2003 Protege DX 5 speed - speedometer stopped working! VSS or gears?

DoubleEcho

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2003 Mazda Protege DX 5 speed
I own a 2003 Protege DX manual, and just today the speedo stopped working. I've googled around and found conflicting answers on the solution. Some say that the problem is the vehicle speed sensor, some say that only the automatics have the VSS and if it's manual it's a gear assembly. Which is true? If it's the VSS I can easily change that out, but I'd just need to know where it's located (Of course there's no damn Haynes manual for these cars!). If it's a gear assembly....I really have no idea how I'd do that with the simple tools I have.

Anyone have experience with this? I'd like to fix this myself without a trip to the mechanic! Thanks in advance!

Also, does anyone know how to get a replacement cover for the shifter that shows the gear positions? Mine has flaked off and even though I know the gears, it'd be nice to have :)
 
I figured out what it was - Yes it is a VSS and there are no gear assembly pieces for the MTX. However I learned some important things:

1) There are 2 VSSs for the 2003 Protege. There is one is for the Automatic transmission and one for Manual.

Part number for the Automatic is SU6385 and looks like this:

image_104783.jpg


Part number for the MTX sensor is SU6386 and looks like this (notice the blue gear, that's one of the main differences as well as the placement of the bolt)

image_104092.jpg


2) To remove this, you will need to take out the following (note that EVERYTHING takes a 10mm socket which is awesome. I suggest 2 or 3 long extensions though):

Battery
Battery harness (the entire thing, even the part the battery sits on)
Air intake hose, just remove the whole thing. You can keep the filter box in, just take the top off.

Standing at the driver's side wheel, look down near the back of the tranny. You should see a bracket making a U shape (or a backwards C shape if you're looking from the front) with two bolts. The bracket goes around the sensor, you should be able to see the electrical connector going into it. It's straight up and down. Remove the two bolts and the bracket, otherwise you won't be able to get the damn sensor out and you'll just get angry.

Remove the 10mm bolt near the sensor after removing the electrical connector. The connector can be a little tricky to get out. After removing the bolt, grip the sensor as well as you can and turn it back and forth a bit to loosen it while pulling up. Eventually it should pop out. Put in the new sensor and put everything back together. Tada!
 
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Actually if you have abs there is no vss on the trans it runs off sensors on the brakes

Good to know, thanks! Mine doesn't have ABS, it's just the bare bones DX. Bought it brand new back in '03, I didn't want power windows/locks or anything like that. It's been a great car for me.
 
I've learned that the less power options a car has is less repairs in the future window motors are a pain to replace
 
would power outage contribute to the vss failure?

Tweety... So while driving today my 01 mp3 cut power (replaced the positive cable end, which had cracking inside the plastic sleeve). Everything now works except the speedometer. I'm a new owner of this car, and don't know if you've heard of any connection between the power dying and the speedometer not functioning.
Thanks and peace-
dan
 
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