Check Engine light flashing, now steady - 1996 Outback

[gwoiler]

My daughter just called me and on her third day driving her new-used 1996 Outback wagon, she said the engine light was on but not flashing anymore. She said the car would not go over 50mph. She asked what the rpm's should be at 50 and I told her the pointer should be a little less than the speed pointer. then she got it up to 60 and she said the rpm's went down to 2500 which I told her sounded about right. Now, I just got this car on ebay, and drove it cross country 2850 miles and had no issues with it. It had 108000 miles when I picked it up. I have no owners manual, and this being my first Subaru, is a new learning experience for me. I told her when she got to work to check the oil. It used 1/2 a quart of oil on my 2850 mile trip. A good portion of that trip was over 70 mph, so I was not surprised it used some. Any suggestions? The Spark Plug coil in the center of the engine looks brand new. It got 22 to 28 mpg on the trip which I thought was normal.

Please.... give me some suggestions!
thanks, Glenn

[Wiscon_Mark]

You said she went in the ditch? Maybe spinning the wheels (thus the car reading abnormally high accel) set off a CEL and put the car into limp mode. Is she RPM limited when she floors it?

Tell her to reset the ECU (take the battery terminal off for half an hour, push the brakes a few times while disconnected).

[gwoiler]

She says it was more like the side of a dirt road, slightly crowned and the ice was so slick, she could not move. I am sure she spun her wheels. I don't know if she was RPM limited. So, disconnect the battery for half an hour and puch on the brakes a few times. Will it never come out of limp mode on its own?

I read somewhere that after resetting the ECU [I think] that the computer will learn how you drive in the first few hours and driving performance will be affected depending on how you drive during that period of time?

Thanks for your help!
glenn

[Huffer]

^^ you are correct. Each car has a base map that re-learns a little to adapt to air/fuel and driving conditions.

Also, I would check to see if there are any pending codes in the ECU before doing a reset. Then, if it comes back, you know there's a real problem.

[Wiscon_Mark]

Good tip Roger :smile:

You can get codes pulled at Autozone.

[gwoiler]

When she called me this morning on her way to work, the only thing I could think was for her to shut it off and wait a moment and then start and go. I spoke to her during her lunch and she told me that even though the check engine light stayed on, that after starting it she could get up to 60mph. I asked her about if the cruise control had flashed at all and she saids that the only flashing was the check engine light, and then it was steady on. I am new on this site and have to search around to find out all the sbtle particualrs about this year Outback. And I was just coming up to speed on my 850 Volvo. :) Thanks for all your help.

glenn

[Sarra]

Flashing CEL usually means misfire, IIRC. Get the codes pulled, there might be a damaged spark plug, or a wire popped free, or something just isn't getting spark to the spark plug right. It would explain why it didn't accelerate when she floored it.

[Huffer]

Flashing CEL usually means misfire, IIRC. Get the codes pulled, there might be a damaged spark plug, or a wire popped free, or something just isn't getting spark to the spark plug right. It would explain why it didn't accelerate when she floored it.

No it doesn't. A P0310 or similar misfire code means a misfire.

a flashing CEL means there is a system that registered a failed test cycle. A solid CEL means a system registered at least 3 consecutive failed test cycles.

[Wiscon_Mark]

don't argue with the man who has a code reader built into his Legacy :grin:

[LeeLee D]

I thought you needed a Scantool to reset your ECU on ODEII cars?
or the the negative terminal trick work as well

[Huffer]

I thought you needed a Scantool to reset your ECU on ODEII cars?
or the the negative terminal trick work as well

BTW - it's "OBDII".

OBDII scanners will not reset the ECU. They just clear the memory of CEL codes.
Any Actron scanner works fine - some of the cheaper Centech ones have issues with the 95-99 Legacy (I know, I've tried). Best one for the price, is the ScanGauge II. Check out my review in the toolbox.

[gwoiler]

LAst night I disconnectied the battery terminal for 15 minutes. Hooked it back up and the CEL was off but the parking lights and dash lights flashed on and off 30 times, then a pause, and then 30 times... and on and on. What did I do? So I left the battery disconnected all night and this morning they still flashed! So I got under the dash to find where the flashing sound was coming from and it was a black box. And right next to it was a little push button... Well, what do I got to loose... so I pushed it and no more flashing lights. I am wondering if this was the black box for Keyless entry? If so, GREAT! Now to find a remote and figure out how to program it. The daughter said the car ran fine to work [35 miles to Spokane] and actually better than the first day she had it. We are at 2600' elevation and Spokane is about 1600' and I got the car in New Jersey where it is only a couple hundred feet I am guessing, so the ECU being reset is probably a good thing. Much thanks to all the suggestions here. :wink: I have only looked at the plug wires once before this problem happenned and noticed that the plugs look like they might be fun to change.

glenn

[Wiscon_Mark]

Yep, that's the keyless entry box. Good find!

[gwoiler]

is ebay the only... or best place to get a remote? Still have to find a owners manual.

glenn

[Wiscon_Mark]

yeah, eBay is a good place to find them. they're not cheap, new.

[ivwarrior]

Flashing CEL usually means misfire, IIRC. Get the codes pulled, there might be a damaged spark plug, or a wire popped free, or something just isn't getting spark to the spark plug right. It would explain why it didn't accelerate when she floored it.

No it doesn't. A P0310 or similar misfire code means a misfire.

a flashing CEL means there is a system that registered a failed test cycle. A solid CEL means a system registered at least 3 consecutive failed test cycles.

Sorry Huffer, you're wrong, Sarra was right.

From http://www.vehicletest.state.ma.us/obdq ... isflashing (http://www.vehicletest.state.ma.us/obdqa.html#lightisflashing)

A blinking or flashing "Check Engine" light means that your vehicle's engine is seriously misfiring. Bring your vehicle in for service as soon as possible. When an engine misfires, combustion is not occurring properly (or at all) in one or more of the engine cylinders. This can greatly increase emissions and seriously damage the vehicle's engine and emission control system. If the problem is left unattended, the resulting repairs could potentially be very expensive.

and again here: http://autorepair.about.com/library/a/1g/bl016g.htm


A flashing Check Engine Light is not good! This means there is a catalytic damaging misfire going on! You need to get this checked pronto before you take out the catalytic convertor!

Finally, from the 1998 Subaru Legacy Owner's manual


If the light is blinking while driving, an engine misfire condition has been detected which may damage the emission control system.

[Huffer]

What that doesn't also mention is that a flashing CEL can ALSO mean that a pending code is sitting in memory - not JUST a misfire code.

So I'm wrong, but I'm also right.

[d1giPhux]

Get a remote off ebay, thats what i did and it worked great. You can program the remote easily by yourself.. just follow the directions on this page for your year of car:

http://www.cars101.com/subaru/keyless.html#code%20alarm

Sometimes it takes a few tries switching the key on and off, but it will work eventually!

[gwoiler]

Thanks everyone. Her misfire could have been the cause of lack of power? Maybe. Bidding on a remote today. Now to find a manual.

[d1giPhux]

A manual for the car, or what are you looking for? If you need a repair manual, check out my sig.. but if your looking for the drivers manual that comes with the car, ebay is probably the best bet.