1999 Output Shaft Speed Sensor

Is there someone that can tell me exactly where the OSS for a 1999 Taurus with a 12 Valve Vulcan V6 is?

The car has a problem, every once in awhile, with not shifting out of first gear. Sometimes when it's acting up like that, the speedometer drops to zero, even when the motor is turning 4000 rpm in 1st gear. I am just assuming that the OSS is the likely culprit. However, if someone knows of another cause, please let me know. I know that 1999 was the year they went to the OSS for speed identification instead of using the ABS sensors, and so-forth, but if something else could be causing these problems, I'm all ears.

Also, the problem only happens when the cars is fully warmed up, and during stop and go driving. It NEVER happens at highway speeds. In fact, in runs like a dream on the highway.

THANKS for any help in advance!!!!!

Matt

the vehicle speed sensor is mounted in your trans axle.my haynes manual says it provides a DC sine wave signal to the PCM. If a
diagnostic computer dosn't show anything , then its the trany itself:( sorry man, don't hate the messenger. My 96 3.0 vulcan is doing the same thing in all the gears. 264600k's is my problem though.

Is it the sensor on top/driver side, or back center, or elsewhere?

Located on the right side of transmission. Look for the connector there. Should be a grey wire/black stripe and a pink wire/orange stripe.
Only one bolt holds it in.

Hope this was useful!



Fordman123

Awesome! Thanks Fordman123!

Matt

Anytime!!

Fordman123

berean, did you fixed the transmission shift problem by replacing the OSS sensor? My 99 taurus has the same problem. your response is greatly appreciated. you can e-mail me at [email protected]
thanks!

For my 99 Taurus, I have the speed sensor replaced and all the problems are gone:
1. Tachometer not move
2. transmission wont shift out of gear 1
3. check engine light on

Thanks a lot to this post which saved me $4000. (Dealer recommended me to replace the trasmission!!!!!)

I have the same 3 problems with my 99 Taurus SE. I didn't know where the sensor was located. Gonna go look now. I'll get back with ya.
-Uncle Roccer

After a long tedious hunt, I located the Speed Senor for my '99 Taurus SE. It's located on the top left hand side of the Tranny (standing in front of the car). I went and purchased the part so I would have an ideal what it looked like. Well, I can see it from under the car through a small opening between the engine block and the Tranny. AS I WAS SAYING, I can see it. Does this call for dropping the Tranny to get to the one bolt that holds it in place? Is this $25 part gonna cost me a whole lotta labor charges?
-INQUIRING MIND wants to know

My 99 Se with 64000 just decided today that it would not shift into fourth gear. All other gears work fine and shift as smoothly as the day I bought it with 16000 on it. Could a speed sensor be the likely culprit???
Please help, it's very frustrating to have a car that I make sure and do everything service wise on time and something like this happens...

My car does the same thing as berean's tarurus, but mine is a 1997. I have the speed sensor but where the heck does it go??? I checked all haynes manuals at autozone and the only page that says speed sensor is a blank page. HELP!! I live in Miami and driving very slow usually means im going to get in an accident and I am terrified to drive but want to do it myself... money is a precious comodity... lol

I am having the same exact problem with the shifting, and my abs light turns on. How do I know which speed sensor to get? I found it on the top of the tranny

I am having the same exact problem with the shifting, and my abs light turns on. How do I know which speed sensor to get? I found it on the top of the tranny

You could use a multimeter and backprobe the speed sensor on the tranny, checking for a DC or AC voltage.

For the ABS light, you could use a multimeter and back probe each of the speed sensors individually. Best would be an oscilloscope so you can easily see minor pulse width changes in the waveform since even a small crack in the ring could cause the light.

Or, you can use a professional scan tool with the ABS software to watch all the sensor and read out the ABS codes to see what the computers think is wrong with the car.

-Rod

My hubby just went to autozone after looking up the meaning of my VIN so he looked like he knew what he was doing... lol.. he loves cars, but hes a honda fan.... i am not sure about a 99 engine because it is different from a 97 i was told. i still cant find where to plug the sensor in on the 97 engine...

YEs Autozone was very valuable to me too. Not only did I find the right part, I had to crawl underneath to count the bolts in the axle pan, but they gave me pretty explicit instructions on how to change it, seems easy enough....lets hope it works for me too. Everyone else seems to be doing well with this fix....and if not, then i guess my 150,000 miles is enough and i should just get the thing replaced. I already replaced the neutral safety switch, didn't fix my problem, but my shifter works nice..:D. Wish me luck!

The speed sensor fixed my problem, thanks for the posts...