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Need help - engine light comes on (sometimes)

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Old Oct 26, 2017 | 12:41 AM
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Default Need help - engine light comes on (sometimes)

Hi guys,

So I have a '94 JDM Impreza STI, which does some weird stuff. It usually runs fine, but once in a while (most notably while driving on rough roads, but can happen while driving down a hill for example), the check engine light will come on (it will stay lit up, it doesn't blink) and the car will start shaking a little bit. If I slow down / stop or turn the car off, it will be gone and the car will be back to normal (no shaking, no check engine light). When this happens, there are no noticeable sounds coming from the car, the only thing I can notice is the shakiness (can be felt through the seat) and that it can be a bit jerky when driving in the first gear.

Any ideas? It's kind of hard to check something because once I stop the car, I can't check the engine bay since all will be back to normal. I've also noticed, that this won't happen right away when the car isn't warmed up. The issue comes up when the car has warmed up (no overheating though).

Could this be something as simple as spark plugs for example? I've also heard, that the knock sensor might be coming in when this problem comes up (but not sure whether it's actually preventing engine knock, or if the sensor is bad).

I'm afraid I don't have a chance to check the engine codes at the moment, but any help is greatly appreciated

Thank you!
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Old Oct 26, 2017 | 07:52 AM
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read the error code, easier then warming up the Crystal Ball . .
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Old Oct 26, 2017 | 12:06 PM
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Originally Posted by JDM_Stig
read the error code, easier then warming up the Crystal Ball . .
^^^this
Takes less than 10mins to check!
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Old Oct 26, 2017 | 04:19 PM
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sounds like a bad electrical connection somewhere
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Old Oct 26, 2017 | 05:15 PM
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Or a failing sensor.....
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Old Oct 26, 2017 | 05:49 PM
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Or . . . . anything till we get the code lol

http://uk.subaruownersclub.com/forum...ing-ecu-codes/

if it helps.

Last edited by JDM_Stig; Oct 26, 2017 at 05:50 PM.
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Old Oct 28, 2017 | 10:55 AM
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Thanks for the answers!

Yeah, I'm afraid I don't have a chance to read the codes at the moment, but will have to try that once the chance comes up
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Old Nov 2, 2017 | 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Kristijonas Pranskus
Thanks for the answers!

Yeah, I'm afraid I don't have a chance to read the codes at the moment, but will have to try that once the chance comes up
Look for an ELM327 bluetooth obd2 scanner. They're cheap and let you read codes via a smartphone.
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Old Nov 2, 2017 | 09:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Cambs_Stuart
Look for an ELM327 bluetooth obd2 scanner. They're cheap and let you read codes via a smartphone.
Doesn't have OBD2
Just use the built in diag on a GC8
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Old Nov 2, 2017 | 09:43 PM
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OBD didnt even start in cars until 1995.
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