Hi All

Im at Silverston at toyota on track of all places, on my way up a orange enginey shaped light came on on the dash - I dont have a uk hand book so dont know what it means? anyone! help

I havew to get back to southampton so is it safe to drive ?? er sh1tt1iing it now - ~I think it came on when i hit rev limiter by accident overtaking. only had the car 1 week. oh no


andy

 

Oh for gods sake Andy, can you not keep hold of a car for more than a week? Titter.
Its Beef, by the way, if you hadn't guessed.
That light probably means 'this car is far to good for you, give it to Beef immediately' i'm guessing. Best pay strict attention to it, i say.

 

SERIOUSLY -

yeh hi beef but I really need a proper answer - the handbook is dutch and I dont want to trash my car on the way home - its driving fine but Im worried, very

 

Those engine shaped light somtimes mean ECU type stuff but what it is ? I dont know. Call a subaru dealer and talk to the mechanic !

 

Or you could call the local Scooby dealer. The one in Southampton's number is 01489 785111
They should know.

 

I'm guessing that it is the Check Engine Light,which I gather is not a good thing, but ain't necessarily terminal. I think the text in the manual says something like "Consult dealer". Sometimes caused by removing the cat.

 

Did the light remain on?

If it is on everytime you start the engine then there could be a problem.. if it is now off then a fault occurred but has cleared or stopped occurring at the moment. it should be in the ECU fault code memory and get a select monitor on it to see what it is as soon as you can but should be fine to drive home.

If you were giving it lots of stick it is probably due to knock being detected or something. A guess of course..

You will be driving it far harder on the track than ever on the road hence why things like this may occur.

I'd drive it home if the light is off now and pop into the dealers tomorrow, or you can decode it yourself altohugh I don;t know how you do that..

JGM

 

I'd have a word with a certain Mr.Chisolm if i were you....
Seriously though, it could be due to difference in pressure in the engine due to your new exhaust. You may need the ECU re-mapped. Info courtesy of an RB5 owner in the office.
Mmmmm, RB5......

 

its beeI n on for about 20 miles, but now im parked for next 4 hours. I think it came on as I gave it a boot over taking I hit the rev limiter for a second and then, think I noticed it.

 

I put a scoobysport back box on when I picked it up its been fine since I did it

 

Might have just over boosted...

Wouldn't have expected it to have stayed on after you switched the ignition off and back on though.

You could do an ecu reset and see if it reappears but you risk if it is a big problem then you might damage the motor before it reoccurs? dunno....
Reset by connecting the connectors under the steering wheel surround together and switch on engine... then off and disconnect...

Either that or drive it slowly to the nearest dealer and get it checked over.

JGM

 

What scoob do u have? My MY01 threw up a check engine light after replacing backbox and centre section with a scoobysport setup (lost 1 cat)
On MY01 the light on continuously means an emmission problem (cats not working optimally etc). if it flashes on and off then its a misfire IIRC.
Good luck
Chuck

 

Any news Andy?

 

Mine came on after it had been in for a service. Was giving it some foot and noticed the light, jeesus sh@t myself. Anyway drove really slowly home and called Subaru who told me to take it in to dealer next morning.

They cleaned the plug and sensor connections and it hasn't happened since. Possible reason was ill fitting connection with combination of rain water causing short.

I was also told that the light can come on if the CAT isn't working properly. I suspect giving it major right foot could trigger this to happen if unburnt fuel is found in exhaust.

 

We get this d@mn thing on a few cars over here in sunny South Africa (MY01/2) - usually - in most cases, its the cam position sensor that triggers the light. What the cam position sensor does,
I'd love to know. I've had mine replaced once, then 5000km later
it started again, I know of another car that had it replaced twice, has done plenty k's and its not coming on anymore. If anyone has any info on this sensor, I'd love to know. It comes
on anywhere after 4500rpm to red line, when the car is under load.

 

I think the ECU light actually means the ECU has gone into 'limp home' mode. You should be OK to drive it (e.g. drive home), but get it to a Scoob dealer to get a select monitor on it as soon as practical.

I had the same thing happen on a Saab. It was on for a few days then it went off and never re-appeared. I suspect it was water getting in the wiring to the O2 sensor.

 

On an '01 its not really limp mode - when mine comes on
due to the cam position sensor, I still have 100% power -
or maybe only 95% - dont notice any difference.

 

If you hit the rev limiter it sounds to me like it could be the cam position sensor.I had mine fail on me (CEL came on intermittently on mine especially when going past 6000rpm with my scoobysport system on) and the sensor was replaced under warranty. Just for info,my car's a belgian MY01 import........
Get it down to your dealer and they can plug the select monitor into it and interpret the error code!

Good luck

Nick

P.S: It is safe to drive!

 

Nice cheers nick(and others), mine is a belgium import, hoping they can plug a laptop into it and just reset it, it seeems fine - done 100 miles on the way home, no gripes.

lets see tomorrow

andy

 

That definitely be the problem. Oh, and MY01/2's, theres a secret
to the check engine light. If the error was intermittent - and
the engine light has come on - start and stop the engine (crank
it over until it starts and then turn it off again) 4 (four) times
and the light will disappear. This works in Sunny South Africa
and it would be interesting to confirm that it works this way
in other countries (dont see why it shouldnt happen).

 

OK people - the problem was as follows:

Pangbourne Subaru(very helpful) had a look and took it off for 5 mins - said I was doing an alleged officer 97 at 7*** revs so it tripped the cam sensor I think anyway. He said you can fit a cover or something to combat this if it is a prob.

thanks for your help all

Andy

 

Please find out more on this if at all possible - exactly what can be done to sort it out. This problem is on a few cars over here and no-one at all knows what to do about it ! I've been looking
at that light for 50% of my time spent in the car for the last 20000 km. Its driving me insane !!!

Please...
Thanks in advance

 

sorry should have payed more attention. It seems you can fix it yourself by started the car up and stopping immediatly a couple of times to reset it. The guy at the garage did this.

He then took it away and I didint see it but he must have plugged a laptop in or something - it logs what you were doing hence he came out and said you were doing 97 and 7300 revs. It was just on as a naughty boy warning for me. Said if it happens a lot, you can get something like a cam cover - ? I think to stop it. sorry cant remember any more - didnt sound like an expensive thing.

Take yours to the sub garage and ask em, its the cam position sensor

 

They plug it into a select monitor - a little blue box. I'm
not sure if you were doing 97 @ 7300 - I dont think the select
monitor can do that much.

I'll try wangle a plan out of them, I get mine on at as little as 4500 rpm. Sux.

 

well thats what he said 97 and 7*** anyway, think he even knew the time and date of it??

 

If he claimed to know the time and date I think he was winding you up. I don't believe there's a Real time clock in the ECU.

 

Ok as I say, I have a memory like a goldfish

 

I have quite a bit of knowledge on these vehicles in many areas, but when I have a problem - I take it to the dealer and say "fix".
If you tell them you were pushing it hard or cornering tight or slipping the clutch fast, they will inevitably find a way of explaining that the hard driving was the cause of the problem. Rather let them tell you what they find, then decide whether or not to say - "that makes sense - I was" or "b0ll0x - thats not what was happening". Of course - if you have an honest Joe mechanic (very rare), then explain all - it may help him to diagnose the fault.

 

If it wasn't supposed to do 7300 rpm they'd set the limiter lower. 'Hard driving' as an excuse for failure is a load of rubbish -- why make it go that fast if it's not up to it?

 

Its a bit toss I thought, not like I make a habit of hitting the rev limiter, but If I did again Id be pissed if it came on again.