A few months ago I purchased a 96 AWD Subaru Legacy off of my father in law. I LOVE THIS CAR!

 

I am at 98K and the check engine light came on...no problems. Nothing. I had heard a rumor that the light comes on in some Subaru's as you approach 100K...???

 

I hooked up an OBD II reader but couldn't get a code. When I got the car inspected the guy at the dealership told me there is some trick to reading the codes. Can someone advise me? I need to figure out what is wrong with my car.

 

Thanks,

Glenn

i don't think there is any trick, just plug it in and read the codes. if there are no codes then i don't think the light should come on unless there is something wrong. are you sure the guy is doing it right. take it somewhere else and try it. alot of auto parts stores will read them for free.

Unplug the battery for half and hour and see if it comes back on. If you can't get it read, take it to AutoZone. They will pull the code for free.

Welcome aboard, ncabear. Nope, no tricks with the CEL--should work just like any other car. OBD II reader should work like any other car too.

 

Did your light go away or did you clear it? If so, just watch for it to come on again then try to read it again. If you haven't noticed any drastic changes in how the engine feels, then I wouldn't worry too much.

 

Good luck.

are you sure your reader is good???

 

Welcome aboard, ncabear. Nope, no tricks with the CEL--should work just like any other car. OBD II reader should work like any other car too.

 

Did your light go away or did you clear it? If so, just watch for it to come on again then try to read it again. If you haven't noticed any drastic changes in how the engine feels, then I wouldn't worry too much.

 

Good luck.

When I first started driving my '96 and was trying to check mileage, range and fuel capacity, I gave the fuel pump at the filling station an extra click after the car was full. My car threw a code shortly after that a couple times. I reset the code and quit overfilling the car, no more codes. Here's hoping yours is something as easy.

Ya exactly what he said overfilling can cause the problem. You might also need a new gas cap. That sometimes causes a problem.

What brand/model code reader are you using?

 

I have a '96 Legacy that choked up a MIL shortly after I got it, bought a cheap Actron scanner at PepBoys and it showed front oxygen sensor slow reponse; replaced front O2 sensor and code went away.

 

I've noticed the code scanner when connected to my '96 Legacy takes about 45 seconds to display the codes. My '00 I think it reads a lot faster. I think 95/96 or there abouts Subaru's only respond to OBDII 'supported' info requests and not 'all' requests, whereas most vehicles will respond to 'all' requests hence why I asked about the brand/model code reader you're using. (Read that in the ScanGauge manual).

it is the knock sensor

Glad you found your problem.

 

Why were you having problems with the scanner?