P0609
Control Module VSS Output "B"
- Severity
- Medium
- Driving
- Drivable — book it in
A fault in vehicle speed signal output "B" from the control module. The module sends road speed to other systems - the instrument cluster, cruise control, the radio's volume compensation, sometimes the power steering. A fault here does not affect the engine, but whatever depends on that signal will lose it.
Possible causes
- CommonWiring or connector fault on the output circuit
- CommonCorroded connector at either end
- PossibleFault in the module receiving the signal, loading the circuit
- PossibleChafed harness shorting against the body or engine
- PossibleAftermarket equipment spliced into the circuit
- RareFailed control module output driver
What you might notice
- Speedometer dead or reading wrongly
- Cruise control unavailable
- Speed-dependent features not working
- Check engine light on
- Often no effect on how the car drives
What to check, in order
- Establish what actually uses this signal on the vehicle, then check whether it works.
- Inspect the connectors at both ends of the circuit.
- Check the wiring for chafe damage.
- Ask whether aftermarket equipment - a tracker, a speed limiter, an aftermarket stereo - has been spliced into this wire.
Read this code from your own car
Plug an ELM327 adapter into the OBD-II port under the dashboard. Pin16 reads every stored, pending and permanent code, explains each one like this page does — offline, with no account — and shows what the car recorded when the fault was set.
Where this code sits
P00xxP01xxP02xxP03xxP04xxP05xxP06xxP07xxP08xxP09xxP0AxxP0BxxP0CxxP0DxxP0ExxP0FxxP10xxP11xxP12xxP13xxP14xxP15xxP16xxP17xxP18xxP19xxP1AxxP1BxxP1CxxP1DxxP1ExxP1FxxP20xxP21xxP22xxP23xxP24xxP25xxP26xxP27xxP28xxP29xxP2AxxP2BxxP2CxxP2DxxP2ExxP2FxxP30xxP31xxP32xxP33xxP34xxP35xxP36xxP37xxP38xxP39xxP3AxxP3BxxP3CxxP3DxxP3ExxP3Fxx
Computer output circuits and control module
P0600P0601P0602P0603P0604P0605P0606P0607P0608P0609P0610P0611P0612P0613P0614P0615P0616P0617P0618P0619P0620P0621P0622P0623P0624P0625P0626P0627P0628P0629P0630P0631P0632P0633P0634P0635P0636P0637P0638P0639P0640P0641P0642P0643P0644P0645P0646P0647P0648P0649P0650P0651P0652P0653P0654P0655P0656P0657P0658P0659P0660P0661P0662P0663P0664P0665P0666P0667P0668P0669P0670P0671P0672P0673P0674P0675P0676P0677P0678P0679P0680P0681P0682P0683P0684P0685P0686P0687P0688P0689P0690P0691P0692P0693P0694P0695P0696P0697P0698P0699