My 89 si Honda prelude's s3 light blinks and the check engine light clicks on with in five minutes of driving, and the speedometer and odometer don't work. other then the car shifting hard sometimes their are no other problems.

May have a ground issue . Does the engine run bad when it does this ?

with a probe light get into back of dash board and see where power is or isnt

It sounds tempature related I would check the engine coolant tempature sensor Its going to be near the upper radiator hose where it attaches to the engine block a false reading from this sensor could screw up other systems abiblty to give correct readings to the vehicle control system and cause a lot of unasual unrelated problems to acure If you can i would seggest that you take it to an auto parts store most will read the codes for free although you have what is called an OBD 1 SYSTEM on board dianostic system OBD 11 is the newer system its likely a sensor and you will likely be able to fix it for under 50 dollars mabey 20 Good luck with it

The transmission's electronic control module is most likely bad I had a 1989 prelude that had the same issue I had to replace the TCM on it after the S3 light came on but my problem was a problem shifting, if you have a electronic speed sensor for the trans. and not a speedometer cable the speed sensor may be bad if you have the cable type change the TCM (transmission control module)

is everything stock? and you have catalitic converter in place?

Stop by Schucks auto supply and have them run the codes. i'm sure there is a code if you cant pass emissions. your check engine light bulb is probably out.

and usually the first cause is the first o2 sensor.

You need to check the tcm for codes too. The s3 light is like the check engine light for the tcm. The VSS code might be your problem.

Probably the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS). Cheap and easy to change (see ebay), once found! Probably on top of gearbox, to rear.

Its probably your speed sensor mounted on the back side of your transmission on top of the final drive gear. Its the sensor/plug located just under the shift linkage. Make sure its bolted down tight and check for any loose connections.

Just fixed this myself. I found a used USDM meter/gauge out of a 1995 SI on EBAY for $200. However, I have a VTEC engine that redlines at 7500 RPM and the SI's redlines at 6500 RPM. Easy to fix by swapping the face plates inside of the meter/gauge. If your issue is the bulbs they cost a lot... around $250 each. But if your lights went out simultaneously then the bulbs are not the issue... it's the power supply where the bulbs plug into and that's located behind the drivers dash speaker (very easy to remove with only two screws holding it in). This part is more expensive at around $350, but cheaper than buying two bulbs. Scroll through every page of honda prelude listings on EBAY and you may just get lucky like I did. Hope this helps.

Try to find the speedo-cable from the firewall down the the transmission. Usually on auto trannys the speedo head (the signal generator which is a gear basicly) is located on the top of the tranny, of course attached to the speedo cable. If it's a 'drive by wire' car and there's no cable - it will require more investigation.