Hi everybody,
​​​​​​I recently started to experience some transmission issues with my 4wd 96 Geo Tracker with an auto trans.
The code it threw was for a vss speed sensor which I found while doing a transmission filter change. It was extremely loose and was positioned through a hole in the back right of the trans. I'm going to see if I can get a new gasket for it because it seems odd that it would be as loose as it is.
Anyways, my main problem is that when I went to plug it back together, I noticed that the male plug had two wires leading to it while the other had one, and due to shape of the plugs it's possible to change which wire the one is connected (pictures attached).
The single wire is black and resides in the transmission fluid pan. The other plug connects to it through the hole that I mentioned and leads away with one white and one blue wire.

Four holes, 3 empty, one with a connector

Two prongs

I've been pretty stumped about this, can't find anyone else who had the same problem or a wiring diagram. Any advice or suggestions for research sources would be very appreciated.

 

Disclaimer: I have no first-hand experience with a 1996 Tracker. All the "facts" below were pulled from the internet.

1. All 1995 and older Trackers are 2 doors.
2. All 2 door Trackers with automatics have non-computer controlled 3-speeds.
3. Tin top Trackers have 4 doors starting in 1996.
4. All 4 doors with auto-transmissions have computer controlled 4-speeds.
5. Mechanically the 4-speed is longer than the 3-speed.
6. In 1996 the number of splinds on transfer case output shaft changed from 26 to 16.
7. The internal output shaft of a 2WD auto-transmission is longer than that of the 4WD.
8. The 4-speed auto-transmission is computer controlled.

If you have a 4-speed automatic it may be the same one in my 2001 4WD Tracker


My 3-wire VSS is located in the transfer case. The 2-wire sensors in the transmission are input & output shaft speed sensors.

These are the color codes for my connectors

 

Thanks,
I have a 2 door 3 speed though.
But where did you find those diagrams?

 

If you're asking about the connection pin out, polarity, it doesn't matter.

 

The diagrams are from the 2001 factory service manuals. I bought them when I bought the car. Unfortunately they don't cover the 3-speed transmission.
I wanted to see what a 1996 vehicle speed sensor looks like. I went to two online part stores and got two different pictures.

 

Top looks like a crank sensor, the bottom looks like what you need in reference to your post. 96 bucks?

 

The reason there are two different transmission speed sensors listed for sale (above) is because the top one is for the output shaft and bottom one is for the input shaft.
I crawled under my 2001 four-speed automatic with a camera and a mirror. The output sensor is really hidden from view.