Let me tell you what was done prior to this:
1. Replaced VSS (new)
2. Replaced Instrument Cluster (3 times, local pick-n-pull)
3. Checked all grounds
4. Checked all connectors related to the VSS, ECU, and Speedo Cluster
5. Replaced VSS connector
6. My local Master Mechanic at dealer could not find out what was wrong, because it was intermittent. But he was sure it had to be a bad connection.

These were the problems:
1. Speedometer would drop to Zero
2. Tachometer would drop to Zero
3. Transmission not shifting properly
4. Brakes would almost fail
5. Engine would surge, then almost die.
6. Able to limp home.

All of this pertains to a 1999 Camry. Here we go:

In Pic #1, this is the brown connector from the back of the instrument cluster. We are looking for the #6 wire, which should be pink. Ran a jumper wire from the pink wire on the VSS connector and connected it to the #6 pink wire on the brown connector.


In Pic #2, this is the white connector from the back of the instrument cluster. We are looking for the #15 wire, which should be blue. Ran a jumper wire from the blue wire on the VSS connector and connected it to the #15 blue wire on the white connector.


In Pic #3, this is straight from the wiring book from Toyota for the 1999 Camry. #6 is pink, and #15 is blue. Thanks to my mechanic for interpreting this for me.



This pic is the connector that I used to splice into the wires.



Ran the wires through the firewall where the main wiring harness goes through the firewall. Used a coat hanger to snake the wires to the speedo connectors. It has been running now for 2 weeks without a hitch. Every time I messed with it, it would run good for about 2 days and the symptoms would show back up. Just need to solder the connections, protect them from the engine heat and weather, and it'll be good to go. My Master Mechanic at Toyota was right. It was a bad connection. Where it is, is anybody's guess. After nearly a year of this going on, I'm a happy camper!

 

Nice write up with pics! Thanks for sharing and welcome to the forums!

 

Great post, thanks.

 

It is now 16Jun2015 and still no problems. Looks to be solved. Special thanks to my mechanic at the Toyota Dealer. Couldn't of done it without him!

 

Thanks for the update and letting us know that it is solved for sure!

 

have a really nice day, even beter... have a nice year, i solve my problem thanks to ur post, it was a big problem, and y fix it whitout spending any money, my car, 1999 toyota camry 2.2 auto, juarez, chihuahua mexico is my home and i love it, but things here are complex, so this problem could be a expensive and hard to solve, i just fix my car whit the cable jumps u make, i really apreciaet ur help, this could mean at least 200 to 400 dlls, i really say good bye to that money, but i insist and find ur help, it was bad, the trans doesnt shift to second, the trans shop says thata i have to repair it or replace it..... but now my loved camry is shifting and have working speedometer, i use a micropfhone cable from my junk cables box i keep in my garage.... of course im gonna replace it and route it properly, even weld it, but i realy would like to find the real problem and fix it, when i test the conector whit my multimeter everythings seems to be ok, but then i find this and try it and WORKS!!! THANKS AGAIN!!!

 

I almost have something similar, it was rough with both speedometer and odometer off, but not the tachometer. tried new speed sensor not help, then i tried to bent the resonator in the back of speedometer, it got back to work for a little, then problem returned. i bought a replacement instrument box. the odometer is ok, but speedometer is still dead. Is this solution good to me?

 

Don't know if this fix would work for your car or not. But for the 1999 Camry I had, replacing the 2 wires from the speed sensor did the trick. I replaced the instrument cluster 3 times from my local pick-n-pull, and it still did not work. But when I replaced the 2 wires, that is when everything started working. You may have a wire that shows good when you test it, but the signal is intermittent when driving. Give it a try. The only thing you lose is time. It was my local Toyota Master Mechanic that suggested replacing the 2 wires.

 

Glad I found this, I’ll be looking into it tomorrow. I just got this p0500 issue where my car revs but doesn’t move for long (10seconds max) my speedometer, brakes, etc all function properly. Just that one issue I’ve mentioned. I’ll keep everyone updated!

 

any pictures to illustrate what exact wires? And how you did the job? I’m a bit new here. Thanks!