65 tire of only 1.01 inches. That translates to an increase of 1.4% over the 195/60. I actually stacked a 185/65 on top of a 195/60 at Sam's when I was looking at tires. They appeared to be almost exactly the same diameter. That would mean that if your actual speed is 45 your speedo should read 46, tops. Older cars used to have interchangeable speedometer drive gears in the transmission, but ours read from the speed sensor. Replacing the cable won't change a thing unless you are talking about reducing noise and/or needle wobble.

You are probably right, Mike. What about the VSS (vehicle speed sensor)?

[Dr_Snooz]

It's probably a prelude that you need to replace the speedo cable. Mine is doing the same thing.

It's not a Prelude, it's an Accord.

Seriously though, I'd be more inclined to believe it's the pulser in the dash. How's your cruise working?

[nswst8]

It's not a Prelude, it's an Accord.

Seriously though, I'd be more inclined to believe it's the pulser in the dash. How's your cruise working?

Funny doc,

[LX-incredible]

The VSS/cruise pickup isn't going to have anything to do with what the speedometer reads. Return spring and condition of the grease in the bore under the needle are what I'd look at.

[nswst8]

The VSS/cruise pickup isn't going to have anything to do with what the speedometer reads. Return spring and condition of the grease in the bore under the needle are what I'd look at.

Thanks for the tip. It's probably what I have to address as well.

[9shorty20]

It's not a Prelude, it's an Accord.

Seriously though, I'd be more inclined to believe it's the pulser in the dash. How's your cruise working?

umm the cruise doesnt work...but the car feels heavier now for some reason..i used to shift to 3rd at40mph(thats when i had 195/70R14 on the back and 195/60R14 on the front) now im still on 3rd and the car is going 45 or so

[Dr_Snooz]

If the speedo grease isn't the issue, I'd start going through the troubleshooting procedure for the cruise. The '89 factory manual is available here. The procedure starts on p. 25-71.

[9shorty20]

today i passed by the speed checking thing and it read 46 when i was going 50..obviously a 4mile difference..i dont wanna say that the damn thing is wrong cuz theres one next to it coming the other direction and its the same thing..i dont know what to thing any more..is it possible for those things to be wrong