Cougar Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 The access panels are behind the rear seat area I believe. You remove the covers and then you can get to the tank panels. I think your suppossed to have less than 3/4 of a tank of gas before removing the covers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwatt Posted March 17, 2005 Author Share Posted March 17, 2005 The access panels are behind the rear seat area I believe. You remove the covers and then you can get to the tank panels. I think your suppossed to have less than 3/4 of a tank of gas before removing the covers. Thank you. Our 2 Subarus are wagons, so those access panels are under the rear seat bottom cushion, which tilts forward when you pull the release loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 No, behind the rear seat back rest I believe. You have to remove the metal strip that holds the carpet down I think. I have never done this my self, I am just going by my recollection of what others needed to do. I'm pretty sure this is correct at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forester2002s Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 The Wiring Diagrams for my 2002 Forester also show two fuel-level sensors, wired in series, and with only two wires feeding the signal from the fuel tank to the dash board (and one of those wires is a ground). Each sensor shows as a variable-resistor. As a previous poster suggests, the CPU must use that resistance signal to illuminate the low-fuel lamp. But why can't the CPU illuminate the low-fuel lamp during the lamp-test as part of the crank-cycle at start-up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwatt Posted March 17, 2005 Author Share Posted March 17, 2005 No, behind the rear seat back rest I believe. You have to remove the metal strip that holds the carpet down I think. I have never done this my self, I am just going by my recollection of what others needed to do. I'm pretty sure this is correct at least. OK---I'll look there. I know I've seen at least one access panel under the seat bottom cushion but I never paid attention to what's behind the backrests... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOMAD327 Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 My experience is on a 99 OBW, Probably very similar on any AWD legacy or imprezza most model years. the forward most section of carpet has to be lifted up behind the rear seat and there are two sheet metal domes under it. under the domes there is a pair of flat metal plates, one on each side. the passenger side is larger and has more hoses and a larger wire disconnect, the driver side is smaller with less hoses. I would do the driver side first for familirarization, pull the unit out and clean the resistor section the float arm rubs on with a pencil eraser or a mild cleaning pad. make sure there is no loose shavings hangin on the piece when you are done. The passenger side is done the same way, except it's a bigger more complicated unit. It has to be gently bent around and twisted a bit to work it out of the hole. It will come out, and is easier to get back in, so don't worry. The fuel level should be reasonably low before doing this. In a sedan, it would be the very front edge of the trunk area. the nuts on the tank covers are very small and could be lost down around the outside of the tank, so have a cup or something to put them in. The low fuel probe could probably be cleaned off too, but I don't know if that will change anything. No matter how far off my gauge reading became, the low light setpoint stayed constant. The whole procedure can be done in less than an hour. If you search, there are several discussions on doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted March 17, 2005 Share Posted March 17, 2005 Wouldn't a spray carb cleaner be good for this? I know a pencil eraser will work, as we used those on circuit card connectors, but always followed up with freon, which, of course, isn't allowed anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 First, liquid gas does not burn. It's the vapors above it that burn. So sparks in the fuel pump should be relativaly safe as it should be only liquid in the pump. Normally the fuel level gauges are measuring a resistance of the senders, so as the cars get older corrosion builds up in creasing resistance making the gages read lower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrtoyou7747 Posted March 24, 2005 Share Posted March 24, 2005 On other cars the low fuel lamp is controlled by a separate sensor in the fuel tank. They seem to use a thermistor sensor whose resistance willl change when it is no longer immersed in the fuel. This is caused by the gasoline conducting heat away form the sensor thus changing it's resitance. Once exposed the heat conduction is gone thus it's temperature changes and thus the the sensor changes. On my 98 OB the light goes on when I have used 13.7 gal. THis is ovewr 125K miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasinwa Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 Interesting reading...I am having the same dilemna as a few...I have a 93 Legacy LS Sedan. btw - our Suby mechanic said there are 2 sensors for the guage itself....one handles Full to about 1/2, the other from about 1/2 to Empty...with that one being more accurate. Then there is a separate sensor for the low fuel. We just bought the car and are worried about the low fuel light. Again, the mechanic said he's never seen a light go out....but always a first time! The needle on the gauge was on the top left back corner of the "E", now its pointing at the right front part of the "E" so I know it's moved a bit in about 100 miles.....but seems like it didn't move enough! No light yet...when could I expect it to come on? I could wait OR the fill up idea sounds good...if I fill up and get 12 gals, etc...then I'd know there were about 4 left, etc.. Should I bite it and just fill up? I am itching to see that low light come on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 Interesting reading...I am having the same dilemna as a few...I have a 93 Legacy LS Sedan. btw - our Suby mechanic said there are 2 sensors for the guage itself....one handles Full to about 1/2, the other from about 1/2 to Empty...with that one being more accurate. Then there is a separate sensor for the low fuel. We just bought the car and are worried about the low fuel light. Again, the mechanic said he's never seen a light go out....but always a first time! The needle on the gauge was on the top left back corner of the "E", now its pointing at the right front part of the "E" so I know it's moved a bit in about 100 miles.....but seems like it didn't move enough! No light yet...when could I expect it to come on? I could wait OR the fill up idea sounds good...if I fill up and get 12 gals, etc...then I'd know there were about 4 left, etc.. Should I bite it and just fill up? I am itching to see that low light come on... maybe Your tank is split in two, and it uses a siphon (subaru calls it a jet pump) to move fuel from the drivers side to pass side. As far as wrong reading gauges, i used a techron product and now my gauge is on e at 250 miles as opposed to the 100 miles it used to do. My low fuel light comes on at 280 miles at the earliest. Only the fuel pump side (pass) has the low fuel sensor. The fuel tank empties drivers side first, then the pass side. The light is very depndable, and always gives you 1.5 gallons to empty nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 Wouldn't a spray carb cleaner be good for this? I know a pencil eraser will work, as we used those on circuit card connectors, but always followed up with freon, which, of course, isn't allowed anymore. i tried everything, but the techron product worked http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=59609&highlight=gauge nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasinwa Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 In a sedan, it would be the very front edge of the trunk area. the nuts on the tank covers are very small and could be lost down around the outside of the tank, so have a cup or something to put them in. So how to get to the front edge trunk area to remove the panels? From the trunk, pull seat backs down and remove all carpeting, or ?? thx...Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 So how to get to the front edge trunk area to remove the panels? From the trunk, pull seat backs down and remove all carpeting, or ?? thx...Jeff I think that is correct Jeff. You remove the carpeting to access the panels. I know that is done for the wagons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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