1997 VOLVO V90 P0500 CODE WITH FLASHING WSE,ARROW,CHECK ENGI

[damianpikulski]

Hello everyone, I have 97 Volvo V90 2.9l Automatic 169,590 miles
Problem is that the check engine light is on, flashing up arrow / and W S E, and speed do meter drops to zero.
One code Speed sensor Malfunction p0500
The engine runs smooth, and no modification 100% stock well taken care of. The shifter assembly works P through L no problems.


The Problem, when driving:The transmission hesitates to shift into 2nd" 3.5k rotations and then finaly shifts, 3rd gear is much better shifting, 4th gear seems to be normal. Slowing down when the car goes from 4th to 3rd normal, 3rd to 2nd the transmission drops into it very hard and then the transmission and the TCM are like arguing with each other "2nd or 3rd" teater totter unless i press the gas pedal it goes away and jumps into 3rd, i break it goes into 2nd, and then first gear at oddy high rpms once in a dead stop rpms drop return to normal while slowing down.

What have i done so far to ATTEMPT lol to fix the problem. I first replaced the differential speed sensor, didnt help i tested both the new and old sensor they both had the same resistance.

I then fixed my shifter assembly, tested the solidniod, micro switch, checked every wire from that 8pin ribbon cable, tested the WSE switch relay, everything passed and shifter shifts correctly.

Then I replaced the TCM with A used TCM from a 1996 960 and nothing changed.

Then I took apart the dash and checked connections leading to the cluster, I cleaned the contacts with lacaurthinner and added paper under the contacts so the socket was tight. That didn't fix anything other then reassure me that gauge cluster has good contacts.

The only last thing that is left to do that i can think of is replace the speed sensor on the transmission, and yes its located on the left side, driver side. passenger side is temp sensor... I only mention that cause I was reading every forum and just wanted re assure everyone.


Question: is there anythings else I can do to solve the problem that is making me sick to my stomic.

Oh and I just wanted to add, when i pounded my dashboard around the gauge cluster the speedometer came back to life, thats why i cleaned and added the paper to the contacts so that they would have better contact,...

Is there any relays for the transmission under the dash?

Thank you for reading my ridiculously long post, though I have spent a week trying to solve this annoying problem.

[jimmy57]

speedo sensor on trans is not the cause.
Speedometer in cluster converts the speed signal from rear sensor to the signal the TCM uses. The speedometer is the most probable cause.