Vehicle Speed Sensor: Description and Operation

Vehicle Speed Sensor (2WD):

The Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) is a pulse counter type input that informs the VCM how fast the vehicle is being driven. The VSS system uses an inductive sensor mounted in the tail housing of the transmission and a toothed reluctor wheel on the tail shaft. As the reluctor rotates, the teeth alternately interfere with the magnetic field of the sensor creating an induced voltage pulse.

The VSS produces an AC voltage signal that increases with the vehicle speed. The VCM processes this signal and sends it to the following components:
^ The instrument panel
^ The cruise control module