'92 240sx Hatchback Speed Sensor Problems

[Soy]

Hey guys... thought I'd ask some advice

I've got a '92 hatchback 240, and lately the check engine light has been going on and off. As of 2 days ago, the light is solid, but there seems to be no loss in performance of the car.

I took the car in to the dealer to have the code checked... they told me I had a bad speed sensor.

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that disable the speedometer? Because nothing is failing in the car, with one exception - the cruise control. Personally, I could care less about cruise control in the car, but it seems that is the only thing affected by this, other than the bright orange light blaring me in the face.

Please let me know if this is an essential part, and if so, how to replace it myself, since I'm less than willing to shell out $200 to the dealership.

Thanks,

James

[NISTECH]

the speedo head is the speed sensor not the pickup in the trans. The speedometer supplies the signal to the ECM. The ecm uses this signal for several things including cruise. what is happening is your speedometer is recieving the signal from the trans and showing you how fast your going but the speedo is not sending it to the ECM. Replace the speedo head, problem solved.

[Soy]

So what part should I be looking for... the entire speedometer assembly, or just the sensor... or....?

Sorry to sound like such a newb, but I'm more accustomed to working on body panels and tearing apart old v8's, not doing electrical stuff =)

[NISTECH]

it would be just the speedometer out of the cluster. not the tack or any of the other gauges. Alot of times the problem is mearly a soilder joint or a crack in the board by one of the mounting screws holding the speedo into the cluster.