when i start the engine all lights etc come on
after looking under dash bourd i found a wire
that was not connected so i connected it and the cheak engine stays on what does this mean.

the cable you have connected is part of the dignostic system, it resets the ecu as well as flashing error codes on the immobiliser light, just disconnect it again, and all will be fine.

Cheers mate

I feel concerned that if the diagnostic "check engine" light is left disconnected then how is the owner of the Scooby supposed to act when the ECU diagnostic system flags an error. The fact that the light stays on in the first instance cries out to me that the ECU has found a problem albeit certainly not that important as the car has not gone into 'limp mode' (limits itself to a max 4500rpm) - Just a thought.

Its nothing to be worried about, the check engine light can still come on, but when you connect the 2 plugs together, it flashes a code on the led, the number of flashes tells you what the error is, if you leave the plugs connected the check engine light flashes all the time, so you would never know if you really had a problem.

You'll also notice the fans spin up, and other wierdness. Ian is spot on: the Check Engine light still works when needed. These connectors are connected together to give a simple diagnostic readout of any errors without needing any further tools.

Flashing at 0.5 second intervals is the code for all ok. If you search for "check engine" you'll find that someone has a link to a page detailing the others.

Never, ever connect wires that you don't know what they do. It's akin to the rule about not connecting undocumented jumpers on in a computer, even if they are labelled "free sex and beer" on the motherboard!

What a fountain of knowledge... I only wish that I knew about this site before I made the purchase of my WRX.

[This message has been edited by Greg Jones (edited 11-04-2000).]