Vehicle Speed Sensor Assembly
WARNING: This page does not describe the selected car, but rather 8 other vehicles, including the 2003 GMC Yukon XL, 2003 GMC Yukon, 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe, 2003 Chevrolet Suburban, and 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.
The vehicle speed sensor (VSS) assembly provides vehicle speed information to the PCM. The VSS assembly is a permanent magnet (PM) generator. The PM generator produces a pulsing AC voltage as rotor teeth on the transmission output shaft pass through the sensor's magnetic field. The AC voltage level and the number of pulses increase as the speed of the vehicle increases. Output voltage varies with speed from a minimum of 0.5 volts at 100 RPM to more than 100 volts at 8000 RPM. The PCM converts the pulsing voltage to vehicle speed. The PCM uses the vehicle speed signal to determine shift timing and TCC scheduling.