Two tricks you can use to try and read the numbers better are: wet your finger and run it across it or use a piece of paper and a pencil and lightly press the pencil up against the paper. I had really good luck with the second one

 

Follow up question... I finally got the trans home, and one thing is really confusing me. The numbers (and year of the vehicle it came out of - 95 Ram 1500 2WD with a 5.2L Magnum) would suggest it's a 46RH. It has the white 3-pin connector by the rear trans cooler line. But in the tailshaft on the driver side, there's a 3-pin connector; I thought the 46RH only had a mechanical speedo on the tailshaft? Can somebody help me understand what the connector on the tailshaft is for, (speed sensor) and if it's indeed a 46RH like all the other signs suggest?

 

First Pic: That is indeed the VSS. It's a gear driven tone generator. All 2nd Gen trucks had an electronic speedometer. (and cruise control as well.....) In 98, the VSS on the trans was eliminated, and the PCM used the rear wheel speed sensor on top of the rear diff for vehicle speed.

Second pic: Black three pin connector is the neutral safety switch. (probably reverse lights as well.) the connector closed to the trans body, that plugs straight down, is the trans control connector, for O/D, and TCC.

 

Thanks! So hopefully I can hack something together by getting an earlier VSS setup (from a 93ish Dakota or Jeep maybe?) that has the mechanical speedo... I think those connectors only had 2 pins, but believe the only addition in the all-electronic is a ground.

 

So far as I know, nothing really changed on the trans from 93 to 94... so, you *should* be able to just yank the VSS from the old trans, and install it in the new one.......

 

Oh even better, thanks again. Hopefully I can get to the wreckers this weekend!

 

It appears the Dakota & Jeep had mechanical speedo up until 92 (or *maybe* 93), but then went to the electronic after that. The downside of using one of those is all the VSS in the mechanical speedo family are 2-pin, whereas the newer (starting in either 93 or 94 - web access is crappy at the moment) VSS is a 3-pin connector. I gotta compare wiring diagrams, but if that 3rd pin is indeed just a ground, hopefully it's possible I can just leave that wire from the harness disconnected (or even ground it to the frame or body of the trans) and just connect the other two wires (sensor signal and voltage). On the other hand, I read elsewhere some speculation that the earlier 2-pin connector puts out an analog signal, whereas the 3-wire is digital (ppm), so sending the PCM an analog signal when it was expecting PPM would be bad...

Of course, the other option is to keep the 3-pin VSS with no mechanical speedo feed and just buy an aftermarket electric speedo, which I can get for $75 or so if I go no-frills. This aftermarket gauge works with either 8 or 16ppm (although I have no idea what the Dodge auto trans puts out): https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speed...ric,64342.html

 

What year truck is this going into??

 

1949 Dodge B-1-B

Someday....

 

Oh.

The cable drive fitting should fit right in there as well. After all, the VSS originally was driven the same way, they altered the housing that holds the driven gear, so they could put a tone generator on it..... everything else is exactly the same.