Hello-

I bought a 98 Legacy L wagon 2 weeks ago. Last night after leaving a restauraunt, I noticed the gas gauge wasn't registering and I remembered from when I got out of the car a couple hours earlier that I had at least 3/4 of a tank. The needle sits just below empty, in the same position as the temperature guage does when the car is off. I've had gas guages get stuck before, but this one just doesn't seem to be getting power/data anymore. I checked the manual and can't seem to see anything about a fuse for sensors of guages.

In addition, this moring my check engine light came on and has stayed that way. Could this have anything to do with the gas guage? I know that when I bought it, there was a slight exhaust rattle- so I'm aware that it could be emmissions related but I don't have a code reader.

The steps I have taken so far include: filling the tank with a higher octane fuel, wiping the gas cap area down, and cranking the "sh" out of the gas cap.

I just shelled out a good deal of money (for me) for this car and am now afraid that I'm going to have to dump a lot more (that I don't have). I am quite tech savvy and relatively automotive savvy so if it is something I can fix or at least diagnose, that would be great.

I am a first time subaru owner and was loving it until last night.

The fuel sending units are easy to clean. A wiper and a board. After you have burned off a little fuel, pull the carpet up in the cargo area, just aft of the seats. You will see two covers, one on each side. Pull the covers and then the sending units/pump. Clean the contacts and make sure the wiper is in contact with the board. That should do it.

Get the codes pulled. There is a code for fuel level something or another. My wife complained of her fuel gage acting up in her 98 L sedan, and CEL while she was on a trip. When she got back there was a code stored that had somthing to do with fuel level. I cleared it and has never came back and gage is working so I have left it alone. If yours stoped working altogether, and if there is a coresponding code, it is probably going to be a bad sending unit. Have had to replace a couple in other Legacy's.

The fuel sending units are easy to clean. A wiper and a board. After you have burned off a little fuel, pull the carpet up in the cargo area, just aft of the seats. You will see two covers, one on each side. Pull the covers and then the sending units/pump. Clean the contacts and make sure the wiper is in contact with the board. That should do it.

 

Thank you so much! I didn't even have to get to the wiper, the cable coming off the sending unit had torn out (I have no idea how that would happen) but I re-soldered the connections and it was as good as new. As far as the CEL, is there a way to reset my computer without extensive automotive tools? Can I just disconnect the battery?

Yes, you can, but you won't know what the code is caused by. Stop at Autozone, they read it for free and then you know why the CEL came on in the first place.

 

If you don't care, disconnect the negative cable for about 1/2 hour.