Nissan Repair: 1988 nissan pathfinder speedometer, vehicle speed sensor, speedometer cable

Question
Hello Von,

After a cold snap, my speedometer stopped working, with the needle swinging all the way to the right. I don't know where the cable is for it, although I did find a cable coming out from the dash area that had a 1/2" burn mark on it with some silver wire showing through.  Could this be the problem, assuming that its the speedometer cable that's burned? Where exactly is the speedometer cable and is it easy to replace? Also, it was idling today for about 10 minutes and started to surge, then drop back, surge, then drop back. Whats that all about?Thank you for your help.

Laurie

Answer
Laurie,

I am pretty sure your Pathfinder has an electric speedometer and the pickup at the transmission is defective.  Where the speedometer cable used to plug in is where the square wave generator is.  Tell the guys at the parts store you need a vehicle speed sensor and they will know what you need.