ncabear Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pamike Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattocs Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olnick Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltCar Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Ya exactly what he said overfilling can cause the problem. You might also need a new gas cap. That sometimes causes a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 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). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncabear Posted August 1, 2006 Author Share Posted August 1, 2006 it is the knock sensor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltCar Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Glad you found your problem. Why were you having problems with the scanner? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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